Six years ago, World War II veterans proclaimed a message that everyone should have heard and that is more important today and every day that comes.
Jochen Werne, Co-Founder mission4peace
‘Message to the World’ – DECLARATION OF NATIONS RECONCILIATION
For the first time in the history of international relations the Second World War veterans and diplomats representing several countries met on Sunday 8 May in Hamburg (Germany) for the signing of the Declaration of Nations Reconciliation.
The event ‘Message to the World’, held within the framework of the international project mission4peace, was attended by veterans from Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the USA, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.
The veterans and guests have been greeted by the International Maritime History Museum Hamburg. The party was addressed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium H.E. Ghislain D’Hoop. The event has been coordinated by the founders of mission4peace and organisers of ‘Message to the World’ event Eugene Kasevin (Ukraine) and Jochen Werne (Germany).
The veterans addressed the auditorium with personal messages and appealed to all countries and their leaders to maintain peaceful relations between nations regardless of cultural, religious and ideological differences. Following the official part of the event, veterans and guests released white doves from the roof of the historical museum as a sign of remembrance, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence of all peoples.
“One of the main goals of the mission4peace project is to bring together and unite forward-looking people who share the conviction that peaceful human coexistence can be achieved through the perseverance of intellectual and intercultural exchange while accepting differences. The “Message to the World” event is designed to allow veterans to share their messages and show that we are capable of overcoming the most deeply rooted historical resentments. In this case, it is the inherited resentments between people and nations that participated in the Second World War, which continue to be an obstacle in politics and trade, in the social sphere and in the everyday lives of ordinary people.”
Eugene Kasevin, Co-Founder mission4peace
One of the most influential British military leaders, the former Chief of the Defence Staff and Head of the British Armed Forces, General Lord David Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO commented:
“At a time of considerable international tension, mission4peace is a timely and thought provoking initiative that deserves the attention and support of us all.”
80TH ANNIVERSARY CHANNEL DASH Manston, 12 February 2022
SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHANNEL DASH held by Jochen Werne, Co-Founder of GOST
Speech held by Jochen Werne – Co-Founder GOST
Ladies and Gentlemen
I’m truly honoured to be here to speak on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Channel Dash. It was 10 years ago that the members of the Global Offshore Sailing Team, planning their commemorative voyage from Brest to Kiel, first met the honourable members of the Channel Dash Association. Outstanding individuals who have done so much to keep history alive and remind us that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. The aim of the GOST expeditions has always been to get a feel for the background and struggles of events at sea.
As our dear friend Peter Nixon – whom we will always remember – summed up perfectly:
“ … working so hard to bring history back to everyones attention and recognizing the many great acts of courage performed on our behalf by men and women of all sides during a period of conflict. ... It is not about Winners or Loser`s. … The world is a wonderful place to live because it is made up of many different, but beautiful countries…. We should be proud of this fact. Equally, we should not be ashamed of our past, nor should we glorify it, for it was our past which created what we are today.”
Peter Nixon
In the fateful days 1942, British air and ship crews threw themselves with an incredible sense of duty against German battleships and their protection. The enemy which the Swordfish crews met on this day 80 years ago consisted not only of large scale naval vessels but also of an air cover operation code named “Thunderbolt“. The operation was planned by Adolf Galland, who himself survived being shot down kept the ships under a constant Messerschmidt fighter jets umbrella during the whole Operation Cerberus. Anyone who witnessed the performance differences between a Swordfish and a Spitfire, the British equivalent of the Messerschmidt, at one of the recent Channel Dash commemorations understands well the words of Captain Hoffmann of the Scharnhorst; “Poor fellows. They are so very slow. It is nothing but suicide for them to fly against these big ships”. Everyone on the bridges of the Battleships felt the same. Willhelm Wolf, on the Scharnhorst, said; “What an heroic stage for them to meet their end on. Behind them their homeland which they had just left with their hearts steeled to their purpose still in view”. Admiral Ciliax, watching from the Scharnhorst Bridge, the Swordfish lumbering towards her, remarked to Captain Hoffmann: “The British are now throwing their mothball Navy at us. Those Swordfish are doing well to get their torpedoes away”.
