Countess Marion von Donhoff, classic of German journalism

Few in Ukraine know about Marion von Donhoff, although she made headlines in the world media after WWII. Born to an aristocratic family in Eastern Prussia, she was destined to embrace an entire century. As a child, she saw William II of Germany and died after stepping into the second millennium, seven years short of her centennial. As a journalist, she attacked National Socialism under the Nazi regime and voiced her opinion of the Fuehrer and his ideas as being good for nothing. This made her anything but popular at the alma mater in Frankfurt. When Soviet forces entered Eastern Prussia in 1945, the only option was to flee. She spent six weeks on horseback, heading for Hamburg. There, whether by chance or fate, she found herself on the editorial staff of the newly formed weekly Die Zeit, currently one of Germany’s leading periodicals.

This gave her a new lease on life. She was now a journalist who traveled a lot, visiting hotspots across the world. She was versed in African problems. She was personally acquainted with German chancellors, Nelson Mandela, and Jawaharlal Nehru, corresponded with Karl Jaspers and spoke with Herbert Marcuse and Theodor Adorno. Marion von D  nhoff worked for Die Zeit for 55 years as a reporter, editor, and publisher. She wrote the Leitartikel, lead articles that placed accents in journalism. Her name became Germany’s moral calling card. Why? Because at the time of disillusionment, decline, and economic crisis, when society and people were going downhill, she never stopped discussing values. When the economy was very much like catch wrestling she came up with the idea of civilized capitalism. And all the while the aristocratic journalist was fixated on the reunification of East and West [Germany]. She was beside Willy Brandt when he did what would go down in history as the Kniefall von Warschau – the Warsaw Genuflection – placing a wreath at the foot of the monument to the Nazi-era Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in communist Poland (1970) and then suddenly kneeling as though silently praying for forgiveness for Nazi atrocities. What would she have had to say now that there is war between the East and the West [of Ukraine]? Paradoxically, in a speech in Dresden (1996), she voiced issues that are glaringly topical now: What will come of Russia? Is the East facing fresh challenges?

In the following interview Theo Simmer, Marion von Donhoff’s pupil and follower who succeeded the countess as editor after her passing, and who at one time held the post of defense minister, shares his memories of this remarkable lady and spectacular journalist.

Countess Marion von Donhoff is regarded as one of the most noted journalists of postwar Germany. You and she were old friends. How did it all begin? How did you meet her?

“She knew my professor in Tuebingen (where I was studying history and political science) and she asked him if he could recommend someone for Die Zeit. He gave her my name. Then we met and she finally said, ‘Come to Hamburg.’ I did. At the time she wasn’t editor-in-chief, just the editor of the political department. After she became editor-in-chief in 1968, I was appointed her deputy and we would work together until her dying day.”

What role do you think she has played in German journalism?

“She was the grande dame of German journalism. She was pragmatic and had clear-cut views on all issues, her style of writing was simple and understandable, and she had the guts to voice her stand or recognize a mistake and revise that stand. At first, she wanted the eastern territories, then part of Poland, returned to Germany. Gradually, however, she changed her attitude and concluded that love of one’s Fatherland is a love without possession.

“She had several priority topics. First, resistance against Hitler in Germany. She knew many who had been involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. On April 20 (the date of the attempted coup d’etat) each year she wrote lengthy editorials about that resistance and its position. She made public that resistance movement’s worldviews and those of the anti-Hitler opposition.

“Another priority topic was reconciliation between Germany and Poland, between the East and the West. She wanted Willy Brandt to practice detente; she wanted reconciliation between the blacks and the whites – for example, in South Africa. She often traveled there and reiterated in her articles that apartheid had no right to exist.

“The third priority topic was civilized capitalism. She’d come up with the idea in her doctorate. She was against wild speculative deals, against people making money from money. She believed that money should appear as a result of work, be made by work, not by speculation. These were the three main themes of her life that went with her understanding of values. They made her name as a journalist.”

What particular values did she champion?

“There were Prussian values and she was gifted enough to defend them. The countess championed honesty, modesty, and the fulfillment of one’s duty. That was her scale of values. In time of change many people found that truly amazing.”

From what has been written about Marion von Donhoff, the impression is that she was always very serious and almost never laughed. Was she really?

“She took journalism very seriously, but she could be real fun when talking to friends. She never refused a drink of schnapps (this being a Prussian beverage) and could tell funny stories and share in the laughter. She wasn’t just an Eastern Prussian countess (smiling).”

The countess has made German journalism stronger. By the way, what do you believe are the main problems with German journalism?

“A good question. One problem now is that in today’s overcomplicated and nontransparent world it is almost impossible to see anything clearly. While the countess worked for Die Zeit, the world seemed far simpler. There was the conflict between the East and the West, the division of Germany and Europe, yet the man in the street knew which side s/he was on. It was also a period of economic turmoil that affected the German economy, but then everything fell into place. Today’s world is totally different. Previously, there was the East-West conflict, Cold War. Now we have thousands of small wars and conflicts between countries, and all kinds of abnormalities. For example, what’s happening in Syria…

“Economization is another aspect. A drop in economic growth in China creates problems in Germany. We’re still looking for ways to meet the challenges the world drops at our door. There is also the factor of computerization and information technologies that has everything to do with the press. An increasing number of readers prefer iPads/iPods to hard copies of newspapers. Die Zeit is an exception as our print run is the largest [in Germany]. We also have an online editorial office. All things considered, however, this is a very big challenge. How is one to make a subscriber pay for an online product? Lots of periodicals have problems in that department because they failed to understand what those changes were all about. Previously, chief editors kept opening offices in other countries each year, now it’s the other way around because it is too expensive. Adjusting to the new online world is getting increasingly difficult.”

What about journalist values? What would Marion von D  nhoff have had to say about the current situation in journalism?

“She would’ve remained true to her values. She would’ve probably tried to combat the consequences of numerous economic crises ranging from Lehman Brothers to the European crisis. These crises were caused by banks and irresponsible trade. She would’ve tried to have old values applied in these crises. She formulated this idea in her concept of civilized capitalism.”

Countess Marion von Donhoff was a supporter of the Ostpolitik (a policy of reconciliation between the Eastern and Western European countries – particularly between the FRG and the GDR, and the former Soviet Union – practiced by Willy Brandt and Walter Scheel in 1969-89). Now the situation is different, just as Russia is behaving differently. Is reconciliation a possibility in the war in Ukraine?

“One must keep trying. Had the countess been with us, she would’ve definitely condemned Russia’s annexation of Crimea. This is a complex region and it has Turkish roots, also the fact that it belonged to Russia for a long historical period. She would’ve never stopped the dialog. We do not approve of this dialog, but we mustn’t stop it; we must make every effort to resolve the situation and eventually receive certain results. I could spend hours musing what she would’ve written or done otherwise. I can’t be sure. Be that as it may, we must adhere to our principles and be able to defend ourselves. During the Cold War she used to say ruesten und redden – get armed and keep talking, don’t get involved in a conflict, but also don’t start sleepwalking, thinking only about coal. We mustn’t stop trying to reach an understanding.”