149 years of Konrad Adenauer: celebration and memories in Bad Honnef!

149 years of Konrad Adenauer: celebration and memories in Bad Honnef!

On January 5, 2025, the 149th birthday of Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, was celebrated with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Rhöndorf Forest Cemetery. This event, organized by the Konrad Adenauer House Foundation, brought together numerous guests of honor, including members of the Adenauer family and prominent figures from politics and society.

The guests included Konrad Adenauer's grandson, Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung e.V., and the NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst. Friedrich Merz, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, and Jürgen Rüttgers, chairman of the board of trustees of the Federal Chancellor Adenauer House Foundation, were also present. At the chancellor's grave, Konrad Adenauer's grandson said a prayer, while Yasno Inadome laid a bouquet and expressed his admiration for Adenauer.

Festive celebrations and historical reviews

In addition to the wreath-laying ceremony, the traditional start of the year took place at the Grandhotel Petersberg. Prof. Dr. During the festivities, Norbert Lammert recalled the historical events of Petersberg, in particular Adenauer's negotiations with the Allies in 1949. Friedrich Merz gave a speech with the theme: "Germany - a reliable partner for freedom, prosperity and security".

The importance of Konrad Adenauer for German history is also clear, among other things, in his achievements when the Basic Law came into force. As reported on the Konrad Adenauer Foundation website, Adenauer signed the Basic Law as President of the Parliamentary Council and advocated that it should be done well and last in the long term. Adenauer warned against viewing the Basic Law as a provisional measure and emphasized the need to make the newly created state capable of acting. His active presence helped to avoid the failure of work on the Basic Law.

However, he later qualified his positive view of May 9, 1949, which he described as “the first happy day since 1933,” due to the strong position of the Federal Council and the Federal Constitutional Court. Adenauer gained significant prestige during his term in office and became internationally known as the “first man of the state to be created,” even before the actual founding of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The celebrations and retrospectives on Konrad Adenauer's 149th birthday impressively illustrate his legacy and his role in German history, which continues to have an impact today.

– Submitted by West-East media