Christoph Ciliax, the grandson of Admiral Ciliax, wanted to be with us today, but unfortunately Covid restrictions got in the way, and he asked me to represent him and his words: „On behalf of the Ciliax family, I would like to express my utmost respect and appreciation to the British soldiers who lost their lives on 12 February 1942. The German ships and their crews served a brutal, criminal regime of injustice. We Germans can be all the more grateful that the German fallen are also included in the commemoration and that representatives of the German Navy as well as their families are invited to the event. This is a great gesture of friendship and bridging to the former enemy. Today, British and German servicemen and women serve side by side, advocating world peace, a democratic world order as well as stability and security in Europe. I, too, wear the Navy uniform for this reason and stand for the fact that never again a regime of injustice can grow in Germany, from which terror and violence towards our neighbouring countries and the world emanates. This is what my father already stood up for as a soldier and I am sure my grandfather would do the same, who was first and foremost a sailor and soldier for his country. However, never would I defend serving for a criminal regime what at the end serving in the Kriegsmarine meant. It is all the more impressive and deserving of thanks that Great Britain, when honouring their fallen also remembers the German soldiers killed in action. My mother and wife of Rear Admiral Otto H. Ciliax, my late father, would as well like to attend the commemoration event and honour the British soldiers; but she is also unable to do so due to COVID restrictions and therefore sends her thanks and greetings.“
Many thanks from our side to the Ciliax family
I am also grateful to be able to quote from the letter sent by the Federal Minister of Defence, Christine Lambrecht, to the Channel Dash Association. She underlines:
“Your thoughtful gesture of not only inviting representative from the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, but also representatives from the German Navy is a sign of reconciliation and long-standing friendship between our nations. “
Captain Heuer, thank you for being as official representative of the Federal Republic of Germany with us today. As the former Commodore of the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club and GOST member Bernard Sealy once said and it remains true today and it will remain the truth into the distant time… we’re all sailors.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please let me conclude on this historic day with a thought and a quote. The beauty of our nations is that we cherish the same freedoms, defend the same values and respect the same fundamental laws. We are bound together not simply by institutions, but by our common beliefs in democracy, openness and equality before the law. We are bound together by friendship. Friendship, lived through the great people who are in this hangar today, and many who have already left us but whom we keep in our hearts. Today is a very special day. It is not an end, but a beginning. So let me conclude with the famous words of Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war German Chancellor:
“Wenn die anderen glauben, man ist am Ende, so muss man erst richtig anfangen.” (“when others think we’ve reached the end, that’s when we’ve got to really begin”).
Enjoy a glimpse of the thrills awaiting the men aboard their expeditionary sailing yacht in the North Sea with this introductory trailer featuring moments from previous GOST missions.
It has always been a primary goal of Global Offshore Sailing Team (GOST) to promote international understanding. Since GOST and the Channel Dash Association first met 10 years ago, the two organizations have worked together to deepen Anglo-German friendship. Through joint expeditions and commemorative events, we kept history alive and created new connections between so many people. Together we accepted the challenge of a global pandemic which closed our borders and distanced us physically. We found new ways of staying in touch. And now – for the 80th anniversary commemoration – we have the great opportunity to finally meet again and create new relations for a peaceful future.
From the 70th to the 80th Anniversary of the Channel Dash
Peter Nixon, former Chairman of the Channel Dash Association, who established the contact with the Global Offshore Sailing Team, once summarized the effort perfectly with the words:
Working so hard to bring history back to everyone’s attention and recognizing the many great acts of courage performed on our behalf by men and women of all sides during a period of conflict. It is not about winners or losers. The world is a wonderful place to live because it is made up of many different, but beautiful countries. We should be proud of this fact. Equally, we should not be ashamed of our past, nor should we glorify it, for it was our past which created what we are today.
peter Nixon – Former Chairman of the Channel Dash Association
The Channel Dash, (codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans),[1]was a major naval engagement during World War II in which a German Kriegsmarine squadron consisting of both Scharnhorst-class battleships, and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen along with escorts, ran a British blockade and successfully sailed from Brest in Brittany to their home bases in Germany via the English Channel.
On 11 February 1942, the Kriegsmarine‘s ships left Brest at 21:14 and escaped detection for more than 12 hours, approaching the Straits of Dover without discovery.[2] As the German ships passed through the straits and on into the North Sea, British armed forces intercepted them, and attacks were made by the Royal Air Force, the Fleet Air Arm and Coastal Artillery. The attacks and bombardment were unsuccessful, and by 13 February all the Kriegsmarine‘s ships had completed their transit.[3]
‘The Channel Dash’, is also known as the heroic but futile attempt by six Swordfish torpedo bombers to stop the German Warships breaking through the Dover Strait and reach safety in their home waters.
