Missed Berlin literary professor: emotional commemoration in Berlin

Missed Berlin literary professor: emotional commemoration in Berlin

On June 1, 2025, a commemoration for the late literary professor Ralf Klausnitzer took place in the Literature Institute of the Berlin Humboldt University. Klausnitzer, who was 56 years old and was considered an estimated teacher, disappeared to Taiwan in March 2024. The event was well attended and was shaped by family, students and colleagues who remembered the common memories of Klausnitzer. With snacks and drinks, photos were shared that showed his life and work.

like the Berliner Zeitung A surveillance video that showed him on March 26, 2024 in front of a temple in Taiwan. He had a room in a hostel in Hualien, where he plans to visit the Taroko national park. On March 28, he was reported to be missing when he did not check out. In addition, the search for him was made more difficult by an earthquake and bad weather.

The search for Klausnitzer

six weeks after his disappearance were used to search for Klausnitzer, but without success. The police in Hualien only contacted his family when he did not appear on his return flight to Germany on April 2. In an explanation, his parents expressed their frustration about the slow and unsuccessful search, which was hindered by the lack of formal relationships between Germany and Taiwan. They had to contact informal associations of Germans living abroad to get help. In an article in the Taiwan News the family asked for the public for support and emphasized the need to obtain information about Klausnitzers whereabouts.

The last sightings document that Klausnitzer left a bus in the Taroko Gorge and entered the Xiangde Temple. His luggage and laptop were found in the hotel room, but there was no trace of his person. His sons, Robert and Gustav, traveled to Taiwan in June 2024, but encountered obstacles due to inappropriate roads due to the earthquake, which made the search more difficult.

life and memories of Ralf Klausnitzer

Klausnitzer was a professor of literature at the Humboldt University for over 30 years and left a gap that is felt by many of his students and colleagues. After the article in the Berliner Zeitung, many current and former students laid flowers in front of his office and expressed their condolences. A student remembered Klausnitzer as a strict but passionate professor who inspired many.

The commemoration was described by his family as a family together, in which emotional challenges were discussed. The mother of Klausnitzer felt emotionally less burdened after the celebration, while his father complained about health problems. Despite the grief for the disappeared, the atmosphere remained positive and full of memories.

The fate of missing such as Klausnitzer raises fundamental questions about the legal treatment of such cases. According to the international committee from the Red Cross (IKRK) suffering families to mourn through the disappearance of their relatives. The question of information about the fate missing is a fundamental human right that must be recognized by the international community.