Home / Series / DW Documentaries / Aired Order / Season 2026 / Episode 15

Final days full of life - Hospice stories

Here, death is ever-present. In hospices, carers and volunteers provide end-of-life support to people who are seriously ill and dying. Their goal is for people to be able to experiences their final weeks and days with dignity, as free from fear as possible. Paul Buchholz has been working at a hospice in Rostock, a city in northern Germany, for 15 years. With kindness and respect, he tries to make his guests' last weeks or days as carefree and pleasant as possible. Ralf Löwenhagen has worked in agriculture for most of his life. He never went to the doctor, never complained, always worked hard. Now he has pancreatic cancer and is receiving palliative care. During therapy sessions in the garden, or when nurse Paul Buchholz pushes him outside on the terrace, his mood visibly improves.

English