At the symposium “Systems thinking: what’s it for?”, organised by the Center on the occasion of Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s 110th anniversary of his birthday with international experts on 10 November 2011 in Vienna, the death mask of Ludwig von Bertalanffy was handed on to the Center. The last owner of the death mask was Gisèle Bertalanffy, the widow of Felix Bertalanffy. Gisèle Bertalanffy decided to donate the mask to the Center. Therewith, the mask has left Canada and has crossed the border to Austria where Ludwig von Bertalanffy was born and where he was active until 1947.
The death mask of Ludwig von Bertalanffy with which the Center was presented by Michel Saint-Germain, Professor emeritus at the Université d’Ottawa (photo: Günther Ossimitz)