Vice-Admiral Otto Ciliax, who commanded Operation “Cerberus” commented the attack of the slow and outdated Swordfish crews as follows:
“The mothball attack of a handful of ancient planes, piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day”
The Channel Dash remains the only occasion since the Spanish Armada in 1588 that ships belonging to an enemy of Great Britain (other than the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch Wars) have successfully traversed the English Channel
Detailed Description of the Channel Dash by The Operations Room
PROGRAM: 80th Anniversary Celebrations
12th February 2022: Thanks to the excellent work of Channel Dash Association Chairman Malcolm Godfrey, CDA Secretary Sheila Howard and all CDA members and supporters, a major commemorative event will also be held on the 80th anniversary on 12 February 2022 at the former Royal Airforce Base Manston.
13th February 2022: On this day, the Global Offshore Sailing Team will set off from Dover in a joint mission with the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club Dover to the English Channel for a commemoration at sea. We are grateful for the excellent organisation by Bernard Sealy.
Extract from the FARO – the AIDHNC Bulletin No.2 – More here
Muchas gracias a la AIDHNC por los buenos deseos y por su destacada y sostenible labor de mantener viva la historia
Jochen Werne
Noticias
“NUESTRAS MÁS ENTRAÑABLES FELICITACIONES”
Es un grandísimo honor para la Asociación para la Investigación y Difusión de la Historia Naval de Cuba, AIDHNC, que nuestra organización hermana Global Offshore Sailing Team, a través de su co-fundador el Sr. Jochen Werne, hayan recibido la Medalla del Estado de Bavaria (Alemania), por sus más de 20 años de sostenida labor a favor de la identidad naval y protección de los mares. Es una importante noticia, para todos los seguidores de su labor. Nuestras más entrañables felicitaciones para nuestros camaradas de GOST.
El Ministro de Estado Thorsten Glauber entregó la Medalla del Medio Ambiente 2021al Sr. Jochen Werne co-fundador de GOST
Jochen Werne es miembro de la AIDHNC, Asociación para la Investigación y Difusión de la Historia Naval de Cuba y en el año 2016 fue condecorado con el Diploma “Ancla de Oro” que otorga dicha organización, único miembro que ha alcanzado tan alta Distinción.
Momentos en que el Vice-Presidente de la AIDHNC, Sr. Maximino Gómez Alvarez hace entrega del Diploma “Ancla de Oro” al Sr. Jochen Werne, Cofundador de Global Offshore Sailing Team en el Museo Marítimo de Hamburgo, Alemania el 8 de mayo de 2016.Diploma “Ancla de Oro”, máxima distinción que otorga la AIDHNC.
Ein Plädoyer für Vertrauen in einer Zeit des Misstrauens. Vertrauen ist die Grundlage, auf der Währungssysteme aufgebaut sind. Vertrauen bildet die Basis internationaler diplomatischer Beziehungen und ist die Grundlage für jeden Fortschritt.
Doch was passiert, wenn das Vertrauen einmal erschüttert ist?
Der aktuelle diplomatische Streit um einen milliardenschweren U-Boot-Vertrag, die Sorge um einen neuen kalten Krieg und der Zusammenbruch des Bretton-Woods-Systems vor genau 50 Jahren sind das Manuskript für diese maritim angehauchte französisch-amerikanische Geschichte über Geld und Vertrauen. Sie ist ein Lehrstück für unsere heutige Zeit, wo wir das Entstehen von Kryptofinanzmärkten miterleben und somit an der Schwelle zu einer neuen Form des Geldes stehen.
Nach dem traditionellen langen Sommerurlaub, erwacht Frankreich im September wie jedes Jahr aus dem kurzen selbst kreierten Dornröschenschlaf. Das Leben beginnt seinen gewohnten Gang zu nehmen, auch wenn manch einer noch in Erinnerungen schwelgt und dabei vielleicht die ersten Vorboten post-Covid-sorgenfreien Lebens genießt. Nicht so Philippe Étienne. Für ihn beginnt auf der anderen Seite des Atlantik, im für diese Zeit eigentlich malerischen Washington, der Herbst mit einem diplomatischen Gewittersturm. Ein Unwetter, das selbst für den 65-jährigen grau-melierten eloquenten Botschafter Frankreichs neu gewesen sein dürfte. 6 160 Kilometer entfernt beschließt im Élysée-Palast Président de la République Emmanuel Macron seinen Spitzendiplomaten in den USA, samt seines australischen Amtskollegen Jean-Pierre Thebault, zu Konsultationen nach Paris abzuberufen. Der in der französisch-amerikanischen Geschichte einmalige Akt wird von Außenminister Jean-Yves Le Drian mit der „außergewöhnlichen Schwere“ einer australisch-britisch-amerikanischen Ankündigung gerechtfertigt und mit den Worten „Lüge“, „Doppelzüngigkeit“, „Missachtung“ und „ernste Krise“ eindrucksvoll unterstrichen.
