Holiday message from Rector Hans-Joachim Pieper

We are all moved by the effects of the pandemic, the looming climate catastrophe, and the images from the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the crisis affecting society as a whole is also impacting us personally, whether in the form of an emerging energy shortage, rising costs in our daily shopping, or bottlenecks in healthcare provision.

We are currently experiencing a situation the likes of which we have not known in post-war Europe until now. This brings with it deep uncertainty. Expectations, wishes, and plans—especially those of the younger and youngest generation—are suddenly being called into question. And yet we are still operating at a high level, and I am convinced that society—and, pro domo speaking, the university as well—has enough substance and strength to meet these challenges.

And when it comes to art, the following is true in these times: Never has it been as valuable as it is today! We need new perspectives, new ways of thinking and living, impulses to pause and do things differently, and surprising ideas, such as a slogan on a cardboard tray of the kind familiar from bakeries: “I thank, therefore I am.” It is a simple sentence, a gesture, and at the same time a new, extraordinary attitude to life.

I wish you happy holidays — space and time to lean back, gather strength, get ready to move forward, and be grateful.

Yours sincerely
Hans-Joachim Pieper