In 2017, Helmut Kohl was awarded one million euros in damages because a ghostwriter had published unauthorized quotes. After his death, his widow tries to claim the money for herself. With this demand, she now finally fails.
It remains the case: Helmut Kohl’s widow is not entitled to compensation of one million euros, which was awarded to the former chancellor shortly before his death. A constitutional complaint by Maike Kohl-Richter against corresponding court decisions was unsuccessful, as the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe announced.
The author and publisher of the bestseller “Legacy: The Kohl Protocols,” which Kohl’s ghostwriter Heribert Schwan had written after a rift without his consent, were supposed to pay. The book contained some hearty statements by Kohl about numerous companions. In 2017, the Cologne district court awarded Kohl financial compensation for violations of personal rights.
When the 87-year-old died a few weeks later, however, this judgment was not yet final. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided in 2021 that such a claim cannot in principle be inherited. The constitutional judges also did not accept a second lawsuit by Kohl-Richter for a decision. It was about 116 controversial passages, which Schwan is no longer allowed to distribute, but the publisher can in part.
