Read the video transcript here arrow up arrow down
The year 2020 changed the people in Germany: In Hamburg a pastor becomes a reporter to reach his congregation.
Jens-Martin Kruse, Pastor, Hamburg
"Do you have the feeling that you are setting a special tone in the difficult times of the pandemic?"
A director from Hanover has to endure her empty theater for months.
Sonja Anders, Director of the Schauspiel Hannover
»I believe that the time before Corona was such a great time in retrospect and that it is only now really being appreciated. What does that mean? That we celebrate together? That we watch the theater together? "
And a drugstore employee from Essen is suddenly systemically relevant and has a new task: to remind customers of the mask requirement.
Farina Kerekes, Drug Store Clerk, Essen
»I really don't feel like making these excuses anymore. It is enough. It really stands up to me because I think to myself, I walk around with the mask on all day, and it doesn't slip down once. I can also make a phone call with my mask on. "
These are only three out of 100 people that SPIEGEL has accompanied since the beginning of the pandemic.
52 editors have been in contact for months and have written down their stories.
Head of department Britta Stuff coordinated the project and turned the 100 lives with Corona into the SPIEGEL cover story for Christmas.
Britta Stuff, DER SPIEGEL
»In the spring we realized pretty quickly that we are all in a totally exceptional situation that actually affects everyone. It affects one more, the other less, the other suffers from it. We realized very quickly that it is something that penetrates all areas of life. "
When the pandemic broke out, Lorena Daum was far from home.
She was engaged as a singer - on a cruise ship.
Lorena Daum, singer, Hamburg
»So my awakening that there is Corona came when I was on the cruise ship as a singer for Aida. I was in the Caribbean, and at some point I ended up in Barbados because all other ports had refused us. Then we chilled out in Barbados for a week. At that moment it was all so far away that I don't think we were aware of the extent of it all. So we were then in paradise. I took another hammock picture and wrote that everything is fine here. "
While the singer is still spending carefree days in the Caribbean, schools and kindergartens will be closed in Germany in March.
People are insecure.
Farina Kerekes, Drug Store Clerk, Essen
“And suddenly the shelves were empty. So the toilet paper full of classics. It was empty. I was asked hundreds of times, 200, 300 times every day: Where is the toilet paper? When will the toilet paper come back? That was incredibly exhausting, and the people are right, so in their panic they ran in to us to buy toilet paper, where to this day I still cannot understand what makes toilet paper better about Corona. "
The German clinics are preparing for the many forecast Covid patients, including the Catholic Hospital in Dortmund-West.
Anne Herbrich, Senior Consultant in Charge, Dortmund
»The emergency room is in a state of emergency, not because of overcrowding, but rather because of almost yawning emptiness. People stay at home, and it's all a bit surreal when you see the pictures from television, from our neighboring countries and also from individual regions in Germany. And basically there is an eerie silence here, and we don't know if and when that will change. "
Jens-Martin Kruse, Pastor, Hamburg
“Basically we were put into a state of rest from one day to the next at high speed. In a few days we had to reinvent everything. "
The German tourist resorts like Hohwacht on the Baltic Sea also have to close down from one day to the next.
Olaf Hutzfeld, supermarket manager, Hohwacht
»I took you with me on my run through Hohwacht again, I have to see what's going on here. There we see our hiking trail, it's just empty. We have wonderful weather and there is not a single soul here. "
In Hanover, like everywhere else, the theaters close, a bad moment for the artistic director Sonja Anders.
Sonja Anders, Director of the Hanover Theater
»I'm actually not a sentimental person, but at that moment I was really deeply sad because it was clear to me that it would take longer. I am not afraid of the disease itself, I rather notice that a bit of mildew is affecting the mood and that you notice that you have to work hard on it, continue to be in a good mood and strength at work and in the family to invest. "
The situation is particularly difficult for freelance artists.
For tenor Thomas Volle - here with Frida Österberg at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe - 2020 was a constant up and down.
Thomas Volle, tenor, Calw
“When I have or had a job, I of course noticed what it does to me, how important it is for me, and is euphoric. If all of this is then eliminated, it will turn into the opposite and it will be a great challenge. "
The 2020 Abitur class had to deal with changing rules.
The idea of skipping the final exams for once was quickly off the table.
Leonie Zinn, high school graduate, Berlin
»Hello, well: Today is a very nice day, I'll spend it outside, play a little volleyball, do a little preparation for my high school graduation, right? Because it has been certain since yesterday, some things have changed, that the exams will take place. Good to know, a week before that, right? Super. You can get gloves, you can get disinfectant, you can put the students two meters apart, but in the end, I wouldn't rule out someone getting infected that day. Abitur is stressful enough, and having that in mind is stressful. "
Anne Herbrich, Senior Physician in Charge, Dortmund
»On the weekend in the emergency medical service, as in the last three emergency medical services, I felt a disproportionately high number of deaths confirmed. I don't know whether this is statistically a coincidence or whether it has something to do with the coronavirus situation or possibly also with the shutdown that people simply go to the doctor too late or too little. "
The number of infections is falling, the shutdown ends - in retrospect it was just a breather.
Leonie Zinn, high school graduate, Berlin
»Seeing people outside on the street is generally a very nice feeling. A little more that summer feeling again. But I have to say: It is sometimes quite strange to go to the park and there are 30 people sitting on top of each other. I think it's super beautiful, but you don't have to overdo it. "
Olaf Hutzfeld, supermarket manager, Hohwacht
»Yes, you can see I still haven't been to the hairdresser's. Somehow I don't feel like doing this whole mask thing. I'm putting it off a little longer. "
What is left after this year?
Farina Kerekes was repeatedly insulted and insulted by stressed customers.
Finally, she gathered up her courage and vented her anger publicly.
Farina Kerekes, drugstore employee, Essen
»I have definitely changed because of the corona pandemic. I have become more self-confident when it comes to making my demands as a saleswoman. At the very beginning of the pandemic, I posted a tweet that was shared a lot and where I left out a bit about the hoarding customers. And at the beginning I was very afraid that I would have to fear consequences from my employer. That I will be warned or even lose my job. And that has now calmed down a lot. Well, I've done a lot of research, I'm allowed to say more than I thought, and so far nobody has given me notice. "
No concerts because of Corona, Lorena Daum therefore applied for Germany's most famous casting show.
Lorena Daum, singer, Hamburg
»Well without Corona I would never have landed on
›
The Voice of Germany
‹
.
Clearly.
It actually went very well.
Then I had a legendary battle, which I was able to decide for myself, which was really crazy because I practically competed against the favorites and made it into the sing-offs.
And then the journey came to an end for me.
Which is fine with me.
The only fear I actually have from Corona is that I don't want to be the person who later infected my grandma.
So that's what I find stressful about this disease, that it is very easy to infect other endangered people.
And that's the only fear I actually have. "
Jens-Martin Kruse quickly realized that this Christmas would be different - so the pastor got creative.
Jens-Martin Kruse, Pastor, Hamburg
»We are in the process of recording a Christmas film. We anticipate that there will be a number of people in our congregation who will not be able to come to church on Christmas Eve, so we are preparing a great deal so that people can celebrate Christmas at home. "
This year and this research were also special for SPIEGEL.
The 100 people made an impression.
Britta Stuff, DER SPIEGEL
»With all the suffering and with all the terrible things that have happened, it is simply crazy what goes on in people. It's just crazy how many creative thoughts, how many new ideas, despite everything, came up during this time. "
