Top News

When Gerhard Schug chose to take his own life in 2020, it was an ordeal that profoundly altered him.

For five days, he lay critically ill in a coma, during which he believes he witnessed hell. He said he stood beside the devil, observing souls being sorted and pulverised.

He stated: "In my near-death experience,I didn't pass into a bright light nor did I pass into an afterlife where everything is beautiful. "

In fact, it was quite the contrary. Following the loss of his younger daughter in 2019, Gerhard felt intensely isolated. He was already severely unwell with a spinal injury,Parkinson's disease, and lung disease.

He had previously recovered from a heart attack and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, depression, and borderline personality disorder.

In 2020, he "didn't want to go on anymore." The father told Thanatos TV EN: "On that day and even in the days before I had become increasingly melancholic. On the day I felt an overwhelming longing for my eldest daughter Tanja who passed away in 2019. My youngest daughter and I found her dead in her flat. "I missed her so terribly, reportsthe Mirror.

"I didn't want to live anymore, and in that moment, I felt forsaken and lonely. Tanja and I had a very close relationship."

Tanja died from a pulmonary embolism - she required regular thrombosis injections and Gerhard suspected she had ceased taking them.

In the months leading up to his suicide attempt, Gerhard had resigned himself to a life of solitude. He said: "My weight went up to 150 kilos and I shut myself away. The blinds in my flat were all down.

"I lived alone and I only went out when needed to buy something, mainly bought chocolate and beer. I withdrew and shut myself off. The pain was just too much.

"I was living on the second floor of a building with my collection of diseases -it was a disaster and it was clear I couldn't live like this anymore.

"I was prescribed medication - that contributed to my rapid and extreme weight gain and finally after two or three years I said I cant go on like this I have to lose weight. "

Gerhard eliminated sugar from his home before being admitted to hospital for four weeks with a virus. Visitors were prohibited during his stay.

He said: "There was nothing in particular that led to suicide. It was an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and a need to be with my deceased daughter.

"My younger daughter and I love each other very much but she has her own life - but at the time I felt she didn't have enough time for me - she had her own life but I would like to have more of her company. Today I see things differently than I did then.

"I was convinced that there was life after death.

"I came to in the hospital's intensive care unit. My daughter was also there and then I became aware of my near death experience. When I woke up it burned itself into my memory. "

He said: "I remember it all very clearly - it i must preface this by saying - the doctor told my daughter I would most likely not survive and if I did, I would likely suffer severe brain damage."

Nevertheless, Gerhard did survive, and lived to recount the terrifying tale of what he witnessed. He said: "There was a palace made of stone, grey and large with a high canopy roof like those found in China or Japan and there was a throne.

"It was a flat throne without a back rest - which looked like a block of stone and the devil was sitting on it."

He looked down from above over a jetty that ran into the sea where boats were moored on the left and right - old boats that also looked Japanese. These boats were moored there and then the souls were brought to the devil.

He added: "They got out of the boats and then they were brought to him. The palace was open and at the bottom of the palace there were 4 large stones that looked like lion's claws.

"They turned and it made a terrible creaking noise - it was very loud and very intense. " Gerhard said he was raised Catholic, and questioned whether this shaped his near-death experience.

He added: "In any case- I saw the devil - it was hot there - he had horns indeed how you might imagine a typical devil.

"After a while I realised there was a selection being made of the souls brought to him. Some were put into a funnel and ground up under the lions' claws.

"This created a terrible creaking noise. The whole situation was terrifying - I was scared to death.

"I felt like I was right the middle of it - I sat next to the devil and saw everything. But I wasn't afraid of being in there - I was afraid because of the people being ground up.

"I know there are people who say that is delirium or withdrawal symptoms, but I know I was there and that's what happens to me. "

Upon awakening, his entire outlook on life had transformed. He said: "It was clear to me that God had given me life - I am not Catholic but I believe in God.

"I had the certainty then that God had given me life and I did not have the right to take my own life against him. Because if I do that, I'll end up exactly where I don't want to be - namely not with my daughter but in hell.

Gerhard said that he felt as though his experience in hell lasted 5 or 6 days - the entire duration of his coma. Now he lives his life with a "glass half full" attitude and says when God decides it's time for him to depart, he'll go.