about the school

*Please be adviced that The School of Death does not provide any grief counseling or psychological help.

The School of Death was founded in October 2017 in Berlin, Germany, to bridge the gap between everyday life and the realm of dying.

We've noticed that discussions about death have been conspicuously absent from Western society for some time.

Death remains one of the most neglected and taboo topics, despite its undeniable relevance to every human being.

Our culture has yet to effectively integrate death into our lived reality.

This affects not only how we support those nearing the end of their journey

but also how we deal with the concept of death before it confronts us directly.

More broadly, it's about maintaining connections with those we've lost,

coming to terms with our own mortality, and shaping the way we eventually leave this world.

The School of Death seeks to heal the rift caused by the separation of life and death.

For the opposite of death is birth, not life; that which is born must die.

Life has no opposite, for life goes on; only its forms must change unceasingly.

It is life which creates, uses and then destroys each form of life,

whether yours or mine or that of the mountain, the empire or the fly.

Christmas Humphreys

The School of Death is therefore, in essence, a school of life.

We see dying as a profound and daring process of transformation,

which deserves far more sensitive and sublime support

than our current social norms and health care systems provide.

Rather than relegating death to the impersonal environment of neon-lit hospitals, gloomy support groups,

or the distant specter of shocking news and eerie stories, we invite it to our table - a place it has always occupied.

The School of Death warmly greets Death with Hello, Darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again.

In this spirit, we welcome YOU to join our community

and enrich your experience of life in contemplation of death.

Come to our meetings, share with us and discover that the Grim Reaper is more like the Wizard of Oz.

Together, let's conquer fear, alleviate suffering and group hug the proverbial elephant in the room.

Death is a community project.