Holger Aulepp’s journey to setting up a foundation started back when he was a young man. The desire to study theology one day grew in him even while he was settled in his career. He was fascinated by the view of the discipline as “the history of ideas and intellectual history.” For family reasons, he concentrated on learning Hebrew before embarking on a degree, doing so here in Bonn, his alma mater. “I had a really fantastic time studying here,” says the now 79-year-old, remembering his student years during the 1960s. “New areas of knowledge have been opened up to me to this day, especially in the natural sciences,” says Aulepp. This includes a lecture on experimental physics given by the spirited Professor Paul, who would go on to win a Nobel Prize, as well as in botany, zoology, chemistry, physiology and physiological chemistry.
Boning up on vocabulary and grammar all over again in one’s mid-60s is no easy task. In fact, it is almost an adventure: in Dr. Axel Graupner, a theologian at the University of Bonn, he found someone to teach him Biblical Hebrew and explain the background to the texts of the Hebrew Bible. His lessons would go on to become regular weekly joint study sessions taking in nearly all the books of the Hebrew Bible. “As well as being a big challenge for me, it was also—and in particular—a great intellectual experience. It opened up a whole new world for me, and that has stuck with me right up to the present day,” says Aulepp in conclusion.
A new world
But Aulepp was not only interested in studying. When he had the opportunity to make his first trip to Jerusalem alongside Dr. Graupner in 2013, the pair visited the archaeological dig at the fortress of Azekah. It proved a formative experience, one that he also wanted to make available to other students in Bonn. Unfortunately, no German institution offered public funding for trips of this kind. Aulepp took matters into his own hands and began financing trips for students.
The only unusual aspect was the condition that he imposed: aside from a good grounding, the students would also gain insights into the various facets of modern archaeology, of course, and would be able to work on digs themselves under supervision. But half of the student’s time would be set aside for discovering the country—looking around museums, taking trips to other excavated ancient cities and the Judean desert, plus an obligatory visit to the Yad Vashem memorial and the fortress of Masada.
As far as he was concerned, the two aspects—the technical element and everyday cultural life—are inextricably linked. “Besides learning the basics of practical archaeological work, students should also get a good impression of the material conditions and unique landscapes that have shaped the region’s history and its events, which form the essential subject matter of their discipline,” Aulepp says.
Reinforcing a commitment with a foundation
Through his foundation trust, established in summer 2022 under the aegis of the University of Bonn Foundation, he enables students to spend a good amount of time conducting research on site, accompanying excavations and exploring museums. Since this is one of the ideas underpinning the foundation, it is geared toward those who are just beginning to grapple with theology in an academic context, i.e. the students in the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Bonn.
But why seek to support students in the first place? “My main motivation for setting up the foundation is gratitude,” Aulepp reveals. “Gratitude for being able to study human medicine at this University and for my later studies of the Hebrew Bible over many years spent conversing with Dr. Graupner. I’m delighted that the foundation is now becoming a reality.”
After setting up the foundation: Antonia Streit, General Manager of the University of Bonn Foundation; Prof. Dr. Cornelia Richter, Dean; Dr. Holger Aulepp; and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Michael Hoch, Rector of the University