Report: German Flick industrialist died by voluntary euthanasia

Sep 11, 2010, 15:06 GMT

Berlin - A former German industrialist who was at the centre of one of West Germany's biggest political scandals died alongside his wife through voluntary euthanasia in a Swiss clinic, media reports said Saturday.

The daughter of Eberhard von Brauchitsch was reported by the news magazine Focus as saying her father and mother Helga had decided to end their own lives.

'Due to the rapid deterioration of their health, my parents took this step into consideration - and then took the step at an appropriate time for them,' daughter Bettina von Brauchitsch said.

The couple died on Thursday, and news of their death was first made known the following day. Eberhard von Brauchitsch was 83.

Voluntary euthanasia is a controversial practice whereby patients with terminal illnesses are aided in causing their own death. It is illegal in most European countries.

The Bild newspaper reported that the voluntary euthanasia body Exit had been involved with the von Brauchitsch case, but the organisation refused to comment on the matter.

Eberhard von Brauchitsch was former top executive with the powerful Flick conglomerate, and was synonymous with the so-called Flick Affair, in which he distributed around 26 million marks (17 million dollars) to German politicians, parties and foundations in the 1980s in a bid to obtain a reduction in the Flick family's tax liabilities.

Bettina von Brauchitsch told Focus that her mother had been in the advanced stages of Parkinson's disease, and her father had been suffering from emphysema.

'My parents had known each other 70 years. They were married for almost 60 years, had lived their lives with all the highs and lows together. They also decided to go this last journey together,' she said.