So many political clichés about my career and my time in office have been spread that the legends surrounding the historical contexts are threatening to overshadow how things really were. That is why I have taken up the pen myself. In his memoirs "1930 - 1982," Helmut Kohl describes his path to the chancellorship with intelligence, determination, and many surprising twists—from the beginnings of his political engagement as a sixteen-year-old to those dramatic days in the autumn of 1982 when the Schmidt government was replaced in a constructive vote of no confidence, and Helmut Kohl was elected as the new Chancellor. Two influences were particularly decisive for Helmut Kohl's further life path: his upbringing in a Christian-liberal and patriotic household, and the experience of war, in which he lost his brother Walter.