“Death Is an Orgasm”: What’s True—and What Isn’t—About Rosa von Praunheim’s Final Days

Yes: Rosa von Praunheim died at 83 in Berlin on December 17, 2025—just five days after marrying his longtime partner, Oliver Sechting. Yes: he really did joke, “Death is like an orgasm. I believe in sex after death.” But some of the most dramatic details making the rounds need careful untangling.

Below, we separate what’s verified from what’s fuzzy, and tell the story of a provocateur who shaped queer cinema—and kept provoking to the end.

The Big, Verified Reveal

The most compelling part of the story is true: in one last, fittingly theatrical turn, von Praunheim married Sechting on Friday, December 12, 2025, and died days later. Multiple outlets confirmed the timing and place of his death in Berlin, as well as the late-in-life wedding:

• Death and last‑minute marriage: verified by international and German coverage The Guardian

And the quote? He said it—on the record this year:

• About death and the afterlife: “Der Tod ist wie ein Orgasmus. Ich glaube an den Sex nach dem Tod.” B.Z. Berlin

That is the hook. Here is the context that makes it even richer.

From Prison Birth to Pink Triangle: How He Made a Movement

He was born during war, inside Riga’s central prison, on November 25, 1942. He was registered as Holger Radtke, later adopted and raised under the name Holger Mischwitzky. He only learned the truth at 58, when his adoptive mother—then 94—told him about his origins. His birth mother, Edith Radtke, died of starvation in 1946 in a Berlin psychiatric clinic. He later turned his search for identity into a film, “Meine Mütter – Spurensuche in Riga” (2007).

• Birth, adoption, and mother’s fate: Akademie der Künste, Wikipedia DE

His chosen name was also a manifesto:

• “Rosa” nodded to the pink triangle forced on gay men in Nazi camps
• “von Praunheim” honored the Frankfurt district where he grew up after fleeing the GDR Source: AdK

Then came the catalytic blast: his 1971 film “Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt” premiered at the Berlinale and is widely credited with helping ignite the modern gay movement in West Germany.

• Breakout film and impact: Wikipedia DE

He never stopped making. Over five decades, he directed well over 100 films, taught as a professor of directing at the HFF in Babelsberg in the 2000s, and was still premiering new work at 83—most recently “Satanische Sau,” which screened in the Berlinale Panorama in February 2025.

• Professor: fernsehserien.de
• 2025 Berlinale film: Berlinale press release

The TV Scandal That Became a Time Capsule

If you remember one TV moment, it’s probably this: in 1991, on RTL’s “Der heiße Stuhl,” he publicly outed two national favorites, Alfred Biolek and Hape Kerkeling. The shock was real. The era matters: male homosexuality had only been partially decriminalized in 1969; the infamous paragraph (§175) wasn’t fully repealed until 1994.

• Show and date: Wikipedia DE
• Legal timeline: Federal Agency for Civic Education, bpb

Over time, the tone softened. Kerkeling later said that while it wasn’t “right,” in hindsight it wasn’t “wrong” either—hardly endorsement, but not condemnation.

• Hindsight reactions: moviepilot.de

What We Confirmed—and What We Corrected

Key checks at a glance:

• Verified

  • Death at 83 on Dec 17, 2025; marriage to Oliver Sechting on Dec 12, 2025 The Guardian
  • Birth in Riga prison; birth name Holger Radtke; adoption and later discovery of origins AdK
  • Mother’s death by starvation in 1946 at Wittenauer Heilstätten Wikipedia DE
  • Stage name origins (pink triangle; Frankfurt‑Praunheim) AdK
  • 1971 film’s impact and Berlinale premiere Wikipedia DE
  • TV outing on “Der heiße Stuhl” (often branded “Explosiv – Der heiße Stuhl” at the time) Wikipedia DE
  • Professor at HFF Babelsberg; mentees include Tom Tykwer, who praised him with the “imaginary door” quote Tykwer bio

• Needs nuance or precision

  • Berlinale claim: “25 films at the Berlinale.” B.Z. reported he was there “25 times,” which likely means participations, not necessarily 25 distinct films. An official tally of film titles isn’t readily available. B.Z.
  • Rex Gildo’s death: The article states as fact that he “jumped to his death.” Reports describe a fall/jump from a window in 1999; suicide is widely assumed, but not definitively established as intentional. A cautious phrasing is more accurate. Wikipedia DE
  • “Late works”: “Rex Gildo – Der letzte Tanz” (2022) is a late‑career film and aired on German TV in 2024/2025, but it was not his last; “Satanische Sau” premiered in 2025. filmportal.de, Berlinale

• Unverified or contradicted

  • Dieter Kosslick quote: “Without him the gay movement wouldn’t have existed like this.” We found no reliable source for this exact wording, though Kosslick did honor von Praunheim with a Berlinale Kamera in 2013. Treat this quote as unconfirmed. Welt report on award
  • “His community grave was already waiting at St. Matthäus”: Berlin’s Alter St.-Matthäus‑Kirchhof does host a new community grave and queer memorial project run by Schwulenberatung Berlin, but we found no source showing von Praunheim personally had a reserved plot. Schwulenberatung

How the Legend Was Built—And Why Details Matter

Storytelling shaped how Germany saw queerness. Von Praunheim wasn’t just scandal; he was strategy. He wielded provocation to force conversations, from his 1971 film to the 1991 outing. He taught the next generation—Tom Tykwer among them—to push through “an imaginary door … into cinema’s secret chambers.”

But legends harden quickly. A line about “25 films at the Berlinale” becomes gospel; a director’s unsourced praise spreads; a “waiting grave” turns symbolic space into a personal plot. In the first hours after a death, romantic myths race ahead of the record. That’s natural. It’s also why we check.

What We Still Don’t Know

• Whether the oft‑quoted Kosslick line exists in a reliable, citable source.
• Whether von Praunheim had personally arranged burial at the Alter St.-Matthäus‑Kirchhof community site.

If you have documentation or firsthand confirmation, my inbox is open.

Our Reporting Process

• We cross‑checked breaking obituaries and festival records for death and marriage timing The Guardian, Berlinale.
• We verified biographical basics via the Akademie der Künste and German sources, then triangulated dates with public records AdK, Wikipedia DE.
• We tracked the “Der heiße Stuhl” incident through archival references and later interviews Wikipedia DE, moviepilot.de.
• We attempted to source the Kosslick quotation and the claimed burial arrangement; neither could be firmly documented.

The Last Word

He once said he didn’t cling to life because he’d done everything he wanted. Even in death, he left a punchline: sex after death. The facts show a man who turned outrage into art and art into change. The mythmaking will continue. The record, for now, is this:

• He was born in a prison, remade himself with a name, and helped set a movement on fire.
• He married the love of his life, then left days later.
• He was still premiering films at 83.
• And he meant the joke. That’s how he wanted you to remember him—laughing, and looking straight at the camera.