In the times in early 2000s as you mention, it was not only rumours about the soon end of ABAP. Beside the push from board, like Karl says, there were also several activities to increase the relevance of Java: hiring Java developers, educating Java ...

Thanks, Karl! A very nice read. Feels a bit like browsing the family album  Great for me: you taught me the first concepts of ABAP and R/3 when I started, now you bring me this nice history lesson. Danke!