Im Mittelpunkt dieser Krise steht die überraschende Ankündigung der genannten Länder ab sofort ein strategisches trilaterales Sicherheitsbündnis (AUKUS) einzugehen. Ein Bündnis, welches auch die Beschaffung atomgetriebener U-Boote für Australien vorsieht und somit einen bereits 2016 initiierten 56 Milliarden Euro schweren französisch-australischen U-Boot- Auftrag quasi ad acta legt. Der Abschluss des Abkommens fällt in einen Zeitraum in welchem US-Präsident Joe Biden vor der UN-Generalversammlung beteuert: „Wir streben nicht – ich wiederhole: wir streben nicht – einen neuen kalten Krieg oder eine in starre Blöcke geteilte Welt an“. Über diesen sogenannten „neuen kalten Krieg“ zwischen den USA und China sprechen Experten, wie der bekannte Historiker Niall Ferguson jedoch bereits seit 2019. Es geht hierbei nicht um atomares Wettrüsten, sondern vielmehr um die Technologievorherrschaft in Cyber Security, Künstlicher Intelligenz und Quantum Computing. Auch wenn nukleargetriebene U-Boote im Zentrum des diplomatischen Disputs stehen, so stellt man im AUKUS-Abkommen doch schnell fest, dass die Zusammenarbeit in den oben genannten Feldern einer der wichtigsten Bestandteile des Vertrags ist. Ein Ziel, welches vielleicht auch mit französischen Interessen kongruent ist. Doch geht es im Streit zwischen den alten Freunden im ersten Moment weniger um das „Was“, sondern viel mehr um das diplomatische „Wie“ – das heißt, um den Vertrauensbruch, der ausgelöst wird, wenn man enge Bündnispartner einfach vor vollendete Tatsachen stellt. Tatsachen, die sie auch finanziell und persönlich betreffen.
Denn Geld und Vertrauen sind eng verwoben. Das Vertrauen einer Bank, dass der Gläubiger seine Schulden zurückbezahlt. Das Vertrauen eines Bürgers, dass die Währung, in der er oder sie ihre Gehälter ausbezahlt bekommt, stabil ist. Das Vertrauen eines Staates in ein Währungssystem, dass die dort getroffenen Vereinbarungen von allen eingehalten werden. Georg Simmel bringt es in seiner „Philosophie des Geldes” so auf den Punkt: „Geld ist die vielleicht konzentrierteste und zugespitzteste Form und Äußerung des Vertrauens in die gesellschaftlich-staatliche Ordnung.“
Eine weiteres französisch-amerikanisches Vertrauensbruchsmelodrama mit maritimer Untermalung jährt sich in diesem Jahr zum 50. Mal. Die bewegenden Ereignisse des 6. August 1971 beschreibt Benn Steil, Senior Fellow des Council on Foreign Relations, in seinem Buch „The Battle of Bretton Woods“ wie folgt: „…ein Unterausschuss des Kongresses gab einen Bericht mit dem Titel ´Action Now to Strengthen the US-Dollar` heraus, der paradoxerweise zu dem Schluss kam, dass der Dollar geschwächt werden müsse. Das Dollar-Dumping beschleunigte sich und Frankreich schickte ein Kriegsschiff, um französisches Gold aus den Tresoren der New Yorker Fed abzuholen.“
Diese dramatisch anmutende Geste des damaligen französischen Präsidenten Georges Pompidou im finalen Akt des Zusammenbruchs des Bretton-Woods Systems wirkt auf den ersten Blick genauso befremdlich wie der Abzug der Botschafter heute. Die Basis jedoch ähnelt sich und lag damals wie heute in einem ebenfalls erschütterten Vertrauen zwischen den doch so eng verwobenen großen Nationen. Ohne tiefer auf die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg geschaffene neue Währungsordnung mit dem US-Dollar als Ankerwährung eingehen zu wollen, ist es wichtig den im „White Plan“ offensichtlichen Grund des französischen Aufbegehrens zu verstehen. Der Plan sah vor, dass die USA den Bretton-Woods-Teilnehmerstaaten garantierten, Gold auf unbestimmte Zeit zum festen Kurs von 35 US-Dollar pro Unze kaufen und verkaufen zu dürfen. Das Dilemma dieser Regelung wurde früh sichtbar. Denn bereits Ende der 1950er Jahren überstiegen die bei ausländischen Zentralbanken befindlichen Dollarbestände die Goldreserven der USA. Als der französische Präsident Charles de Gaulle 1966 die USA aufforderte die französischen Dollarreserven gegen Gold zu tauschen, reichten die Goldvorräte der FED, nur für etwa die Hälfte. Der immer tiefer sich verankernde Vertrauensverlust zwang den amerikanische Präsidenten Richard Nixon am 15. August 1971 die nominale Goldbindung aufzukündigen und der sogenannte „Nixon-Schock“ beendete das System wie es war.
