A journalist once asked Helmut Kohl if he ever spent sleepless nights thinking about history, and the German chancellor responded, “When I get up at night, I’m not thinking about history, but about plundering the refrigerator.” At six feet four and over three hundred pounds, he gave an answer that wasn’t surprise.

Indeed, that is the image most Americans have of the man who ruled Germany from 1982 to 1998 — sixteen years, the longest tenure of any German leader since Kaiser Wilhelm. Kohl is not remembered for grand speeches or witticisms, but simply as the jolly German giant — a man who, before state dinners, would secretly eat a real dinner in case the official menu lacked substance. According to a former Water-gate hotel employee, whenever Kohl was in town, the staff was instructed, “If the man orders a steak, make sure to bring him three.” His dinners with Bill Clinton in Georgetown were notorious for the mountains of pasta served.