Erfurt (dpa/th) – After the school massacre at the Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt more than 20 years ago, the director of the school, Christiane Alt, who became known nationally, has retired. The 66-year-old teacher, who had headed the high school for 31 years, completed her last working day on Tuesday – with a farewell event and “many nice surprises from teachers and students,” as she said when asked. Thuringia’s Minister of Education Helmut Holter (left) recognized the merits of the teacher.
He especially highlighted her role after the school massacre. On April 26, 2002, a 19-year-old ex-high school student shot and killed twelve teachers, one student, one secretary and one policeman within less than ten minutes and then killed himself. It is mainly thanks to her that the grammar school as a school community survived the worst attack that a Thuringian school had ever experienced, Holter told the German Press Agency. “She has shaped the process of dealing with the terrible event, which was both painful and good, with great dignity and impressive strength,” the Ministry of Education quoted him as saying.
