Parzinger honours Werner Knopp: A true president of unity
Press release from 01/29/2016
The long-standing President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation celebrates his 85th birthday this Sunday - Born in Braunschweig, he headed Germany's largest cultural institution in Berlin for over twenty years
On the occasion of his 85th birthday this Sunday (31 January), the President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, paid tribute to his predecessor in office, Werner Knopp, as a "cultural diplomat and great integrator". Born in Braunschweig, he headed Germany's largest cultural institution in Berlin from 1977 to 1998. The reunification of the formerly Prussian collections, which had been divided for decades, took place during his term of office. "This president turned the SPK into an all-German foundation and, above all, integrated all the new federal states into the SPK. It is to his credit that the unification of the parts of the collection in Berlin could be regulated so clearly and comprehensively in the Unification Treaty. It is at least as important that the colleagues from East and West came together with great openness and without suspicion, because he spared them tiresome settlement debates. We also have Werner Knopp to thank for the construction of the Gemäldegalerie at the Kulturforum and the restoration of the Neues Museum by David Chipperfield," said Parzinger.
In the current SPK magazine, which describes the reunification of the Berlin collections from the perspective of 25 protagonists, Werner Knopp writes: "I remember a very moving letter from an East German employee who wrote to me that he and others were worried about losing their identity if they were united with the Federal Republic. But the Foundation had allayed their concerns and GDR citizens could also live with the Prussian tradition."