The story of Schumacher’s mural in a children’s hospital in Sarajevo

In 1996, at a time of fragile post-war peace and the devastating consequences of the Yugoslav civil war, Michael Schumacher accompanied a humanitarian aid mission to Sarajevo – where he helped rebuild a children’s hospital.

On the day of Michael Schumacher’s 53rd birthday (3/1) and while the Formula 1 legend is still fighting hard to return after a head injury in December 2013, the Bosnian artist Benjamin ζιedζιi revealed αποκ on one of the walls of the hospital, that he had restored with.

It was one of the German’s many visits to Sarajevo to help the youngest and most innocent victims of the civil war and those who followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia. And one of Sumi’s many humanitarian actions that did not see the light of day – at least to the extent that they deserved it – probably at his request.

In addition to distributing the basic needs to the children of Sarajevo, Schumacher visited the city’s hospitals and in many cases took on the costs of operations on children who fell victim to landmines, organized charity football games, financed the reconstruction of damaged houses and only in the presence of the children affected – and not just them.

Today’s date for the unveiling of Benjamin Senjic’s work is of course no coincidence. At the same time, many city dwellers are demanding that the seven-time German F1 champion be named after a large boulevard leading to Sarajevo International Airport near the hospital.

In May 2014, a few months after the accident that Sumy still held, the canton of Sarajevo awarded Schumacher the title of “honorary citizen” through the German embassy in Bosnia – in recognition of the decisive help of the great champion in the civil war in Yugoslavia.

The official declaration states: “After the war, Michael Schumacher organized and financed the treatment of injured children on his own initiative. He has shown great commitment in the humanitarian field and for international understanding.”