“Being there was his life.
Now his big heart has stopped beating.”

Yesterday, on September 23, 2025, we said goodbye to Dr. Klaus Hahnzog at the Perlacher Forst cemetery in Munich.

Dr. Klaus Hahnzog was a lawyer and politician – a fighter for peace and justice.
From 2011 – 2025 he was Honorary Curate of the International Munich Peace Conference.

Speech in memory of Dr. Klaus Hahnzog:

Dear Hahnzog family,
Dear mourners,

As we bid farewell to Dr. Klaus Hahnzog today, a voice from the peace movement still resonates in many of us, a voice that was clear and unwavering when it came to peace, justice and human dignity.

I would like to quote a passage from the lecture he gave at the Munich Peace Conference on February 13, 2016. The topic of his lecture was: “Protecting human rights through prevention”. He began with the words:

“The preamble to a constitution sets out the framework and the guiding principles. In this respect, our current topic ‘Protection of human rights through prevention’ is also anchored there. The Basic Law states: inspired by the will (…) to serve the peace of the world in a united Europe. Since we are here in Bavaria: Incidentally, this is also stated in the preamble of the predecessor of the Basic Law, the Bavarian Constitution of December 1, 1946, coined by Wilhelm Hoegner, with the words: the ‘firm resolution to permanently secure the blessings of peace for the coming German generations’.”

And he continued:

“In addition to this binding precept of peace, the Basic Law shows the central importance of fundamental rights in the fact that they are placed at the top in Articles 1 to 19. The soul of the Basic Law is rightly seen in Art. 1 para. 1: Human dignity is inviolable. It is the duty of all state authorities to respect and protect it. This applies to everyone, not just Germans, as does Article 2 (2) of the Basic Law: Everyone has the right to life and physical integrity. These central fundamental rights apply to all areas of sovereign power, including the deployment of the military, both at home and abroad.”

For Klaus Hahnzog, this commandment of peace was not a formula, but an obligation: personal, political, legal. How relevant his words sound today, at a time when wars are waged with unbelievable brutality, when civilians are bombed, abducted and killed without protection. For Dr. Klaus Hahnzog, the peace commandment of the Basic Law was the touchstone of every policy.

His expertise as a constitutional judge lent particular weight to his admonitions. On the subject of “humanitarian interventions” in particular, he warned that the law must not become a tool of power politics. Even if the word “humanitarian” is used as an excuse, no military action should violate fundamental rights or relativize human dignity. Peace, he emphasized, is a constitutional mandate and not a field for tactical exceptions.

He knew from his own childhood what it meant when war and violence destroyed life: the nights in the air raid shelter, the empty seat of a schoolmate who had been killed, the low-flying planes over the fields.

This gave rise to his unwavering commitment against arms exports, against military adventures, against everything that forces people to flee. In his 2016 speech, he therefore said clearly (and I quote):

“In addition, the fundamental rights of everyman under Articles 1 and 2 of the Basic Law must be observed in any case. This excludes not only armed drones, but also missions in which collateral damage cannot be ruled out.”

That was typical of him: legally precise, politically courageous, morally unequivocal. He ended his speech in 2016 with the words and with his characteristic foresight. I quote:

“Especially at the present time, the refugee situation – in which the “upper limit” demanded by the CSU is unconstitutional – calls for everything to be done to reduce the causes of flight, which are often brought about by intolerable conditions in the home countries. This means in particular: no wars, no arms exports and no threats to livelihoods in the home country through economic exploitation. There would be more important tasks here instead of the 130 billion over 15 years for the defense budget with a “requirement” of 320 Leopard 2 battle tanks announced by Von der Leyen.”

As mayor, member of the state parliament, constitutional judge and honorary trustee of the Munich Peace Conference, he always stood up when it came to putting justice before power, human rights before interests, common security before armament.

His legacy is more relevant than ever: those who stand up for peace must expect resistance and yet endure it. Klaus Hahnzog has shown us that this steadfastness is possible.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote that he was a formative figure in Munich politics. For us, he was more: an admonisher, a companion, a friend. Someone who understood the great word “peace” not pathetically, but practically: as a task of the constitutional state, as a daily responsibility of society.

Dear Klaus Hahnzog, you taught us not to lose our courage,
the courage to oppose war and violence.

Your voice remains our obligation.

Rest in peace.

(Held on 23.09.2025 by Maria R. Feckl)