An Unusual German of His Generation

I met Peter Petschauer (and his wife Joni) for the first time in 2019 at the annual German Society for Psychohistory and Political Psychology (GPPP) conference in Heidelberg, Germany. I had the feeling that he was very amused and quite attentive when I told

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a small breakfast group that I was there without a mobile phone because it bothered me to be constantly available. This made him smile since he grew up without a mobile himself. We later got into email contact that lasted for months and was very fruitful.

I got to know Peter as an always very interested, polite, and helpful person who was quite open to younger people like me. What particularly impresses me and makes me grateful is that, despite the great physical distance, he has always maintained contact with the GPPP. He even comes to Germany for annual conferences and has repeatedly provided special lectures here.

It is also something special—especially for his generation—that he has repeatedly reported openly and publicly about his family history. Many Germans just don’t do that. This combination of information on private experiences and the search for scientific knowledge is extraordinary. It’s a very unique and interesting approach that I really appreciate. I wish him all the best and every success with his future plans.

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