[ad_1]
Helmut Sonneberg usually gives the same answer whenever he gets asked how he is: “Even crappy would be sugar coating it.”
People tend to be taken aback, but really there is no need to worry. ‘Sonny’, as he’s known, is a bit of a rogue. In truth he’s an amazingly fit and healthy 90-year-old. He’s a warm-hearted, sensitive guy, and spellbinding in conversation.
I first met Sonny six years ago in his hometown of Frankfurt for a report on away-game supporters over the age of 80. He quickly launched into a passionate tirade that took in half a dozen different topics in about three minutes. I described him as “the Julius Caesar of grouchy pensioners” and he enjoyed the remark.
He smiled back: “Do you know what the hardest punishment would be for me? When I am told to keep quiet.”
So in truth Sonny is anything but embittered, although his life story might easily have left him so.
Sonny is a Holocaust survivor. For…
[ad_2]
