Your Honor, Chancellor Merkel, Considering the livelong dedication of Volker Michels, retired Lector of Suhrkamp-Publishers, Berlin, and lifelong editor and world-wide authority on the works of Hermann Hesse, who is by far the most widely translated and successful German-language author in the world, we request that consideration be given to honoring this meritorious editor for his commitment to world peace and international understanding, as well as his engagement to further the appreciation of German literature in the world. We suggest that Mr. Volker Michels, a resident of te State of Hessen, at the address of his Hermann-Hesse-Editionsarchiv , Friedrichstr 16, Offenbach am Main, be given a significant token of state and federal recognition whichever is appropriate considering his clearly outstanding merits in the interest of the Federal Republic and world literature. I would be glad to provide further supportive evidence. Respectfully, Gunther Gottschalk Prof. Emeritus of German Studies University of California, Santa Barbara California, 93116 gunther@gss.ucsb.edu