Klaus Zeller's magnum opus

Dr. Klaus Zeller’s book Crossing Many Borders to Reach Home is an epic: it covers an extended period of time, and describes heroic deeds of heads of state, academicians, men of letters, diplomats, etc.

Dr. Zeller shuttles from the personal to the academic throughout his book, and the two are often intertwined. There are nostalgic accounts of his boyhood, his parents, grandparents. His father, an engineer who later established adult education centers, was highly respected by the community. His mother, a fashion designer, was his best teacher from whom he learned more about life and its travails than from anyone else. He draws similarities and differences between German and Filipino family relationships, e.g., German children do not ask their parents about their personal life; Filipino children love to pry into their parents’ lives. The reader learns a lot about the Germans — their psyche, psychology, character — while ending with greater appreciation and admiration for them.

Dr. Zeller’s studies reveal his incredible conversance with world history, literature, philosophy, especially those of the West, and also American. Further, his studies encompass and encapsulate law — Dr. Zeller finished law — political science, economics, public affairs, international relations, theater and languages: Dr. Zeller speaks, besides his native German, French, Italian, English, Latin, Spanish to a certain extent, and Czech. As a five-year-old, he was shouting newspaper headlines in Czech on board a train!

The exceptionally brilliant Dr. Zeller, to begin with, was the unchallenged No. 1 in scientific high school in Reutlingen. He topped his law course, earned a cum laude for his doctoral thesis on the Ivory Coast, the title summa cum laude not being in existence then.

Keenly perceptive, Dr. Zeller makes revealing observations: 1) Walking is the only way to get to know a place; 2) protocol, as it is practiced by diplomatic offices, often ends in amusing chaos; 3) Germans are among the rare people in the world who celebrate defeat (he might as well be referring to Filipinos!), 4) colonization is the origin of terrorism.

The author enormously admires Paris as well as French art and culture. He also admires Vienna, Cairo, India. He deeply abhors Nazism, writes bitterly about the WW II destruction of German cities by the Allies, particularly, by the Americans; denigrates American diplomacy but admires President Barack Obama. He thinks Filipino talent for diplomacy remains insufficiently developed. He highly respects Domingo Siazon, Delia Domingo Albert, Rodolfo Severino, among others.

Women will enjoy the author’s fleeting innocent flirtations and romances. His first marriage was to the French Francois who bore him a son and two daughters. His second was to Maria Teresa (Pinky) del Rosario with whom, Dr. Zeller asserts, his second, more mature adult life began.

Historians, political scientists, international law and economic experts, and not the least, diplomats — will be intrigued by his authoritative accounts of historical and political relations between Germany and virtually most countries around the world.

These relations are not within my field of discipline; thus, Dr. Zeller’s epic has been a tremendous learning experience for me for his dissertations on Germany’s tumultuous, turbulent, triumphant, foreign relations. The Philippines was the first country he served as ambassador. Followed Australia and Iran where he accompanied President Katham on his visit to Germany.

In-between Dr. Zeller’s ambassadorial postings and thereafter — he joined the Foreign Office in 1962 — he was given highly significant assignments owing to his extensive knowledge of West, East, and Mid-East governance and his expertise in diplomacy.

Dr. Zeller makes friends easily, is quickly bored with the stupid and the shallow, and values sincerity, honesty and integrity in people. He reiterates his enduring love and admiration for the Philippines and, not the least, for his wife Pinky with whom he spends idyllic hours in a farm.

He still keeps crossing borders only to return home.

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Dr. Zeller, recipient of prestigious awards from Germany, France, Spain, Japan and the Philippines, now shares his expertise in foreign relations with university students.

Foreword of his book — a second volume will follow — was written by Bernardo M. Villegas. National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose was guest of honor at the launch photos of which will appear later.