Max
11-23-2004, 07:59 AM
Do as I did and adopt a child, says Schröder
Ben Aris in Berlin
Tuesday November 23, 2004
The Guardian
Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, yesterday urged all Germans to follow his example and adopt a child if they could.
Mr Schröder and his wife, Doris Schröder-Kopf, adopted Victoria, a three-year old Russian girl, from an orphanage in St Petersburg this year.
"I guess for those Germans that have a place in their hearts and homes, they should think about if they want to also adopt a child," Mr Schröder said in an interview on national television, extracts of which were published in the Bild Zeitung daily.
"There are loads of children, who can be offered a better future than the one they have."
Mr Schröder's call may also be inspired by Germany's looming demographic crisis. Across the country maternity wards are virtually empty as German couples, facing an uncertain future, put off having children.
The birth rate has fallen so low that not only is the population declining, the supply of potential mothers has also started to fall.
Mr Schröder's family kept Victoria's adoption secret for weeks before the news leaked out.
"The most important moment for me personally in the last year was of course the adoption of my daughter," he said. "Of course, our life has changed since Victoria arrived in the house. Victoria is a wonderful child.
"She is happy with us and we are happy with her."
Mrs Schröder-Kopf flew to St Petersburg on the chancellor's plane to collect Victoria, but even the German secret service was not told about the extra passenger until they were ready to leave St Petersburg.
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Mrs Schröder-Kopf is involved in several Russian charities, including providing aid to orphanages, and Mr Schröder has close relations with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
Mr Schröder informed Mr Putin of the adoption plans, but insisted that the Kremlin played no role in expediting the paperwork, which can take up to two years to complete.
"My wife and I didn't have any privileges and wouldn't have made use of them [had they been offered]," he said.
Some commentators have suggested that Mr Schröder, 60, and his wife, 41, are too old to take on a young child.
This is his fourth marriage and Mrs Schröder-Kopf has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship. Mr Schröder has no other children.
"The civil code doesn't set any age limits for adoption," the chancellor said.
"Taking into consideration the fact that people get older and older, those who are taking decisions should think about whether a limit of 40 years between the parents and child should be set."
It has been an emotional year for Mr Schröder. He visited the grave of his father - a conscript in the Nazi army who was killed by Romanian villagers during the second world war - for the first time shortly after Victoria's arrival.
"It is of course very touching," he said. "There are things in life with which you have to come to terms with on your own."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1357325,00.html
Ben Aris in Berlin
Tuesday November 23, 2004
The Guardian
Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, yesterday urged all Germans to follow his example and adopt a child if they could.
Mr Schröder and his wife, Doris Schröder-Kopf, adopted Victoria, a three-year old Russian girl, from an orphanage in St Petersburg this year.
"I guess for those Germans that have a place in their hearts and homes, they should think about if they want to also adopt a child," Mr Schröder said in an interview on national television, extracts of which were published in the Bild Zeitung daily.
"There are loads of children, who can be offered a better future than the one they have."
Mr Schröder's call may also be inspired by Germany's looming demographic crisis. Across the country maternity wards are virtually empty as German couples, facing an uncertain future, put off having children.
The birth rate has fallen so low that not only is the population declining, the supply of potential mothers has also started to fall.
Mr Schröder's family kept Victoria's adoption secret for weeks before the news leaked out.
"The most important moment for me personally in the last year was of course the adoption of my daughter," he said. "Of course, our life has changed since Victoria arrived in the house. Victoria is a wonderful child.
"She is happy with us and we are happy with her."
Mrs Schröder-Kopf flew to St Petersburg on the chancellor's plane to collect Victoria, but even the German secret service was not told about the extra passenger until they were ready to leave St Petersburg.
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nutritiondiscounters.com
Get with the Atkins Program
Follow the Atkins low carb plan with eDiets. Atkins has...
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Mrs Schröder-Kopf is involved in several Russian charities, including providing aid to orphanages, and Mr Schröder has close relations with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
Mr Schröder informed Mr Putin of the adoption plans, but insisted that the Kremlin played no role in expediting the paperwork, which can take up to two years to complete.
"My wife and I didn't have any privileges and wouldn't have made use of them [had they been offered]," he said.
Some commentators have suggested that Mr Schröder, 60, and his wife, 41, are too old to take on a young child.
This is his fourth marriage and Mrs Schröder-Kopf has a teenage daughter from a previous relationship. Mr Schröder has no other children.
"The civil code doesn't set any age limits for adoption," the chancellor said.
"Taking into consideration the fact that people get older and older, those who are taking decisions should think about whether a limit of 40 years between the parents and child should be set."
It has been an emotional year for Mr Schröder. He visited the grave of his father - a conscript in the Nazi army who was killed by Romanian villagers during the second world war - for the first time shortly after Victoria's arrival.
"It is of course very touching," he said. "There are things in life with which you have to come to terms with on your own."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/germany/article/0,2763,1357325,00.html