Und dort wo etwas endet kann oder wird zwangsläufig etwas Neues beginnen.
Heute leben wir in einer Welt, in der die Stabilität unserer Währung auf unserem Vertrauen in die staatliche Finanzpolitik, der Wirtschaftskraft unseres Landes und auf der guten Arbeit einer unabhängigen Zentralbank beruht. Wir leben jedoch auch in einer Zeit in der sich am dichten Horizont bereits neue Währungssysteme abzeichnen. Die Basis dafür legte 2008 nicht überraschend eine der schwersten Vertrauenskrisen in das internationale Bankensystem, die die Neuzeit erlebete. Und umgesetzt werden die neuen Systeme mit Hilfe modernster Distributed-Ledger Blockchain Technologie. Das Neue mit seinem dezentralen Charakter fordert das Alte heraus. Während viele der neuen Währungen in der Kryptowelt, wie etwa der Bitcoin, großen Schwankungen unterworfen sind, versprechen Stablecoins eine Bindung und fixe Umtauschbarkeit an einen vorhandenen Wert, wie beispielsweise den US-Dollar oder auch Gold. Die alte Bretton-Woods-Herausforderung, dieses Versprechen auch jederzeit einhalten zu können, bleibt jedoch auch in der neuen Welt bestehen. Von der New Yorker Generalstaatsanwaltschaft verhängte Strafen in Millionenhöhe gegen den größten US-Dollar Stablecoin Tether wegen nicht lückenloser Nachweisbarkeit helfen dem Vertrauen wenig, besonders wenn weniger als 3 Prozent der Marktkapitalisierung auch wirklich in US-Dollar Cash hinterlegt ist. Es gilt wie immer bei neuem, Vertrauen aufzubauen. Sei es privatwirtschaftlich durch eventuell einen zu 100% mit Zentralbankgeld hinterlegten Stablecoin oder staatlich, mit durchdachten Central Bank Digital Currencies, wie dem von der Europäischen Zentralbank geplanten digitalen Euro.
Wir leben in einer Welt immer währenden schnellen Wandels und Vertrauen ist, wie Osterloh es beschreibt, „der Wille sich verletzlich zu zeigen“. Ohne Vertrauen gibt es keine Bündnisse, kein Miteinander, keinen Fortschritt.
Philippe Étienne war bereits nach ein paar Tagen zurück im herbstlichen Washington und arbeitet seither wieder daran wofür Diplomaten bestens ausgebildet sind – Vertrauen zu schaffen.
SECURITY BRIEFING. The battlefields of the past as a lesson for the protection of crypto assets today.
COLD HISTORY. HOT REALITY is a contribution to The Yearbook 2022 “Treasury and Private Banking”, edited by Roland Eller. The book is a well-known platform for building the bridge from the traditional to the new decentralised financial world.
COLD HISTORY. HOT REALITY by Jochen Werne is a plea for openness to new technologies, embedded in a historical-social security briefing on money, power and the indispensable need to protect assets. The battlefields of the past provide the framework for lessons on protecting crypto assets in our technology-dominated world and help us gain a basic understanding of the opportunities and threats in our new cyber reality.
COLD HISTORY – HOT REALITY was particularly inspired by conversations and articles from the following thought leaders, to whom I am deeply indebted.
