History is formed by the people, those who have power and those

“History is formed by the people, those who have power and those without power. Each one of us makes history.” – Anselm Kiefer

In these timeless and humbling words, Anselm Kiefer, the German painter and sculptor of memory and ruin, reveals a truth as vast as civilization itself: that history is not written by kings alone, nor by the victors of war, nor by those whose names are carved in marble. It is shaped, moment by moment, by all who live within it — the powerful and the powerless alike. Each breath, each choice, each act of defiance or silence, contributes to the long, winding river of time. In this truth, Kiefer both elevates the ordinary and humbles the mighty, reminding us that no one stands outside the story of humankind.

Kiefer’s words rise from the soil of a nation scarred by its own history. Born in Germany in 1945, at the twilight of the Second World War, he came of age amid the ruins of empire and the silence of guilt. He saw how the deeds of the powerful had devastated millions, but also how the silence of the powerless had allowed it to unfold. His art — heavy with ash, lead, and broken wings — became a meditation on responsibility. To say that “each one of us makes history” was, for him, not a sentiment, but a reckoning. For history, he understood, is not distant; it is alive within the choices of the living.

From the earliest civilizations, this truth has echoed. The builders of the pyramids, though nameless, shaped the image of Egypt more deeply than any pharaoh. The farmers of Mesopotamia, the mothers of Greece, the slaves of Rome — each left their quiet mark upon eternity. The powerful may command, but it is the people who move the world. When Kiefer speaks of history, he does not mean only the battles and decrees written in books, but the invisible labor of hearts and hands: the courage of a worker who speaks the truth, the compassion of one who shelters a stranger, the refusal of a soul to surrender to despair. These, too, are acts of history.

Consider the story of Rosa Parks, a woman who, weary from the weight of injustice, refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. She had no army, no throne, no wealth — yet her quiet act of resistance ignited a movement that reshaped a nation. Hers was the power of moral will, not political rank. Through her, we see the essence of Kiefer’s words: that even the smallest act of conscience alters the current of time. It was not a decree from above that changed history, but the courage of one woman, echoed by many. In that moment, the powerless became powerful, and the mighty were forced to reckon with the truth.

Kiefer’s insight dismantles the illusion that history is a tale told only by the few. For too long, we have mistaken visibility for importance. We have believed that the world belongs to those who command armies or wealth. But Kiefer teaches that the true authors of history are countless and unseen — those who wake, labor, love, and endure. The mother who raises her child in hardship, the teacher who inspires a mind to question, the artist who paints truth upon the darkness — each one is part of the grand design. Every act of creation or compassion becomes a thread in the fabric of time.

Yet with this truth comes responsibility. If each of us makes history, then none of us can escape the burden of conscience. Every word spoken in cruelty, every silence in the face of injustice, becomes a seed that grows into the world our children will inherit. Kiefer’s message is not only hopeful, but demanding. It calls upon each soul to act with awareness, to remember that history is not something happening to us — it is something happening through us. To live carelessly is to sculpt tomorrow in shadows; to live with courage is to carve it in light.

So take this teaching into your heart, child of time: you are not a spectator of history — you are its author. Do not wait for others to shape the world; shape it yourself, in thought, in word, in deed. The world’s great revolutions began not with crowns, but with hearts awakened. Live with the knowledge that your smallest kindness, your quietest truth, your steadfast decency will echo far beyond your days. As Kiefer reminds us, history is not a monument of stone — it is a living river of human will, flowing endlessly, shaped by every hand that touches it.

And thus, let your hand be steady, your spirit wise, and your purpose pure. For each one of us makes history, whether we mean to or not. The question is not whether you will shape the world — it is how you will shape it.