The Federal Board of the EuroJD mourns the loss of its Honorary Chairman

Werner Blank

Holder of the Federal Cross of Merit

Honorary member of the Eurojumelages

died on 6 January 2024 at the age of 88

Werner Blank was a committed Jumeleur who contributed a great deal to the establishment and development of the Jumelages idea. During his 31 years on the Federal Board of the Jumelages, he left his mark in various functions and played a decisive role in shaping the history of the Jumelages during this time.
After the birth of the Franco-German postal partnership between Darmstadt and Troyes (1959), many more such partnerships were formed, so that in 1968 the groups merged to form a central organisation, today's Federal Board, based in Darmstadt. At the same time, the organisation was given the name Jumelages Européens PTT e.V. (JEPTT).
Werner Blank was initially active on the Federal Board as Secretary and then held the office of Deputy Chairman for Internal Affairs from 1972 to 1981. The idea of post-jumelages continued to spread across national borders, so that in 1984 the international umbrella organisation "Union Internationale des Jumelages PTT" (UIJPTT), which later became Eurojumelages, was founded in Paris. Werner Blank - now Chairman of the Federal Board of the JEPTT - pushed for the German jumelages to join this umbrella organisation. In 1986, the first general assembly of the UIJPTT took place in Willingen under the patronage of the then Federal Postal Minister Schwarz-Schilling. Werner Blank became Vice President of the UIJPTT.
From 1984 until his retirement in 1999, Werner Blank was Chairman of the Federal Executive Board. During these 15 years, many new partnerships were formed in large parts of Europe. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening up to the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, sections were also formed in the new federal states. At the end of his term of office, the JEPTT comprised a total of 65 sections and there were partnerships between 15 nations.
Werner Blank was a person who commanded respect. He was held in high esteem both by his colleagues at the time and by partners from other nations. He was a reliable team player who was
open to new ideas and made co-operation pleasant. In 1999, he handed over the federal chairmanship to Edeltraud Hübner and retired from active Jumelages work.
He was awarded honorary chairmanship of the Federal Board and later also honorary membership of Eurojumelages
Werner Blank rendered outstanding services to the Jumelages and contributed to fostering Franco-German friendship and European understanding through his many and varied activities. He was also recognised for this by being awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. We are deeply indebted to him and will honour his memory.

The Federal Board of Eurojumelages Deutschland e.V. (EuroJD)
Michaela Alber
Chairwoman