German Award Ceremony 2015
On 17 November, German Federal President Joachim Gauck hosted the award ceremony of the 24th round of the German history competition in Bellevue Palace in Berlin, his official residence. The topic of the competition was "Being Different. Outsiders in History" and more than 5,000 young people sent in a total of 1,563 contributions.
During a festive event with 170 invited guests, Federal President Gauck and Dr. Thomas Paulsen, member of the executive board of the Koerber Foundation, handed out the award certificates. Apart from the five first prizes on the federal level of the competition (the award money was 2,000 Euro each), there were fifteen second prizes (1,000 Euro each) and thirty third prizes (500 Euro)
In an interview with the presenter Kate Maleike, Federal President Gauck emphasised the dedication of the young prize winners and congratulated them on their achievement and their success in the history competition. In their contributions, many participants took a stand regarding the ongoing debates about dealing with the 'other.' "The great number of contributions discussing the topic of refugees prove that young people's view of history is often closely related to them advocating an open society," Federal President Gauck said. Flight and expulsion were the key topics in this year's competition. "The gleam in the eyes of the participants shows their enthusiasm for the historical topic they chose. It is very impressive to see that the young people take a stand in their works with regard to current issues," remarked Dr. Thomas Paulsen.
Overview of first prize winners:
27 pupils from Stolberg (Rhineland). Why were the Roma and Sinti who lived in Stolberg deported and murdered in 1943? This is the question the 10th graders researched. They summarised their findings in a special edition of their school magazine.
Antonius Albert Achtner from Giessen (Hessia). The pupil of the Landgraf-Ludwigs High School wanted to find out in what way paupers were considered as 'other' in the mainly Protestant community of this hometown. He depicted the separation of the poor in two classes: the worthy and unworthy and he showed how certain stereotypes have lasted until today.
Julius Bayón from Backnang (Baden-Württemberg). The high school student with a Spanish grandfather and a Protestant grandmother researched the social exclusion of married couples with mixed nationalities and mixed religious denominations in the 1960s in Germany.
Thomas Grabiak and Lauritz Hahn from Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia). The pupils of the Paulinum High School asked themselves to what degree 'being different' is still an issue after death. Based on a funeral conflict in the 17th century they described minutely how Münster Protestants were turned into outsiders by Catholic authorities.
Finja Marie Haehser from Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia). The pupil of the Marienschule researched the fate of illegitimate children of SS soldiers using the example of her grandfather and his half-sister. She compared their journeys through life and discovered that the untruths with which both siblings grew up made them prone to being perceived as 'different' by their environment.
About the German History Competition
In 1973, former Federal President Gustav Heinemann and Hamburg entrepreneur and donor Kurt A. Körber announced the first history competition. Since then the "Geschichtswettbewerb des Bundespräsidenten" has become Germany’s largest organised amateur research movement with more than 136,000 participants and approximately 30,000 submissions.