Obituary for Dr Dietrich Korth

Mr Dietrich Korth, member of the EDA Club of Honour, has passed away on December 21st, 2023, at the age of 92.

Born in Fürstenberg/Oder and, after graduating from high school, he initially completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, after which he went on to study civil engineering at the Technical College for Civil Engineering in Berlin, specialising in reinforced concrete construction.

His first professional life took place in the GDR.

From the editorial office of the magazine “Bauplanung – Bautechnik”, he went on to work as a test engineer for the state building inspectorate at the VE Spezialbaukombinat Verkehrsbau, Bohr- und Sprengtechnik division, Berlin.

Since then, demolition and blasting technology have been the constant companions in Dieter Korth’s professional life.

In the company “Bohr- und Sprengtechnik Berlin” (later: Verkehrsbau) in the VEB Autobahnbaukombinat, he was responsible for the coordination and management of numerous measures, such as the development of standards, standardisation and the responsible editing of the information booklets “Bohr- und Sprengtechnik”.

From 1979 to 1990, he headed the “Zentrale Fachsektion Abbruch”, which he also founded, within the “Kammer der Technik”.

During this time, he organised the first four demolition conferences – 1982 Berlin, 1984 Frankfurt/O., 1987 Dresden and 1989 Berlin – which met with increasing interest. This was demonstrated by the number of participants, which rose from 180 to 350. It was not until 1988 that Dieter Korth learnt of the existence of the Deutscher Abbruchverband by chance, while the Deutscher Sprengverband was gaining ground through international conferences. At the 4th demolition conference in Berlin in December 1989, representatives from West Germany, namely the chairman of the Deutscher Abbruchverband, Fridolin Liegl, and the chairman of the Deutscher Sprengverband, Walter Werner, attended for the first time on his own initiative.

One of the highlights of his publishing activities during his time in the GDR was the reference book “Abbrucharbeiten – Vorbereitung und Durchführung” (Demolition work – preparation and execution), which he edited in 1981 and 1987.

At the age of 59, Dr Korth began his second career in reunified Germany.

He founded an engineering firm, ASCO GmbH, started organising the annual convention „Fachtagung Abbruch“ again from 1995 and was actively involved in the Deutscher Abbruchverband. He was a member of the AK Ingenieurbüros, a recognised “Fachberater Abbruch” and was heavily involved in the three editions of the Fachbuch Abbrucharbeiten of the Deutscher Abbruchverband. In 2011, the Deutscher Abbruchverband was able to take over the Fachtagung Abbruch from him, at which he and his wife Ursula continued to be welcome and well-informed guests for many years afterwards.

The EDA extends its condolences to his family and friends, and deeply mourns the loss of such an amazing professional and preson. Both EDA and DA will honour his memory.