Schlager star Michelle: she remembers her dark childhood

If Michelle (53) looks back on her childhood today, she can “remember a happy moment”. The pop singer, who is called Tanja Hewer with a bourgeois name, talks about her dark past.

The home of the future musician was characterized by alcoholism and violence. Both parents fought with the addiction, the father was particularly brutal. “At our home, violence and any neglect were the order of the day,” recalls Michelle. “We were abused and neglected. Verbally, physically, mentally, physical.” For the children, this meant a life in constant fear and uncertainty. “As a child you think that is normal. We didn’t know it any other way,” reflects the 53-year-old today.

On particularly bad nights, the mother sometimes managed to pack her children and flee to the women’s shelter. However, she returned to her husband every time, who then became even more brutal. “Today I know she had no other choice. It was just about survival every day. For her and for us,” said Michelle. Neighbors, youth welfare office, school knew about the conditions, but nobody really helped.

At the age of nine, the singer and her sister came to a foster family, but there was also violence there. In another couple, the man tried to abuse her physically. Michelle great luck was another family in which she found music through the man’s band.

Today Michelle is one of the most famous pop stars in German -speaking countries. In 2001 she represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest. This year the “Who Lives Lives” starts her farewell tour. However, the musician shaped her past for a long time. “I took a huge trauma in my life,” she admits. “You don’t forget anything. Our father told us from an early age that we had no choice children. It took a long time until I could process the sentence ‘You are not wanted’ for myself.” She has now completely stopped contact with her father.