Hape Kerkeling received a lot of support for a speech in the Düsseldorf synagogue a year ago – but also a lot of other reactions that he found “scary”.
Last year, comedian Hape Kerkeling (59) gave a speech at the Jewish community in Düsseldorf – after which he was the target of hostility. In an ARD documentary on his 60th birthday, which was shown in advance at the Film Festival Cologne, he says: “For me personally, that meant a lot of encouragement from people who think similarly, which is very valuable to me and very “It was worth a lot. But not only encouragement, but also unimaginable hostility that I could never have imagined, so that the state security also became active.” That was “scary”. The experience confirmed Kerkeling’s assessment of Germany’s future as “unfortunately not particularly optimistic.”
A year ago, Kerkeling gave a laudatory speech for the FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who was honored with the Josef Neuberger Medal in her hometown of Düsseldorf for her commitment to combating anti-Semitism. In his speech in the Düsseldorf synagogue, the entertainer said, among other things: “Anti-Semitism is not an opinion, but an attack on humanity.” The 90-minute documentary “Hape Kerkeling – Totally normal” will be shown on December 9th – his 60th birthday – at 8:15 p.m. on Erste.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
