“German culture and Greece’s tradition-steeped culture have been coming together in the Goethe-Institut in Athens for more than half a century. Indeed, Goethe himself believed that German culture owed much to Greek tradition.
I congratulate the Goethe-Institut in Athens on its 60th anniversary!
The invitation issued in 1952 by the Greek side to establish the first Goethe-Institut in Athens demonstrated a will to rebuild German-Greek friendship on a foundation of culture following the Second World War.
This succeeded in an impressive way: during its 60‑year existence, the Goethe-Institut in Athens has provided a unique space for exchange, dialogue and mutual inspiration in which Germans and Greeks have together engendered a new creativity.”