CDU politician
Mourning community says goodbye to Wolfgang Schäuble
Before the start of the service at the funeral service for Wolfgang Schäuble in the Protestant city church of Offenburg, police officers stand at his coffin. photo
© Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa
He was a minister, parliamentary group leader and President of the Bundestag: Wolfgang Schäuble was one of the most influential politicians of the past decades. Now he will be buried in his home region.
Several hundred people say goodbye to the deceased CDU politician in the Protestant town church of Offenburg German politican. The Protestant regional bishop of Baden, Heike Springhart, leads the funeral service.
Among the mourners are Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), the President of the Federal Constitutional Court, Stephan Harbarth, the CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz and the former CDU leader Armin Laschet, the Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), his predecessor Günther Oettinger ( CDU), State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU), CDU state leader Manuel Hagel and the former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
Regional bishop: Strength in the vulnerable
Springhart praised Schäuble as an independent spirit, a persistent fighter for democracy and a far-sighted European. “Wolfgang Schäuble lived from a strength that was greater than himself. With his wisdom and the mixture of persistence and mischievousness typical of the Black Forest, he shaped the democratic culture in our country and fought to preserve democracy until the end,” said her in her sermon.
Schäuble showed what is possible and what strength there is in vulnerable life – even after the fateful pistol shots from a mentally ill man in 1990 that put him in a wheelchair. Wolfgang Schäuble lived out of the trust that his life was sustained by God’s grace.
Huge heart with red roses
Schäuble’s coffin is laid out in front of the altar with a black, red and gold flag and federal eagle, flanked by six federal police officers. In front of it lies a huge heart with red roses and the inscription “Deine Ingeborg”, next to a wreath from his family. There are also many wreaths placed in front of the church, including yellow and red flowers, the colors of Baden. After the service, a military honor is planned in front of the church. A funeral procession will then move a good one kilometer to the Waldbach cemetery, as the city of Offenburg announced.
Schäuble died on Boxing Day at the age of 81 after a long, serious illness. During his career, the Baden native held important political offices: he was a minister, CDU leader, parliamentary group leader and President of the German Bundestag. Nobody has been a member of Parliament longer than him. His work has recently been recognized across party lines. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Schäuble a “stroke of luck for German history.”