his party involved in campaign donations fraud scandal and the former chancellor admitted he had known about it. still, kohl refused to say where the illegal money came from, a move many germans viewed as a disgrace, and there were personal tragedies. in 2001, kohl's wife took her own life. she had been suffering from a rare allergy to light. then in 2008 kohl remarried, the 44-year-old economist. not long after, a bad fall confined him to a wheelchair, difficult years in which he withdrew further and further from public light. now that the world looks back on the life of helmut kohl, he will be remembered as the father of german reunification and the country's longest serving post war chancellor. that is cnn newsroom. i am natalie allen. >> i am george howell. for viewers in the u.s., new day