Raimundo Castilla – CEO Prosegur Custodia Digitales, Ghislain D’Hoop – Ambassador of Belgium to Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Roland Eller – Founder and CEO of Roland Eller Consulting, Niall Ferguson – Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Christoph Impekoven – Co-Founder micobo GmbH, Benon Janos – CFO flatexDEGIRO Bank AG, Lior Lamesh – Founder & CEO of GK8, Bernd Lehmann – Historian, Commander of the German Navy (ret.), Rakesh Sharma – Author, Thomas Vartanian – Author and Counselor, Heath White – CEO Prosegur Germany, Johannes Winter – Managing Director of the Platform „Learning Systems“ – Germany‘s AI-platform
Preview and excerpt from Chapter I of “COLD HISTORY – HOT REALITY”
WHAT IS PAST IS PROLOGUE
Impressive and powerful, the words “What is past is prologue” are chiselled in white marble at the foot of the statue in front of the National Archives in Washington D.C.. The famous quote from William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” is a haunting reminder to everyone that history provides the context for the present.
We live in a present that is changing at breathtaking speed. This fact concerns us daily, but if we do not take the time for a little history lesson, we are doomed to painfully repeat the mistakes of the past. More than aware of this realisation is the former CEO of tech giant Alphabet, Google’s parent company. He dedicated the following note to the New York Times bestseller, “The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook”: “Niall Ferguson … brilliantly illuminates the great power struggle between networks and hierarchies that rages around the world today. As a software engineer familiar with the theory and practice of networks, I was deeply impressed by the insights of this book. Silicon Valley needed a history lesson and Ferguson delivered.” Not only is Eric Schmidt impressed, but many of the thoughts in this article are inspired by Niall Ferguson’s illuminating papers and lectures.
The beauty of the past is that everything that has already happened, successes and failures, can always be explained in detail and serve as lessons for future challenges. Successful leaders use this knowledge to develop solutions to the problems of the future and to develop communication strategies to make their visions understood by others.
This article was written at a time when humanity is in the final stages of a global pandemic that is saddling countries with an unprecedented debt burden. At the same time, a “New Cold War” is emerging and an arms race for technological supremacy has begun. With new possibilities, the old equilibrium is shaken and a new, albeit familiar, competition for power and money begins. All this at a time when crypto-blockchain-based monetary systems are rapidly becoming a new reality.
The article, with its historical analogies, aims to give the reader a better understanding of how money, power and security are closely intertwined. This helps to put quite complex issues into perspective and gives a clear view of the dangers and opportunities of our changing reality.
The world and change are not to be feared, but understood.
Jochen Werne
The new YEARBOOK will be available in Spring 2022. Find out more HERE
From Antarctica to Artifical Intelligence, a man-made journey between brilliance and madness
by Jochen Werne
When we look carefully at our past, we come across a fascinating and sometimes schizophrenic human history of partial madness and absolute brilliance – not only when it comes to the use of new technologies. Let’s take a look into some of these stories.
1961 HAVANNA, CUBA: The world is on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. A reality created by the effects of the Cold War, political doctrines, hard borders and, not least, technological progress. Only diplomacy and pure instinct for the essence of human existence on both sides prevented the worst.
A story that reflects the precarious situation of the world at that time particularly well is found in Fidel Castro’s indirect offer to the Soviet Union to “solve the problem” and carry the communist revolution to victory by launching nuclear missiles from Cuban soil. His comrade-in-arms Che Guevara even went a step further, saying, “We say that we must tread the path of liberation, even if it may cost millions of nuclear war victims. In the struggle to the death between two systems, we can think of nothing but the final victory of socialism or its downfall as a result of the nuclear victory of imperialist aggression.” In 1962, the former First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, replied in a letter to Fidel Castro that he did not agree with the idea because it would inevitably lead to thermonuclear war and that there was still a need for a world into which the revolution could be carried.
1961 NEW YORK, USA: In the same year, 12 nations ratify a treaty for the joint administration of an entire continent. A continent larger than the United States. A continent that is home to 90% of the world’s freshwater reserves and is of extraordinary importance for the climate of our planet: Antarctica. It is the year in which one of humanity’s most encouraging treaties was signed – the Antarctic Treaty.
OPEN-SOURCE CONCEPT: The treaty – contains several chapters on the exclusively peaceful and scientific use of Antarctica. Along with this, the treaty also regulates the joint use of all research results and data. A concept that seemed revolutionary for the time and which is crucial for finding solutions to the great challenges of our time – such as climate change or effectively combating a pandemic.
