Robert Habeck provides an uncommon personal perspective
For more than two decades, Robert Habeck has been a politically active member of the Greens. His prolonged involvement, culminating in his current position as Economics Minister and Deputy Chancellor, stemmed from personal familial experiences he now discloses.
At present, Robert Habeck can't blame joblessness, not only due to the relentless demands of the traffic light coalition, but also because he's on a trip to Southeast Asia, visiting South Korea and China. Even with his busy schedule, he found time for an exclusive interview with the "Bunte" magazine, discussing a troubling episode in his family's history.
In this interview, the 54-year-old delves into the Nazi past of his maternal grandparents. Conversely, his paternal grandfather Kurt Granzow, who perished in 1952, was an Obersturmfuhrer in the SA. His paternal great-grandfather Walter Granzow, who also met his end in 1952, was a Brigadefuhrer in the SS. Not only was he part of Hitler's innermost circle, but he was also a close confidant of Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Following World War II, he was indicted as a war criminal.
"As a teenager, I extensively researched my family's history," Habeck shares in the "Bunte" interview. "I frequently discussed it with my grandmother, my mother, and had a personal reckoning with the guilt of my great-grandfather and my grandfather. This private confrontation shaped my political thoughts, actions, and speech and continues to hold me politically responsible."
Forced to flee as a refugee child
As reported by the German Press Agency, Walter Granzow's conviction had profound repercussions for the family. It is said that none of the man's assets, who once aspired for victory and a thousand-year Reich, were passed on to his inheritors. Habeck's mother was forced to live as a refugee child without possessions.
Given this personal background, the Green politician Robert Habeck, in light of recent events, issues a stern warning against the resurfacing of extremists. He expressed these concerns during the Digital Fair OMR in Hamburg: "Freedom and democracy are under threat like never before in the last few decades. This is due to the rising influence of populists, radicals, and far-right extremists who question the social fabric of our nation and might even dismantle it altogether."
