Germany says goodbye to Wolfgang Schäuble. At the funeral service, his daughter Christine Strobl gave an emotional speech that was deeply touching.
Offenburg – Wolfgang Schäuble, one of Germany's most important politicians, is leaving. At an open memorial service on Friday, family, friends and companions said goodbye to the top politician who had a decisive influence on Germany's history. Things got particularly emotional during the speech by Schäuble's daughter Christine Strobl.
She said goodbye to her “dad,” as Wolfgang Schäuble called her throughout the speech, with moving words on behalf of the entire family. “Dad, you were a total work of art,” she said directly to her father.
Farewell to Wolfgang Schäuble: Daughter gives moving speech at funeral service
Her father showed what was possible with will, that one could get up again after defeats, how one could be at peace with oneself and also how one could die with dignity. Christine Strobl, ARD-Program director and wife of Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU), recalled her father's strong will to persevere and how much the assassination attempt, which left Schäuble dependent on a wheelchair, brought the family together.
“Dad was unthinkable without mom,” said Christine Strobl. They were all always focused on ensuring that he was doing well. When her mother had a serious accident in the summer, her father pulled himself together to give her something back.
“Die canceled”: Schäuble’s daughter reports on last Christmas together
She reports a call the week before Christmas that she should come to the clinic in Heilbronn: “Because it could be coming to an end for him,” says Christine. Since there was no plane at that late hour, she first called her father. He said that it was coming to an end for him and “he just couldn’t do it anymore”. However, just a few hours later, Wolfgang Schäuble informed his “astonished” daughter that he would be leaving the hospital the following day “to celebrate Christmas with us.”
The reason was a phone call with his wife. She told Schäuble that she couldn't live without him. “Then it’s clear that he can’t die,” her father said to her, the daughter reports. Her father “called off dying again, like so many times before,” says Christine.
Wolfgang Schäuble returns home to his family for his last Christmas
She further reports that the family had “legally” concluded that one could only keep a promise if the content was within one's own power. Only then did it become an option for Wolfgang Schäuble to “leave”. Nevertheless, he went home with the family, divided his strength and celebrated Christmas together with his family. They even went to church together and sang “Oh you happy one”. On Christmas Day we went to a restaurant. Despite all the effort it must have cost him, her father looks “happy and not at all doomed” in photos these days, says the daughter. “He wanted to give us another Christmas together.”
Christine also reports a short speech from her father at this time. He thanked her for her support in life and in death. The family should “be happy, take advantage of life, stick together and take care of mom,” says Christine, quoting her father’s “final wish” for the family.
He was not afraid of dying, he was at peace with himself, said Christine about Wolfgang Schäuble. He just found it strange that he should be gone soon. (with dpa)
#Schäuble39s #daughter #goodbye #father39s