2022 PLANET EARTH. Throughout history, we have often underestimated both the positive and negative impacts on society that come from revolutionary technologies. But technology itself cannot be judged in terms of good or bad. Rather, it is how society uses it that must be judged. Today, we are again on the brink of such a societal challenge.
We live in a globally connected world. Technological progress has made data one of the most important resources. The co-founder of Twitter, Evan Williams, surprisingly stated the following in a New York Times interview in 2017: “I thought that if everyone could speak freely and share information and ideas, the world would – automatically – become a better place. I was wrong”.
It would be easy to get the impression that this phenomenon is new, but Niall Ferguson, professor of history and senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, is convinced that today’s technological progress and its impact on society are comparable to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. The printing press had many positive effects on the progress of mankind and catapulted the Bible to the top of the book bestseller list for 200 years. Unfortunately, the same technology made “Malleus Maleficarum”, also known as the “Hammer of witches”, number 2 on this list for the same period. The book was the basis for the witch hunt and brought death to so many innocent people. Certainly, today the contents of the book would be called “fake news”.
PRESENT & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
We are all shaping the world of tomorrow today, and our aspirations have already led to much good. Technology and human creativity have, for example, contributed to a massive reduction in poverty rates worldwide. In the last 25 years, more than one billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
If we look at the moment, we cannot avoid dedicating a few lines to the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is a global challenge and could be the next story of human brilliance and madness. We will witness tremendous advances in medical research and pandemic response measures thanks to AI-based analytics. But we will also witness a recession, which historically has always been an element for populism and nationalism. All this in an environment of fear and closed borders. In these situations, where many feel helpless, change has always come from progressive thinkers who were convinced of their ideas, from Kant to Ghandi to the thought leaders of today.
In our open society and with machine and deep learning technologies in our hands, we have the opportunity to make the world a better place. We can make a difference in our professions, and we can stand up and make our voices heard against polarising movements and injustice in every way. We can use our creativity and intellect to defend “the progress of thought”, which has always had the goal of “freeing man from his fear”, just as it was one of the goals of the Age of Enlightenment.
Chief Development & Chief Visionary Officer Jochen Werne on the subject of sustainability
This year, the Bavarian State Medal was awarded to Jochen Werne by State Minister Thorsten Glauber for his personal commitment and services to the environment.
Prosegur congratulated him on this honourable recognition and asked him how this passion flows into his daily work at Prosegur.
The crypto market has become and will remain an undeniable part of our financial system and Germany has become the frontrunner in regulating the market
Jochen Werne
The German Act Implementing the Amending Directive on the Fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Federal Law Gazette I of 19 December 2019, p. 2602 (Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Änderungsrichtlinie zur Vierten EU-Geldwäscherichtlinie) has included crypto custody business in the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG) as a new financial service. Since the Act came into force on 1 January 2020, undertakings wishing to provide this service are required to apply for an authorisation from BaFin.
One of the prerequisites receiving the authorisation is the proof the the managing directors of an institution must be qualified and reliable and devote sufficient time to the performance of their duties (section 25c (1) of the KWG). This also applies for the conduct of crypto custody business within the meaning of section 1 (1a) sentence 2 no. 6 of the KWG. A managing director’s lack of qualifications will constitute a ground for denial of authorisation (section 33 (1) no. 4 of the KWG).
Aside from the fact that lifelong learning is a MUST for leaders in our rapidly changing technology-driven environment, the crypto regulation Germany has opted for underscores an important point: “The crypto market has become and will remain an undeniable part of our financial system.”
It was a pleasure participating with other executives of innovation driving companies and banks at the 1st Crypto Custody Certificate Course offered by WM Seminare.
The well balanced equilibrium between theory and practise makes the course valuable. Especially the expert speakers as Dr. Carola Rathke ( Eversheds Sutherland ), Veronika (Vicky) Ferstl (TEN31 Bank AG ), Dr. Sven Hildebrandt ( DLC Distributed Ledger Consulting GmbH ), Martin Kreitmair ( Tangany GmbH ), Dr. Tim A. Kreutzmann, LL.M. (SUN) ( BVI Bundesverband Investment und Asset Management e.V. , Jacek Trzmiel ( Coinfirm ) & Christopher Zapf ( Tangany GmbH )
