Dieter König

[corin_huke]

Some of you may be aware that there is a memorial to Dieter König in Berlin. I'm not exactly sure where it is situated, but I would guess that it's close to where the factory was situated in Wedding

It would be nice to hear of your memories of Dieter (plus photos). My memories are of a very approachable guy who as always accomodating and willing to help whenever and wherever he could. And as for having a head full of ideas, well that as they is a story for another day

It was a very sad day and huge loss to the sport when he passed away in 1991

[Jeff Lytle]

That memorial to Dieter is located at UIM headquarters in Brussels.

[corin_huke]

Are you sure Jeff, as I honestly thought it was in Berlin, as prior to his untimely death, Hans-Georg Krage was trying to arrange Dieter's memorial

On the MRC Berlin website it also talks about it being situated in their Marina in Berlin (just spotted that) http://mrc-berlin.com/rennsport_e/dieter_koenig.html

The other point is that the UIM are now based in Monaco, so to have something like this erected in this incredibly wealthy principality, would be quite an achievement and no doubt very costly.......hell even the mail men in Monte Carlo drive around in Ferraris!!!

[Jeff Lytle]

I thought I had read it was in Belguim, or maybe I read it was at the UIM headquarters, and did not realize it had moved to Monaco either.

LET'S START THIS ALL AGAIN!

If you look carefully, you will see some of the writing is in German.......Looks like Berlin could be the place after all. My appologies for my chiming in so misinformed Corin.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

It's been years since I have been to Berlin and things have a way of changing, but the hills in the background don't show buildings, and it looks like too much open space for Berlin (in an industrial sector). It doesn't look anything like the Wedding district as I remember. Of course, with all that has happened over there, and the Greens influence, the whole landscape may look different.

It is very possible that the memorial is now in a part of Berlin that was once called East Berlin. Hans Krage and his family had property in East Berlin as well as on the coastline of the North Sea which was taken from them after the fall of Berlin by the East Germans under control of the Soviets following partition of the city. The few times I was in East Berlin I noticed that most of the buildings were stark, traffic was light, it was apparent that the eastern part of Berlin had suffered heavy destruction, including trees.

It may be that the memorial is somewhere on or near Hans' property. Maybe Ralph Donald may know, or Mike Ward, or maybe Ralph could ask Peer Krage.

[Mark75H]

The text where the image is hosted says it is at the club's marina facility in Berlin. There are other images of the nearby area.

[Donald]

The memorial to Dieter is located on the MRC property in Berlin and was erected and dedicated in Aug. 2002 the anniversary of Dieter's death. The memorial was instigated by Hans Krage, who asked for donations from the many boat racers that had known Dieter in Europe and the USA. The donors names and country are engraved on a separate panel. I attended the dedication, which was sponsored, of course, by MRC with maybe !00 people in attendance. I was asked to give a talk about when I first knew Dieter in the USA. I first spoke about Al Bryant and Mather Hyatt, who stayed in Berlin after the war and raced with Dieter. They were responsible for the Konig engines being imported to the USA. Anyway I told them I first met Dieter in 1956, when he was over here to promote his engines and attend several boat races. At one of those races, which was the SEBA championships, there was a barbeque in the pits for all drivers and crews. I was sitting with Dieter after being served and he takes a bite of the barbeque, picks up his plate, walks down to the lake and proceeds to wash the barbeque sauce off of the meat. He comes back, sits down and finishes his meal. The sauce was too hot for him.