Given the events of the last few days, “decency” is not a word that one necessarily associates with German politics. The sad news of Horst Köhler’s death reminds us that this was not always the case.
Because “decency” could be the title of his entire political life. “Decency” and “sense of duty.” These two terms run through his long and successful career as a civil servant, through his time as Federal President and his life afterward, in which his commitment never waned.
Köhler has often been accused of being vain. I always found that a little surprising. Anyone who decides to hold a high political office is vain. Without the desire to be in the public eye, no one would take on the burden of being constantly criticized that inevitably comes with this job.
And Köhler’s critics were right that he sought and enjoyed his high level of popularity among the citizens. Who wouldn’t? What distinguished Köhler, however, was that he did not seek to achieve this popularity through cheap effects, but by trying to solve the citizens’ problems. When he criticized the federal government – which he did frequently as Federal president – it was because he firmly believed in the ability of politics to bring about improvements and in the obligation to do so.
It was noticeable that Köhler did not claim to always know exactly what the problems were. Instead, he was a patient listener who wanted to learn before he acted.
That is how I experienced him in the repeated meetings I had with him. With Horst Köhler, you could sense that Jewish life in Germany was a matter close to his heart.
He was historically educated and knew about the danger of resurgent antisemitism. He also understood the inestimable value that the State of Israel represents for us Jews. He listened and asked questions.
His shock during our joint visit to Auschwitz in 2005 was as genuine as his attempt to put it into words and the realization that he would fail.
He, the human being Horst Köhler, had a genuine interest and then acted accordingly on the basis of his experience as federal president: decently and full of a sense of duty.
We mourn the loss of a great statesman.
This editorial was originally published in German in Jüdische Allgemeine.
