Curiosity, Clarity, Attitude
Susanne Klinke lives by Max Planck's motto: "Recognize what is — and make something of it." Her spirit of inquiry never left her, even when studying was impossible. Today, she supports the Max Planck Society out of conviction.
"Insight must precede application." When Susanne Klinke talks about her life, she quickly comes back to this quote from Max Planck. It is her maxim, her inner compass, as she says. "I have always acted according to it. That was already the case before I even knew who coined the phrase," explains the 92-year-old. For her, it means first assessing the situation. Recognizing what is sensible and feasible. Then she acts.
Anyone who visits the former teacher in Travemünde will meet a woman who looks at her counterpart with an alert gaze—attentive, and even a little scrutinizing, but never unfriendly. You immediately sense her objective clarity and determination. Susanne Klinke chose her current home, a retirement residence with a view of the Baltic Sea, herself. She waited five years for a place. "You make decisions like this after careful consideration. Here I have what I need."
Planck's "insight before application" philosophy has helped her in many situations, including life-changing ones: during her escape from World War II and in her unwavering pursuit of education. It also helped her decide which research to support.
She is a personal supporting member and has used her fortune to support the Max Planck Society for years, most recently the Institute for Ornithology and the Institute for Evolutionary Biology. Perhaps this is also because studying natural sciences and conducting research herself was her own lifelong dream. She did not have this opportunity. But the joy of discovery and understanding was always there.
One of Susanne Klinke's earliest memories reflects this perfectly: She grew up in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, and spent a lot of time outdoors. One day, when she was seven or eight, she found a dead mouse in a field. While other children might have been disgusted, Susanne Klinke wanted to know what a heart looked like. She took a piece of broken glass — "I knew it was as sharp as a knife" — and carefully cut open the mouse. "I was so impressed by how everything was connected."
In 1945, Susanne Klinke fled Upper Silesia with her mother and younger sister. Her father was at the front, and her mother wanted to make it to Berlin with the children. They were separated during the escape. The eleven-year-old ended up alone in Russian captivity. The ordeal lasted six weeks, and the 92-year-old is reluctant to talk about the exact circumstances. However, she remembers: "I knew I had to keep a cool head." When the prisoners are transferred, Klinke seizes her opportunity. She discreetly falls back to the end of the group and hides in a garden under dry leaves. Once everyone is out of earshot, she gets up and runs to a train station. She finally reached Berlin, where she located her family.
In Berlin, Susanne Klinke can finally go back to school. Although she has missed two years, she enrolls in a secondary school. There, she meets her future husband, Erhard Klinke. They had sat next to each other in elementary school and met again in high school. He was the best in his class: ambitious and determined. She shared his thirst for knowledge.
After graduating, he studied law. Despite her excellent grades in high school, Susanne Klinke does not have this opportunity. Money is tight for the family, so studying is out of the question. She attends a commercial college, where she studies typing, shorthand, and economic geography. "At least I fought for that," she says. Then, she goes on to work at a bank.
Erhard and Susanne Klinke marry in 1958, and their daughter is born in 1961. While Erhard pursued a career in civil service — first at the district military recruitment office in Hanover and later at the Ministry of Science in Bonn, where he was responsible for universities and research institutions — Susanne took care of their family. "Everyone said I had a wonderful life—I could play tennis, go shopping, and host parties," she recalls. "But I just thought: I'm going stupid."
The bright spots during this time were the trips and conferences she accompanied her husband on—lectures, visits to institutes, and meetings with scientists. Through her husband, she got to know the Max Planck Society. Her enduring enthusiasm for science stems from this time. "There, I was able to learn about things that had always interested me." She still remembers some things as if they were yesterday: For example, she remembers Emmanuelle Charpentier's lecture. Charpentier developed the CRISPR gene scissors with American biochemist Jennifer Doudna. "She kept fiddling and fiddling. Nothing worked until suddenly it did. This patience and persistence were incredibly impressive to me.”
Recognize what is. Recognize what is possible. Take action.
As their daughter grew older, her husband encouraged her. "Now it's your turn. Do what you've always wanted to do." In her late thirties, Susanne Klinke began studying to become an economics and German teacher. She passed both state exams and entered the teaching profession.
In 1974, her husband was appointed founding president of the new university in Lübeck. "He was a brilliant administrative lawyer, and his ability to understand scientific contexts was extraordinary," says Susanne Klinke. "He could talk to professors on an equal footing and understand their subjects even though he wasn't a scientist himself." She worked at a secondary school herself. At the same time, she helped her husband with receptions and visits, hosting guests from Japan, the United States, and all over Europe. "It was sometimes exhausting, but also exciting. We suddenly had insight into other worlds.”
Her husband passed away in 2007. She took over his supporting membership in the Max Planck Society. Their daughter is now an orthodontist, and their three grandchildren have finished their studies. "They're all academics," says Susanne Klinke with quiet satisfaction.
She has created a new network for herself at the retirement home in Travemünde and remains connected to science. She is still keenly interested in the research being conducted at the Max Planck Society. She organizes excursions for other residents, writes to institutes, and inquires about topics, dates, and guided tours. Most recently, she traveled with a small group — "all academics, including three doctors" — to the Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock and the Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön. If she has her way, the next stop will be the Institute for Climate Research in Hamburg. Additionally, the 92-year-old has recently become interested in quantum physics and AI. She follows scientific lectures on television, reads articles on the subject, and says, "That's my new hobby now."
She would have liked to become a researcher herself. Today, she likes the idea that she can support others' research at the Max Planck Society. In doing so, she passes on her attitude: Recognize what is. Recognize what is possible. Then, act.