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Studienkolleg Neckar hike at the beginning of the winter semester 2021-22 (23 Oct 2021)
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The International Study Centre mourns its founder and long-time director, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Diether Raff.
Foto: Rothe
Professor Raff headed the
Studienkolleg of Heidelberg University as its director
until 1990. Aiming to optimize the preparation of
international students at Heidelberg University, he
conjoined the Studienkolleg and the Kolleg für deutsche
Sprache und Kultur, which he had just founded. Thus, he
established the International Study Centre (ISZ) and
served as its director until his retirement in 1998.
His work at the ISZ was always motivated by his
endeavour to prepare international students as
comprehensively as possible for their studies, both in
terms of the German language and their individual
subjects, so they would have the best chances of
succeeding at German universities. As he used to say,
they were supposed to become “friends of our country”
and return to their homes in this very manner, where
they would be using and passing on what they had learnt
and experienced in Germany.
From his early
student days, Diether Raff had been enthusiastic about
the idea of exchange between different countries.
Consequently, in 1954-55 he was among the first
Heidelberg students to study in Montpellier. As early as
1957 – long before the Élysée Treaty of 1963,
establishing friendly relations between Germany and
France – they issued a charter of friendship. His
interest in foreign cultures and enthusiasm for the
understanding among people from different countries and
cultural environments were central to his character and
accompanied him throughout his life. While working at
the Studienkolleg, where in 1963 he began teaching
history to international students, he took over guest
professorships in various countries: via the Fulbright
Program in St Louis and at the University of California
in Irvine, at the Foreign Studies University in Beijing,
and at the University Paul-Valéry in Montpellier.
Those visits and the encounters with people from
abroad, which he cherished highly, prompted him –
simultaneously to his occupation at the Studienkolleg
and, later, the International Study Centre – to champion
the internationalization of Heidelberg University: From
1974 to 1995, he was the executive chairman of the
senate committee on international matters. From 1979 to
2000 and from 2005 to 2012, he was the representative
for the university’s partnerships with the Montpellier
Universities and from 1983 to 1998 for the partnership
with the Foreign Studies University in Beijing. From
1992 to 2007, he was the German representative of the
Advanced Placement Program of the College Board New
York. Moreover, from 1996 to 1999, he held the office of
the representative of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of
Science, Research and Arts for the cooperation with the
Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam,
Malaysia.
Among all the projects in Germany and
abroad that he promoted so passionately, it was the
partnership between Germany and France which was
particularly dear to his heart and to which he committed
himself way beyond his retirement. He championed the
foundation of the Heidelberg House in Montpellier and
the Montpellier House in Heidelberg. For many years he
presided over the supporting association of the
Heidelberg House in Montpellier; he became its honorary
president in 2013.
Due to his merits for this
Franco-German partnership, Professor Raff was awarded
various honours: In 1988 he became Chevalier, in 1995
Officier dans l’ordre de Palmes académiques; in 1991 he
was awarded the German Cross of Merit, followed by the
University Medal of Heidelberg University. In 2005 the
City of Montpellier bestowed honorary citizenship on him
and Heidelberg University made him an honorary senator.
In 2013 the City of Heidelberg awarded him its Medal of
Honour. In 2015 he was appointed Chevalier dans l’ordre
national du Mérite of the French Republic, and in 2019
he received the Order of Merit of Baden‑Württemberg. In
his speech on the occasion of the bestowal,
Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann acknowledged
Professor Raff’s role in forming the partnership with
France, and he mentioned that for Professor Raff, as a
historian, it was evident that history is also made when
people meet.
And indeed, it was people meeting,
especially people from different countries and cultural
environments, that fascinated him his entire life.
Bringing people together and jointly working with them
towards better relations between each other, this meant
to him both an elixir of life and an obligation. He
loved the interaction with international visitors at
Heidelberg University, who he received, quite naturally,
very often as guests under his roof – his institute’s
and his home’s alike. He always took care of things
personally, not just the big issues but also the many
details, always acting on the maxim “Those who are too
big for what is small are too small for what is big”.
No matter to what task he devoted himself, he
used to do it with all his vivacity and driven by a very
personal interest in the issues of those involved. With
the same dedication and personal commitment that he
contributed to the promotion of the partnership
projects, he took care of “his students” and his staff,
whose advancement was a key interest of his. He
administered to their needs, dealt not only with
curricula, examination regulations, job descriptions,
etc., but also with the very personal matters of those
for whom he felt responsible. For instance, he made sure
that students who had not found a room yet would be
provided with accommodation, he negotiated a “free
table” at the canteen if students were struggling to
make ends meet, or he showed them the way out of a
predicament. Wasting too much time on problems was not
his cup of tea, however; he rather focused on arriving
at swift and, if necessary, unconventional solutions.
Administrative hurdles and objections by less committed
colleagues never prevented him from doing what seemed to
him humanely necessary.
Right up to his last day,
Professor Diether Raff took an interest in “his
institute”, the International Study Centre, whose
success always remained dear to his heart.
Monika
Gardt
Acting Director
"Herbst" / "Autumn" (Special Course for Scholarship Students of the Tunesian Government; Oct 14 2020)
This poem was written after two weeks of German instruction.
