Greater Washington D.C.

Personal Mission:

I co-create a world of peace and harmony by promoting reconciliation among both individuals and nations.

Action in the World:

Richard Wiener was born in Germany, and lived for six years under the Nazi regime, experiencing first hand the oppression and violence perpetrated against Jews as the only Jewish child in the the school he attended from 1937-1939. He experienced Crystal Night while his father was in Buchenwald concentration camp, and was part of a small number of children allowed to flee to England in 1939. At age 13, he reached the U.S., and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he returned to his hometown and initiated a process of reconciliation with his former Hitler Youth classmates.

His mission is to advocate forgiveness and reconciliation as the only viable path to peace, on both the personal and international levels. To this end,He presents a workshop called The Power of Forgiveness at various venues around the country, and speaks to students, church groups and delinquents both here in the US and in Germany, his native country. He has delivered keynote addresses on forgiveness at Berea College, at a World Elders Gathering and at an MKPI Annual Meeting. He has also sponsored the high school and university education of a Costa Rican boy, have been a hospice volunteer and bereavement counselor, and a Laubach Method literacy trainer.

In 2002 Richard Wiener gave a key-note address to a joint meeting of the ManKind Project and Women Within in Evanston, IL. We are making that keynote available to you for free here. Richard's story of hardship begins in NAZI Germany and spans 8 decades of powerful choices leading inevitably to his mission of reconciliation. He is a deeply touching and powerful speaker. Since 2002, Wiener has continued his mission of understanding to diverse groups of people. He serves his community in multiple ways. At 82 years of age, Richard Wiener is still a vibrant, engaging and spirited man. He is a Ritual Elder in the ManKind Project Community and was a featured speaker at the 2005 World Elder Gathering.

In 2009 Richard Wiener was awarded the Ron Hering Mission of Service Award for the Greater Washington DC ManKind Project Community.

Download the Audio by RIGHT CLICK and SAVE AS: Richard Wiener AUDIO FILE