Obituary for Prof. Karl Schlecht
It is with great sadness that the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin (IPU) bids farewell to Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c. Dipl.-Ing. Karl Schlecht, who passed away on 21 August 2024 at the age of 91 after a short illness. His death means a deep loss – not only for his relatives and friends, but also for science and education, which he promoted with great commitment over decades.
Karl Schlecht was the founder and long-standing head of the globally successful Putzmeister Group and at the same time an exceptional promoter of humanistic education and science. His particular concern was the promotion of psychoanalytical thinking, which he pursued in deep connection with the ideas of Erich Fromm.
A central endeavor of Karl Schlecht was to anchor Erich Fromm's thinking more firmly in the scientific world. In 2014, he founded the Erich Fromm Foundation together with Dr. Rainer Funk. This foundation created the Erich Fromm Institute in Tübingen, which houses Fromm's academic estate and library and makes them permanently accessible to researchers and the public.
As early as 2013, the Karl Schlecht Foundation (KSG) funded teaching assignments at the IPU, which led, among other things, to the organization of the first International Erich Fromm Research Conference at the IPU in 2014. With the KSG, Karl Schlecht also made an outstanding contribution to the promotion of "good leadership" based on humanistic values.
In 2016, Prof. Thomas Kühn was appointed to the newly created professorship for work and organizational psychology funded by the Karl Schlecht Foundation (KSG), and the Erich Fromm Study Center at the IPU was established. Fromm's thinking is firmly anchored in research and teaching here, with a particular focus on socio-psychological and humanistic approaches. KSG also supported other individual projects at the IPU, including a project led by Prof. Konrad Schnabel, which was dedicated to identifying leadership potential in the personnel selection process.
Thanks to Karl Schlecht's tireless support, numerous events and international research conferences were made possible as part of the Erich Fromm Study Center, including the annual Erich Fromm Lecture, the international Erich Fromm Seminar for early career researchers, and international conferences in 2018 and 2023.
Thanks to funding from the Karl Schlecht Foundation, the IPU was able to make a significant contribution to integrating Erich Fromm's scientific work in the context of current scientific issues. The 2023 conference on "Humanistic Transformation" illustrated how Fromm's humanistic approaches can be used to shed light on contemporary issues and problems in scientific discourse.
Karl Schlecht's exceptional commitment to science, education, and leadership is a legacy that the IPU Berlin will continue to carry forward in the future. His tireless commitment to humanism, ethics, and responsibility remains a source of inspiration for all of us, particularly at the Erich Fromm Study Center.
The IPU Berlin is deeply indebted to Karl Schlecht for his extraordinary support. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family and loved ones and to the team of the Karl Schlecht Foundation. The IPU will honor his legacy and carry on his ideals in research and teaching.
On the website of the Karl Schlecht Foundation you will find, amongst others, a film obituary and a digital book of condolence for Prof. Dr. Karl Schlecht. Click here to go to the page.