Reinhold Beckmann: “My parents are the oldest couple in the cemetery”

interview

Reinhold Beckman
“Confidence in the goodness of life”

They accompany him throughout his life, although he never met them: the four uncles felt like they were Reinhold Beckman always present, even though they fell in World War II. His mother Aenne often talked about them. And she presented her son Reinhold with a very special personal treasure: letters from her brothers from the war years. On this basis he has now written a moving book. About his admirably strong mother, dealing with losses – and the love that can heal many things.

Reinhold Beckmann: “My parents are the oldest couple in the cemetery”

GALA: Your mother was 98 years old. So you were allowed to spend a long time with her.
Reinhold Beckman: I consider that a great privilege. My father was also very old, 96 years. In my home town of Twistringen in Lower Saxony, they are by far the oldest couple in the cemetery. My mother lived in my childhood home until the end. It was great to always find everything in the same place as before. And the best part was seeing her there all those years.

He enjoys his life away from the “media circus”

How do you feel about yourself as you get older?
A few years ago, I decided to largely ditch my job in front of the camera and live a normal life away from the media circus. What a gain in quality of life! Also that as a musician I have my own evening program and go on tour. If I had known how fulfilling this is, I would have started sooner. So: I really like getting older so far.

Sounds like you’re having the time of your life right now.

Absolutely yes! (laughs) I enjoy my independence. No longer needing anything, no longer wanting anything – that’s just fantastic. I spent a long time caring about other people’s lives on talk shows. Now I ask myself instead, which topics I would like to work on for myself. This book was at the top of the list.

It says that your mother had to be very strong from an early age: she lost four brothers. How can one endure such a fate?
Despite all the pain, she had a lot of faith in the good things in life. Her vivid memory certainly helped her: it felt like the four brothers sat at the table with us on every holiday. So Christmas was not only a happy one for us, but also a melancholic one.

His belief in God “is limited”

Was there a space on the board for each brother?
Not that one. But my mother made a picture of her brothers out of four individual photos that was very important to her.
It hung in several places in our house. Also, she told us a lot about them. Sometimes she scolded God because he took her four so early. Nevertheless, she felt very cared for by her Lord God and was deeply religious.

Do you also believe in God?
That is within limits. I’m catholic and still in the church, but at odds with the institution. Apart from that, I feel like there is an energy that surrounds us and stays even after death. In any case, my mother firmly believed that she would meet her loved ones again.

For your book you dealt with the letters from your uncles – an emotional process for sure.
Yes. That’s how I met her in the first place. Franz, the eldest, got very close to me. It is tragic that he, who finally found happiness and married during the war, then – despite a cousin’s offer to hide him – went back to Russia and never came back.

Reinhold Beckmann: Actually, his name should have been Hans or Franz

Your mother baptized your older brothers Alfons and Willi – that was the name of two of your mother’s brothers. You, son number three, are stepping out of line.
That’s correct. Consequently, I should have been called Hans or Franz, the two names were still left. (laughs) However, my mother chose Reinhold because she thought the name was particularly Christian. He is of Germanic origin and rather warlike. She must have gone a bit wrong.

You deal a lot with loss in your book. Are you afraid of death?
No. Maybe because I’ve met death too often. What basically annoys me a little is the finiteness itself. I still have so many ideas that one lifetime is not enough.

Gala