Klaus and Eva Herlitz

Klaus and Eva Herlitz are German businesspeople, living in Berlin. They are married since 1972 and they have three sons. Klaus Herlitz (born 1947 in Berlin) and Eva Herlitz (born 1952 in Solingen) are the initiators of the Buddy Bears[1] [2] and United Buddy Bears[3][4] activities, "an international symbol of collaboration among nations of what can be achieved when we work together toward a better tomorrow".[5]

The Golden Buddy Bears designed by Eva Herlitz

On 1 October 2013, Eva and Klaus Herlitz received the Verdienstorden des Landes Berlin (Merit of the State of Berlin), for outstanding service to the state.[6]

Publications

Buddy Bears

Buddy Bears began as a street art event in Berlin, started by Klaus and Eva Herlitz in 2001. Hundreds of bears were created and displayed in the city that year. There were bears on all fours, on two legs, standing on its head and sitting down. These bears have gone on tour around the world in Shanghai, Buenos Aires and St Gallen, Switzerland.[7]

United Buddy Bears

In Berlin 2002, the idea was born to motivate as many countries acknowledged by the United Nations as possible to select an artist - with the result that more than 148 artists have designed a large Budddy Bear (2 meters tall) so far. Each bear is an artistic expression of the individual country. These bears are placed next to each other in a large circle - generally in alphabetical order - as a unique synthesis of the arts.

One important prerequisite for this international unifying project is to choose artists from the individual countries - for the circle to reflect the diversity of the cultures of "one world". The observer learns about the culture, the history, the people and the landscape of the individual countries - large or small. Hence the United Buddy Bears circle has become a platform for even the smallest and poorest countries which frequently remain unnoticed. Suddenly, they are equal to larger and often rich nations.

The circle - representing The Art of Tolerance with its symbolism of love, peace and friendship - has been presented on all five continents in over 30 metropolises of this world - always in the very heart of the cities. The bears have been displayed at the following Stations since the beginning of the tour in 2002: Berlin (Germany), Kitzbuehel (Austria), Hong Kong, Istanbul (Turkey), Tokyo (Japon), Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia), Vienna (Austria), Cairo (Egypt), Jerusalem[8][9] (Israel), Warsaw (Poland), Stuttgart (Germany), Pyongyang (North Korea), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Montevideo (Uruguay), Astana (Kazakhstan), Helsinki (Finland), Sofia (Bulgaria), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), New Delhi (India), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Paris (France), Rio de Janeiro[10] (Brazil), Havana[11][12] (Cuba), Santiago de Chile (Chile).

Admission to the exhibition is always free of charge. The number of visitors has often exceeded 1 million.

As soon as a country decides to commission a new Buddy Bear, the predecessor is sold at an auction in aid of UNICEF or other child relief organizations all over the world. So far, over EUR 2,100,000 (since 2002 till 2015) have been raised at auctions in various cities of the world.[13]

Eva Herlitz, together with several international artists, founded in Berlin in 2004 Buddy Bear Help, a children's aid organisation. The organisation guarantees that 100 per cent of the donations and auction revenues from charity activities is used for the selected children's projects. All organisational and administrative costs are borne by the club members.

References

  1. ↑ Berlin vis à vis, July 1, 2001: "Ein Herz für Bären"
  2. ↑ BILD, August 13, 2001: "Er hat uns die Bären aufgebunden"
  3. ↑ Kuwait Times, August 1, 2002: "The United Buddy Bear Show"
  4. ↑ Diplomatisches Magazin, Februar 2014: "A Bear Goes Around the World – Eva and Klaus Herlitz, the inventors of the popular Berlin Bear Sculptures"
  5. ↑ Ottawa Life Magazin: "Message from the German Ambassador to Canada on an Exciting Initiative to Mark the Fall of the Berlin Wall"
  6. ↑ Ehrung für die Bären-Eltern.: Der Tagesspiegel, September 26th, 2013, page 11
  7. ↑ Singapore-Germany ties: "What are Buddy Bears?"
  8. ↑ The Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, July 31, 2007, P. 7 (NEWS): "Jerusalem bears down for international exhibition" by Yaffi Spodek
  9. ↑ „United Buddy Bears in Jerusalem“
  10. ↑ DW – Deutsche Welle: "Küsschen für die Kuschelbären"
  11. ↑ IANS live, December 25, 2014: "Germany sends peace message through sculptures in Cuba"
  12. ↑ Havana Times, January 16, 2015: "Bears in Havana: Another Step for Tolerance"
  13. ↑ Peter Ustinov and the United Buddy Bears, design by Eva Herlitz

External links

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