Federal President Steinmeier was confident in his Christmas speech. “We acted boldly when our help was needed,” he says. “I’m proud of our country, where so many people lend a hand.” The speech verbatim.
“Dear fellow citizens, this evening I would like to tell you about children I met a few days ago: fifty girls and boys who fled to Germany with their mothers from the war in Ukraine. They have their homeland and they have lost their homes, many of them have experienced terrible things, they are so scared that the slam of a slamming door makes them tremble.
I met these children in Freiberg in Saxony, where they go to elementary school. Her teacher told how often she has to comfort the children. ‘Sometimes I want to cry,’ she said, ‘but I can’t because I have to stay strong.’ Another teacher came to us from the Ukraine in May. At that time she didn’t speak a word of German – today she is so good at it that she teaches Ukrainian children in German. How do you do all this? The principal told me, ‘There were so many who needed our help – so we just did it.’
I’m not telling you this story just because I’m grateful for the humanity and love these children have experienced. But because tonight I want to thank everyone who has stood up for others this year.
I know how much this crisis is asking of you all; that many have to limit themselves. But our generosity in dealing with each other, nobody can take that away from us. A friendly word, a small gesture of attention, understanding for others, openness towards strangers: you yourself, dear fellow citizens, all of you who live in our country, help to make life a little brighter for others.
My wife and I wish you a Merry Christmas! A Christmas when you can take a step back from what frightened, frightened and upset you this year. A Christmas on which you can look forward to encounters, being together with the family, and the peace and quiet after a hard year.
At Christmas we Christians celebrate the arrival of the child who brings hope in a dark present. And many non-Christians celebrate with us and let themselves be touched by the promises of the Christmas story: warmth and protection, closeness and unity, confidence and peace.
Yes, this year our dearest wish is that peace reigns again. The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, the return of war to Europe, the horrific suffering of Ukrainians, and the fear of an escalation of the fighting, all this unsettles and frightens many people in our country.
The elementary school children from Freiberg and their families in the Ukraine also want peace, much more urgently than we do. But this peace is not yet tangible. And it must be a just peace that neither rewards land grabbing nor leaves the people of Ukraine at the mercy and violence of their occupiers. Until peace can come, it is a human requirement that we stand by those who are attacked, threatened and oppressed. With this, too, we cast a light of hope in the darkness of injustice.
Dear compatriots, you too are feeling the consequences of this war, especially the economic consequences. But you bear the burden because you care about the fate of Ukrainians; because you care about their fight for freedom; because you show solidarity and humanity.
Yes, these are rough times. We are against the wind. And yet: Christmas is the right moment to look at what gives us confidence. And there is! 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. Our democratic state alleviates the heaviest burdens. Many companies are working to emerge stronger from the crisis. And you all helped.
If there was one good thing this year, it was the experience: together we will get through this time. And that’s why it’s my Christmas wish that we take this confidence with us into the new year. That we strengthen everything that connects us.
As much as we may be concerned about other concerns at the moment, the fight against climate change has lost none of its urgency. He can’t wait, he needs all of us. 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. We need both: the ambition of the young and the experience of the old. After all, we all have a common goal: that the younger generation is not the ‘last generation’, but the first generation in a climate-friendly world.
Dear fellow citizens, this year we were capable of so much more than we possibly thought we were capable of. We acted boldly when our help was needed. We stood up for each other. I’m proud of our country, where so many people lend a hand – not because they have to, but because they feel responsible for others and for the community. What defines us at the core, what has always made us strong, has endured: We are creative, hardworking and show solidarity. And from this we can draw strength and hope for the new year.
I would especially like to thank all those who are also working today and over the holidays, in hospitals and old people’s homes, at the police stations and at the fire brigades, wherever there is no break in service to others. Thank you very much!
To all of you, dear fellow citizens, Merry Christmas!”