My husband had an inner compass that was guided by his belief in a democracy based on human dignity. He held on to this belief until the end. He was filled with an empathetic liberalism based on civil and human rights. Freedom can only exist in a liberal democracy, and when it can be attained and enjoyed by the majority.

That certainly played a role, just as his own life story played a major role in his political thinking and actions. My husband experienced war and displacement as a child. The images of war from Ukraine reminded him of this again and again. "Those are the images of my childhood," he said. "Never again!" He lived by this motto—as a person and as a politician, and also in his commitment to human rights.

Shortly before Hans-Dietrich Genscher resigned as foreign minister, he asked my husband to lead the German delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. At that time, preparations were already underway for the major human rights conference in Vienna in 1993. This experience gave his commitment to human rights a real boost.

My husband was a politician, not a trained diplomat. Politicians leave after visiting other countries, but diplomats have to deal with the consequences. In Geneva, he was assisted by Michael Schaefer, who was responsible for human rights at the German Mission to the United Nations back then. Michael Schaefer expertly accompanied him on the diplomatic stage. This led to a lifelong friendship. With his political skills and experience, my husband was able to contribute to important decisions. He also brought about changes in the area of communication. For him, exchange and discourse on the issues at hand were always the most important things. That is why, for example, he decided to often invite selected guests to small roundtable discussions, where intensive discussions could then take place, rather than the usual large champagne receptions. Direct conversation with people was very important to him until the end.

Yes, that's right, until the very end. Sharing his vision of a just human rights policy, especially with young people, was a reflection of his life-energy. And that also set him apart from many other politicians.

We already knew Maria – as a musician in Stuttgart, where she worked for many years before she actually went to set up a cultural center in Minsk. The images on TV showing her, together with other courageous Belarusian women, as a radiant political activist with bright red lips fighting for civil rights and freedom are still engrained in our memory. She inspired thousands of people on the streets of Minsk. We wanted to honor her with our human rights award for her courage and strength in the fight against the autocrats in Belarus and Russia. She lost that fight. She has been imprisoned for five years, with an uncertain outcome. We were deeply moved by her fate, but also by the fate of civil and human rights activists in other countries, such as Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Sudan.