--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German…" description: "\"Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification because she believed that this would bring an immediate and formidable increase of economic strengt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/douglas-hurd-19856_economic_margaret-thatcher-was-fearful-of-german_2500822.png" --- # Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification… ![“Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification because she believed that this would bring an immediate and formidable increase of economic strength to a Germany which was already the strongest economic partner in Europe.” quote by Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/douglas-hurd-19856_economic_margaret-thatcher-was-fearful-of-german_2500822.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/douglas-hurd-19856_economic_margaret-thatcher-was-fearful-of-german_2500822.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/douglas-hurd-19856_economic_margaret-thatcher-was-fearful-of-german_2500822.png) > “Margaret Thatcher was fearful of German unification because she believed that this would bring an immediate and formidable increase of economic strength to a Germany which was already the strongest economic partner in Europe.” [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thatcher feared German unification would boost Germany’s economy, threatening UK interests. **In simple terms:** She worried a stronger Germany would harm Britain. Key Takeaway Consider geopolitical economic impacts. Themes politics economics security Mood strategic analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - policy planning - trade negotiations - strategic alliances Key Concepts balance of power European integration national interest Questions to Reflect On - How would a stronger Germany affect EU dynamics? - What safeguards can protect national interests? A Different Perspective Economic growth can also bring cooperation opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful/) [Fearful German](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful-german-1058327/) [Formidable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formidable/) [German Unification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german-unification-1058326/) [Germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/germany/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Margaret thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margaret-thatcher/) [Partners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partners/) [Strongest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongest/) [Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thatcher/) [Thatcher Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thatcher-fearful-1058325/) [Unification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unification/) ## Related quotes > [On the issue past of independence of Germany, after the time of National Socialism, Germany has been given an enormous amount of help particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/on-the-issue-past-of-independence-of-germany-after-the-time-of/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [If Margaret Thatcher had been Prime Minister at the time, there would have been no Treaty of Maastricht.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/if-margaret-thatcher-had-been-prime-minister-at-the-time-there-would/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [The first two Prime Ministers whom I served, Ted Heath and Margaret Thatcher drew strikingly different lessons from the Second World War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/the-first-two-prime-ministers-whom-i-served-ted-heath-and-margaret/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/margaret-thatcher-growing-up-in-a-bombed-and-battered-britain-derived/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Margaret Thatcher was a great leader for her nation at a pivotal and a perilous time. So, I find the comparison flattering, but that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/margaret-thatcher-was-a-great-leader-for-her-nation-at-a-pivotal-and/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [Her iron will won international respect. Her unabashed femininity gained women's. Margaret Thatcher was a lady's lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-burfitt-dons/her-iron-will-won-international-respect-her-unabashed-femininity/) [Louise Burfitt-Dons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-burfitt-dons/) > [Britain's done a lot of changing in the past 50 years. The decline of manufacturing and heavy industry under Margaret Thatcher ripped the economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sarkar/britain-s-done-a-lot-of-changing-in-the-past-50-years-the-decline-of/) [Ash Sarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sarkar/) > [She ( Margaret Thatcher )is democratic enough to talk down to anyone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mitchell/she-margaret-thatcher-is-democratic-enough-to-talk-down-to-anyone/) [Austin Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mitchell/) > [Margaret Thatcher had more impact on the world than any woman ruler since Catherine the Great of Russia. Not only did she turn around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/margaret-thatcher-had-more-impact-on-the-world-than-any-woman-ruler/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [I am not running as Son of Margaret Thatcher. I have my own priorities and my own programmes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-major/i-am-not-running-as-son-of-margaret-thatcher-i-have-my-own-priorities/) [John Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-major/) > [ I think psychologically \[Margaret Thatcher\] is really worth studying. I am reading Charles Moore's biography of her, and he has gotten us right there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-think-psychologically-margaret-thatcher-is-really-worth-studying-i/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If there is a better singer in England than Craig David, then I am Margaret Thatcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/if-there-is-a-better-singer-in-england-than-craig-david-then-i-am/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [They didn't even like Margaret Thatcher but at least there was Margaret Thatcher. There have been women, you know, Sonia Gandhi for heaven's sakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-clinton/they-didn-t-even-like-margaret-thatcher-but-at-least-there-was/) [Kate Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-clinton/) > [ \[Margaret Thatcher\] is a woman who, when she wrote her entry for "Who's Who," didn't include her mother. Now whether that was corrected in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/margaret-thatcher-is-a-woman-who-when-she-wrote-her-entry-for-who-s/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [In a way, the debate about Margaret Thatcher in Britain has just gotten fossilized in this notion that she is either this she-devil who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllida-lloyd/in-a-way-the-debate-about-margaret-thatcher-in-britain-has-just/) [Phyllida Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllida-lloyd/) ## More by Douglas Hurd > [We, Britain and Germany, can neither of us be happy about our handling of the Iraq war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-britain-and-germany-can-neither-of-us-be-happy-about-our-handling/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Diplomacy is unfashionable in the world of knee-jerk reaction and the dogmatic sound bite on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/diplomacy-is-unfashionable-in-the-world-of-knee-jerk-reaction-and-the/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [We must admit that history is enjoyable to a large extent because it enables us to pass judgment on the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-must-admit-that-history-is-enjoyable-to-a-large-extent-because-it/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [It is normal for politicians in all countries to profess themselves the pupils of history, anxious to draw the right lessons from her teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/it-is-normal-for-politicians-in-all-countries-to-profess-themselves/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [It depends on how it is done but what we are drifting into, which is that people grow up without any sense of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/it-depends-on-how-it-is-done-but-what-we-are-drifting-into-which-is/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [War on Iraq runs the risk of turning the Middle East into an inexhaustible recruiting ground for anti- western terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/war-on-iraq-runs-the-risk-of-turning-the-middle-east-into-an/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [There is nothing false or arrogant about German pride in German technical and business skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/there-is-nothing-false-or-arrogant-about-german-pride-in-german/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Some people find it difficult to argue with a woman Prime Minister and shrivel up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/some-people-find-it-difficult-to-argue-with-a-woman-prime-minister/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [“Prison is an expensive way of making bad people worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/prison-is-an-expensive-way-of-making-bad-people-worse/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [A genuinely democratic Iraq might well act as a fresh spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/a-genuinely-democratic-iraq-might-well-act-as-a-fresh-spur/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Men like Hitler and Stalin and their immediate lieutenants cannot plead in defence of their actions that these were justified by the accepted values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/men-like-hitler-and-stalin-and-their-immediate-lieutenants-cannot/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [The tragedy of 9-11 galvanized the American superpower into action, leaving us in Europe divided in its wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/the-tragedy-of-9-11-galvanized-the-american-superpower-into-action/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [I may be wrong in that, but not I think in putting the questions. In our modern democracy the government needs not a unanimous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/i-may-be-wrong-in-that-but-not-i-think-in-putting-the-questions-in/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [We should be wary of politicians who profess to follow history while only noticing those signposts of history that point in the direction which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/we-should-be-wary-of-politicians-who-profess-to-follow-history-while/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) > [Margaret Thatcher, growing up in a bombed and battered Britain, derived a distrust which has grown with the years not just of Germany but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-hurd/margaret-thatcher-growing-up-in-a-bombed-and-battered-britain-derived/) [Douglas Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) [Explore all 32 Douglas Hurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-hurd/) ## More Economic quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. 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