Klaus and Eva Herlitz

Who is 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 and Eva Herlitz are the initiators of the United Buddy Bears activities. 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 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 17 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, Kitzbuehel, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Vienna, Cairo, Jerusalem, Warsaw, Stuttgart, Pyongyang, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Astana, Helsinki, Sofia, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi, Saint Petersburg, Paris.