A heart-felt matter

When the Schmidts seek out entertainment, for decades they find it at the Ernst Deutsch Theatre – even if comedies are performed here relatively rarely. The theatre was founded in 1951 by Wolfgang Borchert and Friedrich Schütter and takes a pro-democracy, anti-fascist stance from the beginning of the post-war period. The theatre manager for many years, Isabella Vértes-Schütter, says it stages »bold productions«. Even at the age of 94, the former Chancellor animatedly discusses what he has just seen with organisers. His wife Loki supports Germany’s largest private theatre financially. In 1992, she joins the board of the »friends« group which supports it. For decades, she donates amounts of up to 1,000 Deutschmarks. In the year before her death, she gives €500.