They do voluntary work for their fellow human beings – and have done so for decades. Three district citizens have now been honored for their commitment in the State Chancellery.
district – At first glance, Josef Schuhbauer from Aiterbach (Allershausen municipality) and the Freising couple Angelika Weißbacher and Thomas Löwecke from Freising have little in common. But anyone who talks to the three quickly realizes that they are united by a passion. Namely, being enthusiastic about something and building something that others can enjoy. Minister of State Florian Herrmann awarded the three district citizens the Prime Minister’s Decoration of Honor for their commitment to the community.
Josef Schuhbauer received the award for his commitment to the Aiterbach village community association. Because it wouldn’t exist without his help: the village community was founded in 1979 and Schuhbauer was elected chairman. It happened like this: “There used to be two inns in Aiterbach,” the 74-year-old remembers. First one closed, then the other. Suddenly there was no longer a meeting point for the Aiterbachers. “Some went to Nörting, the others went to Allershausen, that got lost a bit.”
A life for the village community
Schuhbauer therefore decided with a few other citizens to found the association and thus keep village life going. First a maypole was erected, numerous actions followed. In 1992 a great wish came true: the village hall was inaugurated and the people of Aiterbach finally had a place to meet again. “It was a thing back then, not many had something like that,” says Schuhbauer, who sat for the CSU on the municipal council for 42 years and was on the board of the farmers’ association for 20 years. Not only the village community found a home in the building, but also the rifle club, the fire brigade and the youth. Today around 280 people live in Aiterbach, and a good 70 percent are still members of the association.
And Schuhbauer didn’t sit back and hand over the chairmanship to his son Franz in 2015 after a total of 36 years. As caretaker, he is still the good soul of the club. “I like doing that,” says Josef Schuhbauer. After all, where would the village community be without him?
Japanese martial arts for everyone
Aikido in Freising is inextricably linked to Angelika Weißbacher and her husband Thomas Löwecke. In the 1990s, the two discovered their passion for Japanese martial arts and decided to bring them closer to the citizens of the cathedral city. “We started in the rooms of the Lebenshilfe. With old mats that were left over from a dissolved judo group,” Löwecke thinks back to the beginning. In 1996 they founded the Aiki-Dojo Freising, since this year Aikido has belonged to the SV Vötting as a department. This compromise had to be made due to lack of space. The couple’s dream is to have their own premises, because this is the only way they can guarantee that the training will remain affordable for everyone in the long term.
(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
In the more than 20 years, the two hundreds of students have brought the sport from Japan closer – and always tried to assert themselves alongside popular sports such as football. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any promotional events where goals are scored and people can cheer,” says Löwecke. In Aikido, which is similar in technique to Judo or Karate, the mentality is different. “It’s a mindful sport. There is no competition, on the contrary: everyone wins,” explains the 65-year-old. “It’s about pacifying situations.” That’s why it’s a good sport for preventing violence. “We work without strength. The focus is on the right technique and the right timing.”
Thomas Löwecke and Angelika Weißbacher have now been honored with the honorary badge for their tireless commitment. That is of course a nice gesture. The two of them want to dedicate it to their students – children, young people and adults. “It’s a message that says: do something for the dojo, because if you live the dojo, you live too.” Anyone who is interested and wants to get to know the Aiki-Dojo Freising, find information here.
