interview
He finds it easy to talk about football. Even less so about your own family history, which was marked by the Holocaust. Sports reporter Marcel Reif about his moving speech before the German Bundestag, which he wrote in just one night.
Mister Ripe, You have stood in front of the microphone as a reporter for more than four decades and covered major sporting events for television. What was it like for you to give a speech to the German Bundestag?
Walking these ten meters to the lectern in the Bundestag and then seeing all the faces, the assembled parliament in front of you – that is something very special. All that professional experience is of no use to you. I was very nervous.
Actually? As a sports journalist you often had an even larger audience.
Might be. At the 1994 World Cup final it was 23 million, but such a number is abstract when you comment. Not noticeable. You talk into a foam ball and that’s it. In addition, I find it much easier to talk about football than about my family history, which is marked by the Holocaust. It goes deep and confronts you with things that you had already thought were filed away internally.
Your family’s history is dramatic. Your grandparents were killed by the Nazis, and your father, a Polish Jew, narrowly escaped them.
I am now 74 years old, but coming to terms with it will remain the theme of my life. I thought things would change as I got older, but I was wrong. The view of yourself does not become milder. I ask myself what I could have done better. Have I done justice to things? Haven’t I repressed too much? Did I mostly want to see the positive in my life? Have I allowed myself to be seduced? On a day like yesterday, these topics come back to haunt you.
Did you take a closer look at your family history in preparation for the speech?
No, it is more present. I had a wonderful relationship with my father. I’m at peace with that.
How long did you work on the speech?
One night, then she was done in her head. The material was in me, it just had to be put on paper. I didn’t change the text much anymore. A different accent here and there, nothing more.
You are the father of sons who are now grown up. How did you pass the story on to them?
For me, everything I wanted to convey is contained in one sentence from my father: Be human. When I look at my sons and my grandchildren today, I can say: I succeeded.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
