The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political,economic,cultural,intellectual or honorary fields. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany,Theodor Heuss,on 7 September 1951. Colloquially,the decorations of the different classes of the Order are also known as the Federal Cross of Merit.
Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern,commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria,is the head of the House of Wittelsbach,the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather King Ludwig III was the last ruling monarch of Bavaria,being deposed in 1918.
The Bavarian Military Merit Order was established on 19 July 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the army were also made eligible for the decoration. The Military Merit Order ranked below the Military Order of Max Joseph (Militär-Max-Joseph-Orden),which was Bavaria's highest military honor for officers.
Felix Ludwig Grafvon Bothmer was a German general from Bavaria. He notably served in the Brusilov offensive of World War I.
Volker Wieker is the former Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr,the German armed forces,and a general of the German Army. Trained as an artillery officer,Wieker served in every major foreign Bundeswehr deployment since 1996,including Bosnia,Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Kurt Andersen was a general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and in the Bundesgrenzschutz of West Germany. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
The Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is Virtus et Honor.
Helmut Franz Maria Kirchmeyer is a German musicologist,philologist and historian.
The Christian Peace Conference was an international organization based in Prague and founded in 1958 by Josef Hromádka,a pastor who had spent the war years in the United States,moving back to Czechoslovakia when the war ended and Heinrich Vogel,an evangelical theologian. Hromádka was a member of the Bureau of the World Peace Council. He was not a Marxist,but the Christian Peace Conference often endorsed positions taken by Eastern bloc governments. It has been alleged to have received $210,000 from Soviet sources.
Dieter Mahncke is a scholar of foreign policy and security studies,and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Professor Emeritus of European Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the College of Europe. He is the author of books and articles on European security,arms control,German foreign policy,Berlin,US-European relations and South Africa.
The Order of Merit of Berlin is this highest award of the German State of Berlin. Awarded in the name of the Senate of Berlin,the order had recognized outstanding contributions to the State of Berlin since 21 July 1987. Awarded each year on 1 October,the anniversary of the Berlin Constitution,the order is limited to no more than 400 living recipients. As of 2016 the order had been awarded 431 times,to 152 women and 279 men.
Marcia Haydée Salaverry Pereira da Silva is a Brazilian ballet dancer,choreographer and ballet director. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director,serving from 1976 to 1995. She has been director of the Santiago Ballet since 1992.
Ferdinand Auth was a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany. From 1962 to 1974 he was a member of the Landtag of Hesse.
Hatune Dogan is a religious nun of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch,President of the organization Helfende Hände für die Armen. She currently lives in the Syriac Orthodox monastery of St. Jacques Sarug in Warburg,Germany.
Heinrich Vogel was an evangelical theologian,poet of sacred texts and songs and composer of numerous motets and chamber music. He studied theology at the University of Berlin and the University of Jena. In 1927 he became a minister for the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union in Oderberg.
The Frauenau Dam in the Bavarian Forest,in Germany,was built in 1983 to ensure the drinking water supply to large parts of Lower Bavaria.
The orders,decorations,and medals of the German states,in which each states of Germany has devised a system of orders and awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or state,are in turn subsumed within the German honours system. Each state sets their own rules and criteria on eligibility and also how each medal is awarded and presented. Most of the orders allow for the recipient to wear their orders in public.
Wilhelm Kempf was a German Catholic theologian who served between 1949 and 1981 as Bishop of Limburg. After the Second World War,he introduced the reforms of the Second Vatican Council to his Diocese.
Ita Maximowna was a Russian-German scenic designer,costume designer and illustrator. She was one of the first women in the professions in Germany who worked internationally. Trained as a painter,she came to the theatre late,after World War II in Berlin,and became a scenic designer first in theatres of the city,then internationally both for plays and opera,and in collaboration with directors such as a Günther Rennert and conductors such as Herbert von Karajan.
The House of Poschinger is an ancient Bavarian noble family. Its origin date back to the year 1140. The family received the rank of Knights of the Holy Roman Empire. The Frauenau branch rose to the rank of Barons (Freiherr) in the Kingdom of Bavaria and held a hereditary seat in the House of Councillors.
