Expressive portraits combined with individual life and career stories impressively show the people behind the uniform. The exhibition has been expanded for Recklinghausen to include two more people with a local connection, an employee of the KOD and an employee of the fire department. For the Recklinghausen police, a colleague from the criminal investigation department and a colleague from the guard and change service are represented.
Until August 31, 2020, around 30 exhibits in the foyer and on the first floor of Recklinghausen Town Hall were accessible to interested parties free of charge.
At the opening ceremony, Mayor Tesche pointed out the importance of the exhibition to a large number of invited guests: "I am concerned to see that mutual appreciation, which is the basis for a functioning urban society, has been increasingly lost in our society in recent years. We cannot and must not be indifferent to this. I am therefore pleased that we as a city, together with our police force, are sending out a signal by presenting this impressive exhibition and focusing on the people who are so important for the functioning of our democracy."
Police Commissioner Friederike Zurhausen emphasized the duty of every individual to act: "Increasing disrespect doesn't just affect emergency services - it affects us as a society - it affects us as individuals. It is an issue that challenges us - as police, as municipalities, but also as those affected who perceive or experience intolerance and disrespect in their environment. We must act and confront those who disregard our values".
At the opening in the town hall, Friederike Zurhausen and Christoph Tesche also presented a catalog that was published to accompany the exhibition in Recklinghausen town hall. Further information on the initiative for respect and tolerance can be found on the following website: www.der-mensch-dahinter.de