German History Competition Received Around 2,000 Entries
28 February 2019 was the closing date for the German History Competition entitled "Enough Is Enough - Crisis, Change, a New Beginning". 1,997 entries by more than 5,500 young people were sent in. This makes the it one of the most successful German competition since 1993.
Participants obviously didn’t have to look far to find crises, and changes and new beginnings. They found them in their own family or region. A large number of children and young people did research on experiences of flight and migration. In addition, the experiences of their grandparents and great-grandparents during the Second World War, such as hunger, the Children’s Evacuation Programme or captivity in war, were frequently addressed. Other popular topics included the divided Germany, and the effects the construction and fall of the Berlin Wall had on people's everyday lives. The Revolution of 1918/19, the decline of the mining industry and environmental catastrophes also motivated school children to look for traces.
"We are very pleased that so many children and young people throughout Germany have tackled the competition topic in such a varied and differentiated way. The response shows just how much the crises and upheavals of the past have affected the lives of young people today," says Gabriele Woidelko, Head of the History and Politics Department at the Körber Foundation.
Creative Approaches to History
The largest number of participants came from the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Lower Saxony. In the federal states of Berlin, Bremen and Hesse, the number of contributions increased significantly compared with the previous call. Around 700 tutors supervised the students’ work.
The majority of the contributions were handed in in written form, but creative approaches such as films and audio projects are also becoming increasingly popular with participants. Some students presented their research in the form of board games, comics, fictitious diaries or correspondences.
In early June 2019, the winners at the federal state level will be announced, and prizes will be awarded in the summer. The national prize winners will then be honoured by the Federal President in Berlin in November.
About the German History Competition
The Körber Foundation has been organising the Federal President's History Competition since 1973. With more than 146,500 participants and around 33,500 projects to date, it is the largest historical research competition for young people in Germany.