Around 600 guests bid their last farewell to Paul Gauselmann, founder of the Merkur Group, at Benkhausen Castle
Family, friends, workers and representatives of politics, business and the gaming sector said goodbye in Espelkamp to the businessman, who died on August 21 shortly before his 92nd birthday.
Emotional final farewell to Paul Gauselmann: more than 600 people pay tribute to the founder of the Merkur Group at Benkhausen Castle
Family, friends, workers and representatives of politics, business and the gaming sector said goodbye in Espelkamp to the businessman, who died on August 21 shortly before his 92nd birthday.
More than 600 guests said their last goodbyes to Paul Gauselmann at Benkhausen Castle. Along with family, friends and relatives, numerous representatives of politics, business and industry attended, as well as clubs, associations and employees of the Merkur Group. The courtyard, decorated with flowers, wreaths, mourning flags and portraits of the honoree, framed a ceremony that was broadcast live so that the group's staff could follow it.
Paul Gauselmann passed away on August 21, shortly before his 92nd birthday. He founded the Merkur Group as a one-man company and, over 67 years at the helm of the company, built it into an internationally successful group that today has more than 15,000 employees.
Speakers praised his entrepreneurial career, his social commitment and his imprint on many people. They recalled his support for hospitals, schools, kindergartens, fire brigades and clubs in the region, and described him as someone who listened, took others seriously and transformed his environment. This is how his different facets were drawn: the family man, the businessman, the politically active figure, the regional promoter, the tennis partner and the Doppelkopf player.
The opening was given by Michael Gauselmann, chairman of the supervisory board of the Merkur Group, who offered a personal look at his relationship with his father. He recalled one of his most memorable teachings: "Only an idea that is carried out is a good idea," he said. He summed up the message his father conveyed to him: "Not to talk, but to do."
As one of his closest collaborators, Manfred Stoffers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Merkur Group, moderated the event. He recalled how he met the deceased 42 years ago and introduced the speakers with personal anecdotes.
Lars Felderhoff, spokesman for the Merkur Group, put Gauselmann's entrepreneurial achievement in context. He said the company would not exist without his courage, dedication and tenacity, calling him a "brilliant handyman, visionary and designer". He also underlined his energy – "stagnation was not an option" – and remarked that the success of "PG", as he was respectfully called, was not only measured in numbers, but "also in the people he marked".
Gauselmann was also a person of strong political convictions who sought dialogue. For Manfred Stoffers he was a "freedom fighter", and Hermann Otto Solms, former vice-president of the Bundestag and honorary president of the FDP, evoked decades of exchange and mutual sympathy: "Paul Gauselmann always wanted to take the sector out of the grey zone". Georg Stecker, spokesman for the German arcade industry, also highlighted his contribution: "No one achieved so much for the sector. He was a technology enthusiast and a man of action".
The involvement of the North Rhine-Westphalian government was conveyed by Anna Katharina Bölling, president of the government district of Detmold: "North Rhine-Westphalia has lost a visionary entrepreneur." There was, she said, hardly a hospital, a school, a kindergarten or a club in the region that had not benefited from his generosity, and she recalled that he was "not only a good speaker, but also a good listener".
The commitment to the community was also underlined by Ali Do?an, district administrator of Minden-Lübbecke – "Paul Gauselmann was a true pillar of society" – who recalled his financial support for the region's hospitals. His roots were reflected in the words of the mayor of Espelkamp, Henning Vieker, and the mayor of Lübbecke, Philipp Knappmeyer: Gauselmann was an honorary citizen of both towns, to which he donated more than 8.7 million euros and more than five million euros, respectively, during his lifetime.
The more personal side was provided by Erhard Schiffner, captain of the Espelkamp-Mittwald men's +75 team, who evoked his passion for tennis and team spirit, and Arthur Plate, a partner in his monthly Doppelkopf games: "His schedule was always organized around tennis and Doppelkopf, and real friendships were forged." Manfred Stoffers summed it up: "Paul Gauselmann was not only a great playmaker, but also a passionate player."
