Bridge between the Terrestrial and the Beyond
- Theory and Practice of Transcommunication -
by Hildegard Schaefer (†)

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2. Konstantin Raudive  

After Friedrich Juergenson it was the Lettic philosopher and author Dr. Konstantin Raudive who made a particularly meritorious contribution to the research on tape-recorded voices.  

Raudive was born in Asune, Lettgalen ( Latvia ), on April 30^th, 1909 . At the age of twentytwo he left his home for studying philosophy and history of literature in Paris and Salamanca . For him, Spain was his country of adoption. When returning to Latvia in 1936, he was awarded a scholarship for translating Don Quijote and other Spanish literature into Lettish. Since he endeavoured building a bridge between Latvia and Spain , he was called “legate of the Spanish spirit”.  

At that time he met his partner of life, fellow-country-woman Dr. Zenta Maurina, who later became a very well known author and essayist. Up to his death he gave his life to her who, since the age of five years and consequential to infantile paralysis, had been confined to a wheel-chair.  

Between 1937 and 1944 Raudive worked in his home country as a philosopher, an author and translater of Spanish literature. Just when he had entrusted an architect to build a house for both of them, he and Zenta Maurina had to flee. Their lives were threatened through the marching in of the Soviets in 1944.  

He and his severely handicapped wife spent almost two years on flight through Germany – an Odyssey of pain, hunger and forlornness. By the end of 1946, the two settled down in Uppsala , Sweden , where the local university conferred a professorship to both.  

Prior to the time he lived as a refugee, Raudive did not speak a word of German. Talented for languages, he learnt this language within extremely short time. In addition to Lettish and Russian, those languages spoken in his father’s house, Konstantin Raudive was master of Spanish and French, later also of German and Swedish. Same as Jürgenson, he was a “polyglot”, a man “speaking many languages”, a circumstance later very useful to him in the recording of paranormal voices. As is apparent from his books, the manifestations he found on his tapes were preferably conglomerates of voices consisting of different languages, very often merged in one and the same sentence.  

In 1946, Raudive moved to Germany . In Bad Krozingen he took up residence in a small house with garden where he stayed together with Zenta Maurina till his death in 1974.  

Since 1965 no more novels have been published by Raudive. Like Friedrich Juergenson he addressed himself entirely to the tape-recorded voices. In addition he, too, gave many lectures, welcomed in his house scientists from all over the world and gave interviews to the press, broadcasting and television media.  

And he wrote two important books on the phenomenon of tape-recorded voices. The first Unhoerbares wird hoerbar (The inaudible becomes audible) was edited in German in 1968, together with a phonographic record with voice examples. In England , these were edited in 1971 under the title Breakthrough, and in Italy with the title Voci dall’Alddida. His second book on tape-recorded voices Ueberleben wir den Tod ?  (Do we survive death ?) came on the market in 1973. In Italy it was published a few years later entitled Sopraviviamo dopo la morte ? A third book, Der Fall Wellensittich  (The budgerigar case), was edited posthumous in 1975.  

Konstantin Raudive’s health had suffered from the many years of restless engagement. He left this earth at the age of sixtyfive years on September 2^nd, 1974 .  

In addition to his books, his leaving comprised a great number of tapes and minutes. Part of them have been given to an archive in England, another part and his magnetic tape recorders are preserved in the commemorative chamber reserved to Raudive/Maurina in the Lettish Gymnasium (high-class secondary school) in Muenster, Westphalia, where visitors cannot only see, but also listen to them.  

After his passing, Raudive has answered via magnetic tape to many questions put to him, and his statements include many referring to life after death. Here is one of his answers:  

“Schoen lebe ich !”
            ("I’m living fine !").

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