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| For Families of Germanwings Victims, Anger Burns Through Grief | For Families of Germanwings Victims, Anger Burns Through Grief |
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| HALTERN AM SEE, Germany — Weeks before he was supposed to fly to Barcelona, Spain, for a student exchange program with his 10th-grade Spanish class, Steffen Strang realized that he would miss a home game of the soccer team he followed religiously. Maybe, he told his mother, he should stay home. | HALTERN AM SEE, Germany — Weeks before he was supposed to fly to Barcelona, Spain, for a student exchange program with his 10th-grade Spanish class, Steffen Strang realized that he would miss a home game of the soccer team he followed religiously. Maybe, he told his mother, he should stay home. |
| The response Dagmar Strang gave to her 16-year-old son has echoed in her head since March 24, the day he was supposed to have returned on a Germanwings flight bound for Düsseldorf. | The response Dagmar Strang gave to her 16-year-old son has echoed in her head since March 24, the day he was supposed to have returned on a Germanwings flight bound for Düsseldorf. |
| “I told him he wasn’t going to stay home because of a stupid game — I called it that, ‘stupid,’ ” she said, sitting in her dining room beside a display of framed pictures of Steffen, her only child, as a baby asleep in his stroller, as a young boy perched on her lap and as a teenager standing between his mother and father, Jürgen Strang, on a cruise ship heading to Norway. | “I told him he wasn’t going to stay home because of a stupid game — I called it that, ‘stupid,’ ” she said, sitting in her dining room beside a display of framed pictures of Steffen, her only child, as a baby asleep in his stroller, as a young boy perched on her lap and as a teenager standing between his mother and father, Jürgen Strang, on a cruise ship heading to Norway. |
| “I told him this could be a chance to make a lifelong friend, to go out and experience the world,” Mrs. Strang said, shaking her head, struggling against the thought of “What if?” | “I told him this could be a chance to make a lifelong friend, to go out and experience the world,” Mrs. Strang said, shaking her head, struggling against the thought of “What if?” |
| Steffen’s final text message to her, after boarding the flight: “We are sitting on the plane. I can’t wait to see you.” | Steffen’s final text message to her, after boarding the flight: “We are sitting on the plane. I can’t wait to see you.” |
| The Strangs are one of the families in this leafy town in western Germany struggling to come to terms with the holes in their lives since a Germanwings co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, sent Flight 9525 into a fatal descent, taking their sons, daughters, siblings and spouses with him. The 16 students and two teachers from Haltern am See were the largest known organized group on the flight. | The Strangs are one of the families in this leafy town in western Germany struggling to come to terms with the holes in their lives since a Germanwings co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, sent Flight 9525 into a fatal descent, taking their sons, daughters, siblings and spouses with him. The 16 students and two teachers from Haltern am See were the largest known organized group on the flight. |
| While some of the families of the 150 onboard the flight have broken Germany’s culture of privacy and discreet suffering to speak to reporters, those in Haltern had stayed silent, closing ranks and their doors while coping with their grief. | While some of the families of the 150 onboard the flight have broken Germany’s culture of privacy and discreet suffering to speak to reporters, those in Haltern had stayed silent, closing ranks and their doors while coping with their grief. |
| But in June, after Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, offered $28,000 each to the families of the 72 German victims onboard — in addition to the $56,000 in immediate financial assistance that was provided to each family after the crash — the Haltern group wrote an open letter to Lufthansa calling the offer “insulting.” And some of the families let a reporter into their homes. | But in June, after Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, offered $28,000 each to the families of the 72 German victims onboard — in addition to the $56,000 in immediate financial assistance that was provided to each family after the crash — the Haltern group wrote an open letter to Lufthansa calling the offer “insulting.” And some of the families let a reporter into their homes. |
| Along with the $28,000 per passenger for pain and suffering, Lufthansa is also offering $11,000 more for emotional damages to each immediate family member, such as parents and children, but not siblings. In several interviews, families in Haltern explained why the offer seems emblematic of what they see as Lufthansa’s effort to make the matter go away quickly, without fully explaining how a suicidal pilot came to be alone at the controls over the French Alps on the morning they were preparing to welcome the group home. | Along with the $28,000 per passenger for pain and suffering, Lufthansa is also offering $11,000 more for emotional damages to each immediate family member, such as parents and children, but not siblings. In several interviews, families in Haltern explained why the offer seems emblematic of what they see as Lufthansa’s effort to make the matter go away quickly, without fully explaining how a suicidal pilot came to be alone at the controls over the French Alps on the morning they were preparing to welcome the group home. |
| “I feel they are not taking the responsibility, not acknowledging that one of their own employees knowingly did this,” said Oliver, whose wife, Sonja Cercek, 35, a Spanish teacher at the Joseph-König Gymnasium, had organized the exchange with the Llinars del Vallès school near Barcelona. (He asked that his last name, which is different from that of his wife, not be published for privacy reasons.) | |
