Fellow citizens,

Christmas is here at last, I still heard many people say last week, those looking forward to the prospect of a bit of time to relax and unwind. And you have probably already shared what has been part and parcel of the Christmas season since time immemorial: good wishes, presents, special food. Some of you have perhaps been to a church service, sung Christmas carols or simply been glad to be together.

We wish each other a happy Christmas at this time. But a dark shadow hangs over this Christmas. Mourning. Pain. Horror. Bewilderment over what happened in Magdeburg just a few days before Christmas. I sensed all of this from the people at a memorial service there on Saturday evening. Our thoughts and our profound sympathy go out today to the families and friends of the people that the perpetrator killed in such a terrible way. We can only imagine what they are going through, what pain they are suffering. Nothing in their lives is as it was before. Their plans, wishes, hopes, happiness – destroyed. 

Esteemed relatives who have lost a loved one, I know that you will not find any comfort in the many well meaning words that you receive. But I want to say today that you are not alone in your pain. The people throughout our country feel for you and mourn with you.

Our thoughts are also with those who have been injured, some seriously. I sincerely wish all of them a hopefully speedy recovery. I would also like to thank everyone who provided assistance and comfort on the ground on the evening of the attack and in the days since, and who are continuing to do so during the Christmas period. I would like to thank the police officers and firefighters, paramedics and doctors, those providing pastoral care and counselling and everyone who has helped out, on behalf of our entire country.

Many people will have a heavy heart this Christmas. Many will be upset, unsettled, perhaps also fearful. All of these feelings are understandable. But they mustn’t be allowed to control or paralyse us.

My fervent wish is that we do not allow this to happen. Hatred and violence must not have the final word. Let’s not allow ourselves to be driven apart. Let’s stand together! Cohesion, when it comes down to it, is what makes our country what it is.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Christmas also involves meeting those whom we do not see every day, who live further away – relatives, old friends, neighbours. And during this time we tell each other how we’ve been doing in the previous year. The primary focus here will be on what has happened in our families, in our friendship groups, at work, in our clubs, in the community.

But many things above and beyond this will be a topic of discussion for you, things that are happening in our country and around the world and what they mean for us. I can imagine that there are many things that give your cause for concern, great concern even. I feel the same way, with wars still raging in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in far too many places in the world.

And here in our own country? There’s a great deal of dissatisfaction about politics, business, red tape, about injustice. The tone in our country has become rougher, at times hostile, in our everyday lives. 

There are many challenges that we must face. We cannot exchange them like gifts that we don’t like. We have to speak candidly about what is going wrong, about what isn’t working in our country as it could and should. Above all, we must talk about what needs to be done urgently. 

What can give us hope, you will hear people asking right now in particular. How can we overcome these challenges.  

I’m convinced that it is above all ourselves and our strengths with which we overcame major tasks and crises together in the past. A commitment to the common good and drive, creativity and hard work and, last but not least, trust in ourselves. None of this has been lost with us. All of this is alive and something that I encounter almost on a daily basis, and I’m convinced that all of this will open up new paths to the future for us. 

My message to young people in particular is this: you are needed, and badly in many areas. I would therefore like to tell parents and grandparents who are concerned about their children and grandchildren that these young people can and will tread make their own way in life. 

And I’m also convinced that our democracy is and remains strong. Our Basic Law has proven its worth for 75 years now, 34 of which in our reunited country. This prudent constitution will continue to support us also in the future.  

And even if a government has now come to an end prematurely, this is not the end of the world, but is a situation for which this Basic Law has made provisions. I will take the decision on the dissolution of the Bundestag and fresh elections with care following the Christmas break. 

I also take encouragement from the many people whom I meet all across our country, who simply do what they consider to be they duty and who don’t consider this to be anything out of the ordinary.

Those who keep their sports club, choir, youth club, regional rural women’s associations or pathfinders going with energy and optimism. Who help the single neighbour’s child with their homework. Who visit lonely people in hospitals and hospices, who volunteer in their fire brigades. All of the wonderful people who think about more than just themselves. They achieve great things – and they give our country warmth and a friendly face. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Celebrations like Christmas help us to take a little break from everyday life. Let’s use this pause to call to mind what unites us: our families, our friendships, all of the connections that give us strength and in which we ourselves can do so much good. 

Christmas reminds us that we do not only depend on what we make an influence ourselves. We often depend much more on what we are given as a gift. We also depend on good things that encounter us by surprise and on the happiness that others give us. 

This can give us inner strength – each and every one of us and all of us together. And this can make us a little more grateful for certain things. 

With this in mind, my wife and I would like to wish you a happy Christmas.