The paper noted that few Germans learned how to properly pronounce Konrád's first name during his five-year stint as president of the Berlin Academy of Art. On the other hand, Konrád's German, "rinsed softly with Hungarian", transformed into a "melodic experience of sound" the longer he talked.
In his speeches, Konrád showed a subtle response to art and put the ever-changing city of Berlin in a respectable and exciting context. The urban scientist and sociologist appeared as a kind of philosopher of the city, albeit it one from the ranks of Eastern European intellectuals in the 60s and 70s, the paper wrote.
Konrád was a central figure in the run up to the process of emancipation in Central and Eastern Europe that culminated in the events of 1989. His book Antipolitics - Central European Mediations, which was published in German in 1985, became a kind of handbook for the process of establishing self-determination and self-liberation in the region. Konrád paid a price for his contribution. His job was taken away in 1973 and he was arrested in 1974. After his release from prison he was forbidden to publish.
President of the German Bundestag Norbert Lammert also wished Konrád a happy birthday in a letter. Lammert praised Konrád not only for his work in literature, but for deepening the relationship between Germany and Hungary.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / EPA
