Status: 24.12.2022 00:01
Humanity and solidarity in the face of the Ukraine war are the key points of Federal President Steinmeier’s Christmas speech. Even if peace is not yet within reach, there is reason for confidence.
The Christmas speech by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is almost entirely devoted to the war in Ukraine and the associated efforts and burdens on the German population.
In order to make clear what suffering the Russian invasion has brought to the Ukrainians, the Federal President begins his speech with a personal encounter – with 50 children who fled to Germany from the Ukraine and whom Steinmeier met in Freiberg, Saxony. “They have their home and they have lost their home, many of them have experienced terrible things. They are so scared that the slam of a door closing makes them tremble,” says Steinmeier, describing his impressions of this encounter.
Thanks for the “generosity” towards others
Steinmeier combines his memory of meeting these children with a thank you – to all those “who have worked for others this year”. The crisis triggered by the “brutal Russian attack” also demands a lot from the people in Germany, many have to limit themselves. “But our generosity in dealing with each other, nobody can take that from us,” emphasized the Federal President. Whether it’s through a friendly word, a small gesture of attention, or through understanding others and being open to strangers – this can help “make life a little brighter for others”.
Christmas should also serve to “gain a moment of distance”. In addition to economic cuts, “the return of the war to Europe” shocked, frightened and upset many people.
The desire for a “just peace”
Peace, that is probably the most ardent wish this year, Steinmeier continues. But he also warns that it must be a “just peace” that “neither rewards land grabbing nor leaves the people in Ukraine to the arbitrariness and violence of their occupiers.” Such a peace is not yet “tangible” and until then it is “a requirement of humanity that we support those who are attacked, threatened and oppressed”.
For Steinmeier, solidarity and humanity are reasons to look to the coming year with confidence. Because despite “rough times” there is enough reason for it:
Ukraine is asserting itself with great courage. Europe stands together. And our country is once again surpassing itself in the face of the challenge. We didn’t panic, we didn’t let ourselves be driven apart.
Steinmeier reminded of the great cohesion in this crisis. “If there was one good thing this year, it was the experience: together we will get through this time.”
A cooperation of generations against climate change
In addition to the war against Ukraine, Steinmeier also devotes part of his speech to the fight against climate change – and here, too, the Federal President believes it is important for the population to work together:
I wish that older people would be willing to change again later in life. And that the younger ones get involved, that they are critical – without harming the cause of climate protection by antagonizing others.
Because with the “ambition of the young” and the “experience of the older ones” the “common goal” can be pursued that “the younger ones are not the ‘last generation’, but the first generation of a climate-friendly world”.
The Christmas speech by Federal President Steinmeier will be broadcast on the first broadcast on December 25, 2022 at 8:10 p.m.