Eberswalder Hochschulgesellschaft e.V.

Born on 5 February 1930 in Rübeland in the Harz Mountains, Gunther Wolff studied forestry in Eberswalde from 1949 to 1953, then part of the Faculty of Forestry at Humboldt University of Berlin. Until 1956, he worked as a forest planner in Sauen, among other locations, and turned his attention early on to the principles of close-to-nature forest management. The results of this work were reflected in his doctoral thesis, submitted in Eberswalde in 1959 – where he had been working as a researcher since 1956 – entitled “Das Revier Sauen: Inventory, Planning and Success of a Biological Forest Management System.” His post-doctoral qualification (Habilitation), completed in Tharandt in 1970, focused on the diagnosis of smoke damage using false-colour aerial photographs – a topic of considerable contemporary relevance. In recognition of his scientific achievements, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in Forestry in 1985.

“Do something with music!” – this was the instruction given to him in 1964 by Professor Albert Richter, then Head of the Institute of Forest Sciences, to enrich the institute’s cultural life. The result was a unique music festival in the ruins of Chorin Monastery. Together with a group of dedicated volunteers, Wolff succeeded in maintaining the festival even through the political transition of 1989/90. For his achievements, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1997. As chair of the organising association, he coordinated the festival until 2009 and continued as its artistic director until 2013.

Immediately after German reunification, Wolff founded the Association of Friends and Supporters of Forest Science Teaching and Research. He later became its chair and remained on the board until his death. His declared goal of reopening the Faculty of Forestry at Humboldt University in Eberswalde ultimately led to the successful establishment of the University of Applied Sciences Eberswalde (now Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development) with its faculties of Forestry, Landscape Management and Nature Conservation, Wood Engineering, and Business Administration. He was appointed the university’s founding rector on 15 January 1992 and was elected Rector in December 1994, a position he held until December 1998, when he retired at the age of 68. Gunther Wolff continued to follow the development of our university with great interest. He contributed to the university’s tenth anniversary publication and attended many university events, including our twentieth anniversary. Until shortly before his death, he remained actively involved in a research project analysing the 1963 closure of the original faculty.

He passed away on 20 February 2013 at the age of 83.