A very great person has passed away. Karlheinz Böhm passed away last night at his home in Grödig after a long and serious illness.

Karlheinz Böhm, founder of the aid organization and former actor died at the age of 86.
5 million people benefit today from Karlheinz Böhm's unique life's work.

(Vienna, 30.05.2014)
In deep mourning, the aid organization Menschen für Menschen announces the death of its founder Karlheinz Böhm. The former actor and honorary chairman of the association died yesterday, Thursday 29 May 2014, after a long serious illness at his home near Salzburg.

From the rage of one to sustainable help for millions

Karlheinz Böhm achieved international fame with his film role as Emperor Franz Joseph alongside Romy Schneider in the "Sissi" trilogy. Moved by a visit to Africa in the seventies and the devastating drought catastrophe in Ethiopia at the time, Karlheinz Böhm launched his legendary TV appeal on the program "Wetten, dass...?" in May 1981. He bets that "not even one in three viewers will donate a mark, a Swiss franc or seven Austrian shillings to the suffering people in the Sahel." Karlheinz Böhm won the bet - but the equivalent of 8.4 million shillings was still collected, which formed the foundation for his organization. In November 1981, Karlheinz Böhm founded Menschen für Menschen (People for People) and found the role of a lifetime in "helping people to develop themselves".

For him, anger about the unjust and inhumane discrepancy between rich and poor was a strong driving force. For Karlheinz Böhm, there was always only one world, for which we all share responsibility. With great respect and love for people, he has taken on this responsibility.
From the beginning, Karlheinz Böhm's declared goal was to impart knowledge to people so that they themselves could change their lives for the better. It was always a matter of great concern to him that the people concerned should have a say in the way things were done and also take responsibility themselves. For this reason, since the first days of the organization, all projects have been implemented together with the population and then handed over to them under their own responsibility - regardless of how large or small the project is.

"Reichl und Partner has been very happy to support "Menschen für Menschen" in terms of advertising for years. Karlheinz Böhm has always been a great role model for us. He also inspired us to set up the private foundation "Stones for Life" in 2007. And I think it is in his spirit that we donate the majority of the proceeds from our foundation to "Menschen für Menschen für Menschen" in 2014. (www.stonesforlife.at). We hope that the "spirit" of Karlheinz Böhm will live on and that "Menschen für Menschen" will continue to find broad support in the future."
Rainer Reichl, Managing Director of Reichl und Partner Werbeagentur
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