Religious maturity

Dressed appropriately for his confirmation, 15-year-old Helmut (second from left) stands with his family in front of the church in Uhlenhorst where his parents had married in 1916. Looking back, Schmidt recalls that his maternal grandparents had »influenced« him when it came to his Lutheran Protestant upbringing. Schmidt says that he had once attended a children’s church service, but: »I’m very certain that I understood very little of it«. For the confirmation ceremony, he is given Marcus Aurelius’ »Meditations« as a gift from his uncle, Heinz Koch. Schmidt begins to read the book the same evening – particularly the sense of duty from the ancient Roman »philosopher emperor« will shape him for a lifetime.