Vale senex magister civium !

This morning: Signing the book of condolence at Freiburg's Alte Gerichtslaube (Old courthouse)

Freiburg‘s former lord mayor Dr. Rolf Böhme died on February 12.

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt supported the bid for Freiburg's mayor of his former state secretary,
 party comrade, and friend in 1982. In the back young Gernot Ehrler (©Heinz Wurzer/BZ)

Elected in 1982 and re-elected in 1990 and 1998, the social democrat served 20 years as Freiburg's lord mayor until 2002, when Green Dr. Dieter Salomon took over.

Dr. Dieter Salomon, newly elected first Green mayor of a major city in Germany
on election night in 2002 with his wife Helen and "former" mayor Dr. Rolf Böhme (©BZ)

During Böhme's first term of office, NATO and Warsaw Pact had serious confrontations over the deployment of medium-range missiles in Europe. NATO's Double-Track Decision resulted in mass protests, primarily by young people in Germany and neighboring European countries.

Disarmament negotiations that started on November 30, 1981, remained without conclusion. When the German Bundestag agreed to the deployment in 1983, the Soviet Union aborted the talks.

Eventually, the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty on December 8, 1987. It provided for the destruction of all middle-range weapons and ended an episode of the Cold War until the recently canceled INRF treaty.

During that turbulent period, the idea was born that Freiburg should establish a partnership with an American city and a city in the Soviet Union. Rolf Böhme, a dedicated advocate of international understanding and détente, supported the move wholeheartedly. Following Böhme's visit with a delegation from Freiburg, Madison, the Capital of Wisconsin, was chosen in the States. Lord Mayor Dr. Rolf Böhme and Madison's Mayor Joseph Sensenbrenner signed the partnership agreement on May 31, 1988. Frauke Feix, vice president of the Freiburg-Madison-Gesellschaft, has extensively described Dr. Böhme's merits for the partnership between Madison and Freiburg.


Elisabeth and I met Rolf Böhme and his wife at a private dinner arranged by a friend in 2004, where we had a lively conversation. Later I met the retired mayor and honorary citizen on several occasions and frequently in the street, for we were neighbors. Whenever he had time, we had a friendly chat.

Leberle mit Brägele (Roasted fine cut liver and sliced onions with fried potatoes as a side dish) is a regional specialty. One evening Elisabeth and I were eating with some friends at a nearby restaurant that offers Baden cuisine. When I read "Leberle" on the menu, my choice was clear, but I became deeply disappointed when the waitress told me that Leberle ist aus (is no longer available).

Enter Rolf Böhme with his wife and friends seated at a nearby table. Suddenly he stood up and approached our table smiling but complained bitterly, "You ate my Leberle!" I told him my chagrin was as great as his and even a few minutes older.

When suddenly, due to a severe illness, Dr. Böhme had to live in a nursing home, I missed our street contacts. I saw him last in the film Weltweite Freundschaften when he, sitting in a wheelchair, commented on his Freiburg-Madison partnership.

This morning: Freiburg's flag in mourning at the town hall. 

R.I.P. Rolf Böhme

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