January 2010:

Golden Julius Awarded to Prof. Hetzer

Strong, bright and self-confident – that applies not only to Berlin but also to the heavy bronze sculpture, the golden Julius, that is awarded annually for special service to the city. Each year a personality from the world of economics, science, culture or the media receives the prize. Further prizes are awarded to young newcomers in these fields and for special achievements. The golden Julius was presented for the third time at a large gala organized by the Initiative TOP 500 before 400 guests. The initiator of TOP 500, Christel Harthaus, presented the award to the chairman of the DHZB, Prof. Roland Hetzer.

Prize-winners in previous years have been the film producer Regina Ziegler and Air Berlin head Joachim Humold. Hetzer as “an international expert in heart surgery and transplantation medicine” is, Christel Harthaus said, closely linked to Berlin and “Berlin is enriched by his name.” His expertise, his dynamic personality and his immense hard work have established “the myth of Roland Hetzer.”

At this gala each prize winner is introduced by a laudatory speaker. In Prof. Hetzer’s case this was Mariano Javier (the son of DHZB heart surgeon Eva Maria Delmo Walter). The young man is only 14 years old but has skipped several years at school and will shortly take his school-leaving examinations. He wishes to emulate Hetzer, his great role model, by becoming a heart surgeon himself, and he gave impressive insights into Hetzer’s professional history, his work and his ethos as a physician.

The young newcomer prizes were awarded for the business idea “Footbonaut” von Christian Güttler (laudation by Oliver Wurm), to the fashion designer Karolin Krüger (laudation by state secretary Almuth Nehring-Venus), and the violinist Iskandor Widjaja (laudation by Christian Höppner).

The special prizes went to the painter Nikolai Makarow (laudation by Dr. Jeannot Simmen) and the Gesobau company (laudation by the former Senator for Justice Karin Schubert).