History
Established during the height of the Cold War by Dr. Georg Zundel, the Berghof Foundation now spans five decades of history.
1971
The Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies is founded by Georg Zundel as a private limited company with charitable tax-exempt status under German law. Initial support is provided for critical analyses of the arms race during the Cold War.
1977
The Foundation begins its support for the Association (later Institute) for Peace Education Tübingen.
1989
The Foundation establishes a research facility in Berlin, the Research Institute of the Berghof Foundation. Its emphasis is on altering the dynamics of the arms race. In 1993, it becomes the Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management (later Berghof Conflict Research), thus shifting its focus towards the resolution of ethno-political conflict.
1998
The groundwork is laid for the Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation. Practical and theoretical research takes place in the Balkans and the Caucasus.
1999
The Association for Peace Education Tübingen is awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education.
2001
The Resource Network for Conflict Studies and Transformation begins its sustained programme of local work with the conflict parties in Sri Lanka.
2004
Berghof Peace Support is established to provide globally oriented support for peace processes.
2005
Project work is extended to include resistance and liberation movements and former non-state armed groups. The network now spans 20 countries.
2007
The founder Georg Zundel dies. His family resolves to carry on the Foundation’s work.
The project ‘Peace Counts’ begins compiling good-practice examples of global peacebuilding to inspire joint learning in various regions of the world.
Berghof – Our Name
The name Berghof Foundation refers back to the family home of our organisation's founder, Georg Zundel, in Tübingen. More information on the place and its history can be found in the booklet Georg Friedrich Zundel: Life | Work | Background.
2012
Three areas that had been operating independently – conflict research, peace support and peace education – are integrated into one new entity: the Berghof Foundation.
2015
Berghof starts the Service Centre Peace Education in Baden-Wuerttemberg together with the State Agency for Civic Education and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Baden-Wuerttemberg.
2016
In close cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office, the Berghof Foundation begins supporting the Afghan peace process, working with Afghan partners to promote a sustainable resolution to the conflict.
2017
The Berghof Foundation receives the Peter Becker Prize in recognition of its efforts to bring together research and practice for a peaceful transformation of conflicts.
2019
Berghof Foundation staff moderate a series of closed-door sessions at the Intra-Afghan Conference for Peace, in what amounted to the first genuine dialogue among a representative group of Afghan stakeholders.
The Berghof Foundation, having grown to more than 80 staff members, moves to its new headquarters at Lindenstrasse 34 in central Berlin.
2021
The Berghof Foundation marks its 50th anniversary. The organisation outlines its current and emerging focal areas for the coming years.
