Maria Reiche and her life’s work
A lonely figure kneels on the ground. Behind the figure a wide level land of 150 square kilometers. The woman in the desert sand is Maria Reiche from Dresden. The mathematician has donated her life to the exploration of the Peruvian Nazca lines. Those figures and lines have fired the imagination of many. Erich von Däniken suspected that they were a landing strip for aliens.
Before Maria Reiche died in 1998 as a 95 year old she had been given lots of awards and honorary doctorates. She said about herself laconically: “I have lived my life the way it came and didn’t think about it. I was satisfied with my work, which correlated with my skills!”
Maria Reiche went to the Romain-Rolland-Highschool in Dresden. The headmaster of the school and the students honor this wonderful personality.
Yesterday Dr. John spoke to students of the ninth grade in the auditorium of the school. For 45 minutes 85 pairs of eyes were glued on the screen.
The doctor described himself with other words than the scientist Maria Reiche:”I have lived my life, the way that God has led me. I have thought a lot about it. I am satisfied with my work, which God has sometimes blessed with my abilities but often blessed without my own capabilities.”
