It is a comforting farewell to Blasius Thätter. More than 250 people came to his hometown of Großberghofen in the Dachau district on Saturday to posthumously honor the former entrepreneur, teacher and politician. In the Church of St. George, where Thätter was an altar boy when he was a boy, the organist plays a jazz version of “Over the Rainbow” on the piano“. As a young man, Thätter had been a passionate listener and collector of New Orleans jazz records – it was exactly his music.
Next to the altar is a portrait that shows Blasius Thätter as most will probably remember him: with red cheeks and a gentle smile. On this morning, people should not only mourn Thätter’s death, but also look back cheerfully on his fulfilling life. Hence the jazz.
Blasius Thätter, whom his companions affectionately called and still call “Blasi”, died on the night of June 23, 2023, he was 87 years old. When there was no longer any hope after another hospital stay, his family took him home. Thätter died in the house where he was born in Großberghofen in 1936. His wife Christl, his two children and two of his four grandchildren were with him for the last few hours.
Thätter campaigned for disadvantaged children
For the Thätter family, it is the second death within twelve months. Exactly one year before the funeral, her son Blasius junior had suddenly died of an aneurysm. He was only 55 years old. At the beginning of the funeral service, Pastor Josef Mayer from Petersberg lights a memorial candle for him. “The two of them will now look down on them from above,” says the pastor.
The municipality of Erdweg loses an important personality with Blasius Thätter: After graduating from the humanistic Maxgymnasium in Munich, he first studied classical philology, German and teaching at elementary schools. After the unexpected death of his father, he gave up teaching and ran his own construction company as a master carpenter and concrete worker for almost 20 years. From 1972 onwards, Thätter sat on the Erdweg municipal council for 36 years and on the Dachau district council for 18 years. Between 1994 and 2008 he was a member of the Bavarian state parliament for the CSU. Since he was also a special school teacher for a long time, he devoted himself primarily to educational issues in the state parliament. His main concern was the integration of mentally, physically and speech-impaired children. Thätter’s achievements were rewarded. In 2005 he received the Bavarian Order of Merit and two years later the Bavarian Constitutional Medal in silver.
Around 250 people came on Saturday to say goodbye to Thätter.
(Photo: Toni Heigl)
After his wife Christl Thätter had to carry her son to the grave just a year ago, she now also has to say goodbye to her beloved husband.
(Photo: Toni Heigl)
Many of his political companions say goodbye in person on Saturday: the former member of the Bundestag Gerda Hasselfeldt, the former mayor of Dachau Peter Bürgel, the incumbent district administrator Stefan Löwl and numerous former mayors, most of whom were party friends of Thätter. The CSU was Thätter’s political home – which doesn’t mean that he couldn’t see past party lines. In the CSU, Thätter was always considered a liberal. He worked closely with the Greens and the SPD on education policy. “At that time it was still unusual. I’ve always been someone who made up his own mind,” Thätter once said.
“He was an advocate for the weaker”
His successor in the state parliament, Bernhard Seidenath (CSU), gives an emotional speech in St. George’s Church, in which he describes Thätter as a “wonderful person” and “real friend”. Thätter was always open to people, an excellent listener, modest and unpretentious. “He never focused on himself, but always on the matter at hand,” says Seidenath. Especially for students with special needs, he lived and argued inimitably. “He was an advocate for the weaker.”
A close friend of Thätter speaks to the former District Administrator at Dachau, Hansjörg Christmann. Christmann had visited him in the hospital to the end and brought him to the CSU regulars’ table in Dachau when his health permitted. Both had worked closely together in the district council. Without Thätter’s support, says Christmann, the Dachau special school would not exist in its current form. At the beginning of the 1990s, Thätter also “unabashedly” campaigned for refugees from Yugoslavia, although he had to accept hostility for it. “Blasi was a stroke of luck politically,” says Christmann. “We will miss his humor, his wit, his expertise and his balancing nature.”
Thätter was also shaped by his home town, emphasizes the Mayor of Erdweg, Christian Blatt, who grew up next to the Thätter property. As a municipal councilor, Thätter’s diplomatic skills ensured that the municipality was able to purchase the property for the modern triple gymnasium. Later, Thätter also arranged the purchase of the historic Wirtshaus am Erdweg, which was later extensively renovated and is now a major attraction. “Our community owes him a lot,” says Christian Blatt. For himself, Thätter was not just a good neighbor but also a political mentor. In the summer of 2022, Blatt made him an honorary citizen of the community.
Thätter also footballers and local researchers
But politics wasn’t everything. Thätter was a member and sponsor of many associations. He was considered a brilliant footballer at the Erdweg game association and played in the theatre. He later became a passionate local historian and storyteller. His stories were mostly about his youth in Großberghofen, about which he wrote two little books. He often told his anecdotes at the regulars’ table or in the Hutter local history museum, which Thätter helped found. With raised eyebrows, he then described how his mother made underpants for the children out of old Nazi flags or how the Americans drove into Großberghofen in 1945 with their tanks and an American soldier bit off a piece of cheese to throw it to his sister Else. “I can still remember the dental impression to this day,” he then said. Thätter told stories and people listened to him.
His urn was buried in the Thätter family grave on Saturday, right next to his son Blasius. A trio performed the jazz hit “When The Saints Go Marching In”. Blasi, as everyone knew him, would certainly have liked that.