Order of merit for gerlinde martin and other personalities

Bavaria’s digital minister judith gerlach presented the federal cross of merit on ribbon to four deserving persons from the counties of kitzingen and wurzburg in a small ceremony at the roxy cinema in kitzingen on friday.

The four special people had never made much fuss about their cause. Federal president frank-walter steinmeier has now honored the work with the award of the federal cross of merit on ribbon, gerlach explained.

Christine sczygiel comes from hettstadt (district of wurzburg), who has rendered outstanding services to people with dyslexia and dyscalculia for more than 20 years. Of her three children, one was affected herself. The mother founded a self-help group in 1997. She worked for 20 years as national chairwoman of the association for dyslexia and dyscalculia and for 18 years as chairwoman of the bavarian state association. Resigned from both offices in 2018.

To support its work, it brought scientific perspectives to the center of its work in order to exchange ideas at congresses and specialist conferences and thus to be able to provide children with competent challenges. 2002 she set standards for the training of specialist therapists.

For more than 30 years, gerlinde martin from obervolkach (district of kitzingen) has been unusually committed to her homeland, the church and politics far beyond her home town. She led the parish council of her hometown obervolkach for 28 years and the deanery council for twelve years.

Since 2014, she has been chairwoman of the bavarian family federation of catholics and, thanks to her expertise and appearance, is the contact person for the state government. Since 2007, she has been chairwoman of the CSU workers’ union in the district of kitzingen. With all this, she has acquired a high esteem, gerlach emphasized.

Commitment at home and abroad

Already a member of the volkach city council since 1996, gerlinde martin was second mayor from 2014, she is currently third mayor. Through committees she was significantly involved in the development of the city. Gerlach emphasized that she had never lost her sense of humor in her work for refugees and their integration, in the district council and the district parliament, and in the obervolkach carnival society. Martin’s multifaceted work was exemplary.

Peter and anna schwittek are inseparably linked to afghanistan. In her laudation, minister gerlach emphasized the support for development aid that the schwittek family from randersacker (wurzburg district) provided in faraway afghanistan by vocation. First, the mathematician peter schwittek was called to kabul; his wife traveled with him. 1977 both came back. With revolution, the invasion of soviet troops, and numerous conflicts, the country was going through a difficult time.

From 1990 to 1992, peter schwittek again lived in afghanistan with his wife and child as the supervisor of a charitable project. Together with leprosy doctor ruth pfau, the couple founded the non-profit association gesundheitshilfe afghansitan and, in 1996, the association ofarin, with which they succeeded in teaching tens of thousands of afghan children to read, write and count.

A special concern was that girls should also be allowed to attend school. Thanks to many contacts and despite unstable political conditions and dangers, she succeeded in doing so. Especially in times of corona, people are indispensable who are there for others and work for them, concluded minister gerlach.