In the Fürstensaal of the Würzburg Residence, District President Eugen Ehmann awards the Federal Cross of Merit to three men and one woman from Lower Franconia on Thursday. They have all made a special contribution to the community. The best-known of the awardees is August Stich, a specialist in tropical medicine from Würzburg.
Federal Cross of Merit for Tropical Medicine August Stich
The chief physician of tropical medicine at the Klinikum Würzburg Mitte, August Stich, has been committed to medical care for people in developing countries and for refugees in Würzburg and Lower Franconia on a full-time and voluntary basis for over 30 years. The 62-year-old is currently the most experienced clinical doctor in tropical medicine in Germany and has brought the Missioklinik in Würzburg to a higher medical level, the statement says.
The German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Aid (DAHW) congratulates its association and supervisory board member and long-time supporter on this award. DAHW board member Patrick Georg was delighted with the award: “August ‘Gustl’ Stich is a close friend of DAHW.” Stich, who has meanwhile also been active as an honorary vice president for DAHW, is active far beyond the city limits of Würzburg. According to DAHW, his expertise in the field of tropical medicine is in demand throughout Germany.
In a personal conversation, Stich emphasized that this award not only honored him. He emphasized that he received the award on behalf of the achievements of many people. Among other things, Stich’s scientific interest is in what is known as schistosomiasis, also known as schistosomiasis – a poverty-related tropical disease that occurs, for example, on Lake Victoria in Tanzania. Stich has been involved in the fight against poverty-related and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) for a long time – a concern that connects him with DAHW.
Award for three more Lower Franconia
Petra Breitenbach from Lohr am Main (district Main-Spessart), Helmut Greß from Würzburg and Helmut Kuypers from Gochsheim (district Schweinfurt) also received a Federal Cross of Merit on Thursday morning.
The Lohrer Petra Breitenbach has been involved full-time and voluntarily in the field of music education and musical promotion for many decades. According to the government of Lower Franconia, the 59-year-old teaches at the music school in the city of Lohr and provides early musical education in kindergartens. Her special use is the plucked music. She accompanied numerous young musicians at “Jugend musiziert” and has been a constant in the field of plucked instruments with her students for decades. Petra Breitenbach has been playing the second mandolin in the Landeszupforchester since 1981, and since 1982 she has been the honorary director of the Lohr Zupf-Ensemble, which she co-founded. She is a lecturer at the “Bund Deutscher Zupfmusiker Landesverband Bayern e. V.” (BDZ). In 2006 she organized the state music festival of the BDZ.
