Small German Town Keeps Jose Rizal’s Memory Alive

Chargé d’Affaires Lillibeth Pono delivers her remarks at the Jose Rizal Park in Wilhelmsfeld. (Berlin PE photo)

BERLIN 04 July 2018 – Tucked away in the forests of the Odenwald mountains, Wilhelmsfeld in the state of Baden-Württemberg occupies a special place in Philippine history. For a few months in 1886, the town was home to no less than the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

Rizal is an integral part of the town’s identity, with markers, Philippine flags and street names serving as tangible links to its storied past. Every year, the town and its leadership celebrate the life and deeds of the great man who was once a member of their community.

On 17 June 2018, Filipinos from different parts of Germany, including Philippine Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Lillibeth V. Pono, and mostly German members of the Knights of Rizal led by Wilhemsfeld-Heidelberg Chapter Commander Werner Filsinger, came to Wilhelmsfeld for this year’s Rizal birth anniversary celebration.

In her remarks during the occasion, Charge d’Affaires Pono called Wilhelmsfeld a symbol of the enduring bonds of friendship between the Philippines and Germany, and expressed the Embassy’s gratitude to Wilhelmsfeld Mayor Christoph Oeldorf and the past administrations of Wilhelmsfeld, and the Knights of Rizal for keeping the memory of the national hero very much alive — 132 years after he walked the town’s streets.

The Chargé d’Affaires encouraged everyone, especially fellow Filipinos, “to follow Dr. Rizal’s example and to always be mindful of one’s duty to our nation, and be an exemplary ambassador of goodwill of our motherland abroad.” END

(From left): Philippine Honorary Consul in Stuttgart Axel Neumahr, Chargé d’Affaires Lillibeth Pono, and Knights of Rizal Wilhelmsfeld-Heidelberg Chapter Commander Werner Filsinger. (Berlin PE photo)

For more information, visit www.berlinpe.dfa.gov.ph / www.philippine-embassy.de or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGermany.