08 July 2015 - In Germany, the 154th Birthday Commemoration of Jose Rizal started with a wreath laying ceremony led by Wilhelmsfeld Mayor Hanns Zellner. He was joined by Philippine Ambassador to Germany Melita Sta. Maria-Thomeczek, the Knights and Ladies for Rizal (KOR), the Filipino community in Wilhelmsfeld and Ms. Lourdes Villaroman, the great granddaughter of Saturnina Rizal, Jose’s sister. Leading the Knights of Rizal for Germany was Commander Mr. Werner Filsinger.
Following the remarks by the Ambassador and the KOR Area Commander Filsinger on the life and works of Dr. Jose Rizal, Mayor Zellner then recognized 10 students who have showed a special character of caring for one another by awarding them the Jose-Rizal-Preis.
Through the efforts of the City Council of Wilhelmsfeld, Mayor Zellner, and the Knights of Rizal, the Christian-Morgenstern-Grundschule (Gradeschool) now allows its school children to have one hour lessons on Jose Rizal. “The award is Wilhelmsfeld's tribute to its most distinguished citizen, Dr. Jose Rizal,” said Mayor Zellner.
Another recognition, the Pastor Ulmer Award, was given to two distinguished citizens of Wilhelmsfeld. The award is named after Pastor Karl Ullmer, the Protestant pastor who hosted Dr. Rizal during his stay in Wilhelmsfeld.
Wilhelmsfeld, with a modest population of 3,000 people, was established as a municipality in 1710 and is part of Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg Federal State. Jose Rizal spent several months in Wilhelmseld in 1886 while he practiced medicine at the university eye clinic in Heidelberg. It was in Wilhelmsfeld that he wrote the first chapters of Noli Me Tangere. END