| Lufthansa and Germanwings have acknowledged that Mr. Lubitz had a bout of severe depression in 2009 while training to be a pilot. But they have revealed little about their subsequent oversight of him and whether anyone in authority knew of the risk he potentially posed to passengers. | Lufthansa and Germanwings have acknowledged that Mr. Lubitz had a bout of severe depression in 2009 while training to be a pilot. But they have revealed little about their subsequent oversight of him and whether anyone in authority knew of the risk he potentially posed to passengers. |
| The airlines say they are fully cooperating with the investigations of Mr. Lubitz by German prosecutors. Under German law, only individuals can be prosecuted, not companies, limiting the scope of public prosecutors’ inquiries. | The airlines say they are fully cooperating with the investigations of Mr. Lubitz by German prosecutors. Under German law, only individuals can be prosecuted, not companies, limiting the scope of public prosecutors’ inquiries. |
| Heinz-Joachim Schöttes, a spokesman for Germanwings, said the payments for the victims’ pain and suffering “is just a part” of the compensation offer. Additional commitments include a trust fund valued at up to 15 million euros, or $16.9 million, for educational costs for children left orphaned and any other projects proposed by family members. | Heinz-Joachim Schöttes, a spokesman for Germanwings, said the payments for the victims’ pain and suffering “is just a part” of the compensation offer. Additional commitments include a trust fund valued at up to 15 million euros, or $16.9 million, for educational costs for children left orphaned and any other projects proposed by family members. |
| Nevertheless, the families of the Haltern victims and those of more than 50 other victims are meeting on Saturday to discuss filing a lawsuit in the United States, where Mr. Lubitz was training when he was granted a leave to recover from depression. Elmar Giemulla, a German lawyer representing many families here, said he believed that in addition to additional compensation allowed under United States tort laws, a suit could help uncover more information about the extent of Lufthansa’s knowledge of Mr. Lubitz’s condition and how he could have been considered flight-worthy. | Nevertheless, the families of the Haltern victims and those of more than 50 other victims are meeting on Saturday to discuss filing a lawsuit in the United States, where Mr. Lubitz was training when he was granted a leave to recover from depression. Elmar Giemulla, a German lawyer representing many families here, said he believed that in addition to additional compensation allowed under United States tort laws, a suit could help uncover more information about the extent of Lufthansa’s knowledge of Mr. Lubitz’s condition and how he could have been considered flight-worthy. |
| Henrik Drüppel, 19, is not eligible for emotional damages under Lufthansa’s formula; as the brother of a victim, he is not considered next of kin. Yet, he said, he has struggled with the realization that he will never again come home to find his sister, Lea, 16, at the piano, where she would compose ballads and record them on her phone. | Henrik Drüppel, 19, is not eligible for emotional damages under Lufthansa’s formula; as the brother of a victim, he is not considered next of kin. Yet, he said, he has struggled with the realization that he will never again come home to find his sister, Lea, 16, at the piano, where she would compose ballads and record them on her phone. |
| Desperate to hear his sister’s voice one last time, after the crash Mr. Drüppel went through her room and questioned her friends in search of a recording. Finally he found her old cellphone in a living room drawer with 300 recordings she made. | Desperate to hear his sister’s voice one last time, after the crash Mr. Drüppel went through her room and questioned her friends in search of a recording. Finally he found her old cellphone in a living room drawer with 300 recordings she made. |
| “Can you hear me? Can you see me? I’m here still waiting for you,” she sings in a song she wrote two years ago. | “Can you hear me? Can you see me? I’m here still waiting for you,” she sings in a song she wrote two years ago. |
| He cannot count the times he has played that recording, a living link to the vivacious sister who loved their dog, spending afternoons with her family and performing in musicals at a community theater. | He cannot count the times he has played that recording, a living link to the vivacious sister who loved their dog, spending afternoons with her family and performing in musicals at a community theater. |
| “Part of me died on that plane,” Mr. Drüppel said. | “Part of me died on that plane,” Mr. Drüppel said. |
| The families say that Lufthansa’s response immediately after the crash was “exemplary,” as Mr. Strang put it. But since then, they say, they have experienced a sense of broken trust. | The families say that Lufthansa’s response immediately after the crash was “exemplary,” as Mr. Strang put it. But since then, they say, they have experienced a sense of broken trust. |
| Several said they felt betrayed by the airline, a company steeped in tradition that has prided itself on more than 50 years of selecting and grooming pilots in a rigorous process that includes medical and psychological assessments. | Several said they felt betrayed by the airline, a company steeped in tradition that has prided itself on more than 50 years of selecting and grooming pilots in a rigorous process that includes medical and psychological assessments. |
| “They owe us an explanation of how they allowed a sick monster to sit in the cockpit,” Mrs. Strang said, her voice breaking. She said she could not sleep at night or make it through the day without medication. | “They owe us an explanation of how they allowed a sick monster to sit in the cockpit,” Mrs. Strang said, her voice breaking. She said she could not sleep at night or make it through the day without medication. |
| Mrs. Strang quit her job as a teacher when Steffen was born, devoting herself to the child she and her husband feared they would never have. They remained close even as he grew from a contented, good-natured child to a conscientious, outgoing teenager with an easy way around strangers. | Mrs. Strang quit her job as a teacher when Steffen was born, devoting herself to the child she and her husband feared they would never have. They remained close even as he grew from a contented, good-natured child to a conscientious, outgoing teenager with an easy way around strangers. |
| “He was like that, always saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ and still wanting to spend time with us, joining us for breakfast on the weekend,” his mother said. | “He was like that, always saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ and still wanting to spend time with us, joining us for breakfast on the weekend,” his mother said. |
| The pictures show a tall, blond boy with sparkling eyes and an easy smile. He was full of energy, his mother said, but from an early age displayed a patience that made him excel as a fisherman. | The pictures show a tall, blond boy with sparkling eyes and an easy smile. He was full of energy, his mother said, but from an early age displayed a patience that made him excel as a fisherman. |
| “He told me, ‘When I hit puberty, I promise not to be stupid,’ ” Mrs. Strang said. “He kept his promise.” | “He told me, ‘When I hit puberty, I promise not to be stupid,’ ” Mrs. Strang said. “He kept his promise.” |
| The Strangs are haunted by thoughts of how their son spent his final 10 and a half minutes, from when Mr. Lubitz programmed the Airbus to descend to an altitude of 100 feet until it crashed into the mountain. | The Strangs are haunted by thoughts of how their son spent his final 10 and a half minutes, from when Mr. Lubitz programmed the Airbus to descend to an altitude of 100 feet until it crashed into the mountain. |
| “Steffen had flown many times,” said Mr. Strang, a mechanic who refurbished a scooter as a present for his son’s 15th birthday. “He was smart. He would have known if something was amiss.” | “Steffen had flown many times,” said Mr. Strang, a mechanic who refurbished a scooter as a present for his son’s 15th birthday. “He was smart. He would have known if something was amiss.” |
| Everyone places their trust in the airline, pilot and crew when they board a plane, said Oliver, 41, whose wife, Sonja, was known by students for being as fair as she was demanding. | |
| “The breach of that trust, through their pilot and the decision he made, I have the feeling they just want to avoid that,” he said. | “The breach of that trust, through their pilot and the decision he made, I have the feeling they just want to avoid that,” he said. |
| Oliver and Mr. Strang said that from the moment Lufthansa used a text message to inform the families on May 21 that the return of their relatives’ remains would be delayed, they have felt insulted and shunted aside by the airline. | Oliver and Mr. Strang said that from the moment Lufthansa used a text message to inform the families on May 21 that the return of their relatives’ remains would be delayed, they have felt insulted and shunted aside by the airline. |
| Lufthansa defended the decision to communicate via text message, saying it was preferred by some of the families and was the fastest and most efficient way to reach the 1,000 people they needed to inform. | Lufthansa defended the decision to communicate via text message, saying it was preferred by some of the families and was the fastest and most efficient way to reach the 1,000 people they needed to inform. |
| Like the Strangs, Oliver is troubled by thoughts of his wife alone on the plane. Both he and Sonja’s father, Josef Cercek, recalled that she did not like to fly. | Like the Strangs, Oliver is troubled by thoughts of his wife alone on the plane. Both he and Sonja’s father, Josef Cercek, recalled that she did not like to fly. |
| But Sonja’s mother had died of breast cancer at 38, and Sonja was haunted by a sense of life’s brevity, they said. She wanted to see as much of the world as she could, and maintain her connections with Spain, a country she fell in love with as a student and returned to each year. | But Sonja’s mother had died of breast cancer at 38, and Sonja was haunted by a sense of life’s brevity, they said. She wanted to see as much of the world as she could, and maintain her connections with Spain, a country she fell in love with as a student and returned to each year. |
| “She was a curious person, the opposite of a couch potato,” Oliver said, sitting in their rooftop apartment decorated with photos of their travels: Spanish beaches and soccer games, posing with a police officer in Manhattan. | “She was a curious person, the opposite of a couch potato,” Oliver said, sitting in their rooftop apartment decorated with photos of their travels: Spanish beaches and soccer games, posing with a police officer in Manhattan. |
| They were married last October and planned to honeymoon on the West Coast of the United States, but they wanted time to explore so they put off their trip until the school year ended. “We were supposed to fly on July 4 and get there in time to join the celebration,” he said. | They were married last October and planned to honeymoon on the West Coast of the United States, but they wanted time to explore so they put off their trip until the school year ended. “We were supposed to fly on July 4 and get there in time to join the celebration,” he said. |
| Mr. Cercek, 71, says he is focusing on the future, though he misses the daughter he raised alone after his wife died when Sonja was 7, believing that she would want him to carry on. | Mr. Cercek, 71, says he is focusing on the future, though he misses the daughter he raised alone after his wife died when Sonja was 7, believing that she would want him to carry on. |
| That, along with knowing that Sonja sat on the flight beside a student who adored her, has made his grief bearable, he said: “I like to think that at the end, she wasn’t alone.” | That, along with knowing that Sonja sat on the flight beside a student who adored her, has made his grief bearable, he said: “I like to think that at the end, she wasn’t alone.” |