51 years ago today, May 16, 1974 (April 25, 1974 in the lunar calendar), West German Prime Minister Brandt stepped down due to a spy scandal. Brandt, who won the Nobel Prize in 1971, stepped down. On May 16, 1974, West German Finance Minister Helmut Schmidt was appointed Prime Minister by the Parliament, replacing Willy Brandt. Brandt resigned 10 days ago because he was involved in a big spy scandal. Gunter-Guillaume, a senior official in his cabinet, was arrested and charged with spying for East Germany. German authorities say aides to Brandt, who is in charge of party affairs, have pleaded guilty to espionage. A friend of Brandt's said he decided to resign rather than remove one or two cabinet members. His friend said Brandt thought: "It would be cowardly and dishonest to do that." Brandt