Prize winners

Edward Serotta

Between 2000 and 2010, the Centropa association conducted interviews with more than 1,200 Jewish Holocaust survivors in 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Balkans. These life stories offer unique insight into the history of the 20th century. Centropa began working with schools in Ukraine in 2016. When the war in Ukraine broke out, Centropa developed a series of online programs for teachers to continue Holocaust education. Centropa is thus sending an important signal and a clear sign of solidarity.

HBF/Julia Weichselbaum

For decades, historian Heidemarie Uhl was committed to Austria‘s coming to terms with the Holocaust and the culture of remembrance and commemoration in Austria. Her research interests included Memory Studies – the culture of remembrance and historical politics with a focus on National Socialism, the Second World War, and the Holocaust. As a member of numerous commissions and advisory councils, Uhl helped shape the Austrian politics of history. Her leading role in exhibitions in the public sphere illustrates her commitment against antisemitism, which went far beyond academic interest.

Michael Simoner

As a four-year-old child, Alois Will witnessed the shooting of unknown concentration camp prisoners during the death marches of 1945. For decades, he was unable to forget what had happened to him as a small child. Together with supporters and the Mank Melk Polytechnic School, he erected a memorial in 2010 to commemorate the victims. The Will couple’s initiative is helping to ensure that many young people have a direct, personal relationship with (contemporary) history, which is otherwise so abstract for them. By placing the memorial on their own doorstep, Alois and Erna Will show that small gestures can have great significance.

Castrillo Mota de Judíos

The Spanish village of Castrillo Matajudíos has officially changed its name back to Castrillo Mota de Judíos, the name used before 1632, after a referendum and the approval of the regional government. The village of around 50 inhabitants had voted for the name change in 2014. The cultural association of Mota de Judíos aims to revive and enhance the historical heritage of the province of Burgos. The association’s main objective is to promote the preservation and protection of the cultural heritage of the village, with special attention to all of those manifestations linked to the town’s Jewish past.

European Leadership Network (ELNET)

The European Leadership Network (ELNET) engages as a think tank and networking organization in the context of European-Israeli relations. It focus es on the areas of foreign and security policy, antisemitism, and innovation. With the educational campaign "Question Wall – 2,641 questions about Judaism and Jewish life in Germany" ELNET collects, publishes and answers questions about Judaism. The educational campaign aims to create knowledge, understanding and closeness and to combat hatred, discrimination and ignorance.

SOS Mitmensch/Victoriia Nazarova

Together with other organizations and Holocaust survivors, SOS Mitmensch fought for years to stop the right-wing extremist, antisemitic magazine "Aula" and to have the person responsible charged with suspicion of Nazi reactivation. The fight against "Aula" is an example of the successful pressure that a committed civil society can exert against antisemitic activities. With extensive research, precise criticism, and powerful public relations work, SOS Mitmensch played a decisive role in the discontinuation of "Aula" and in the judiciary‘s planning.

IKG/Likrat

LIKRAT is a dialogue project that was founded in Switzerland in 2002 and has also existed in Austria since 2015. It brings together Jewish and non-Jewish young people. In workshops and seminars, Jewish youth aged between 14 and 18 are trained to go to various educational establishments and institutions and talk about their Jewish identity, religion, Israel, history and the Shoah. The open peer-to-peer dialogue promotes the elimination of stereotypes and possible prejudices as well as the addressing of taboos and misunderstandings – a professional and innovative educational concept.

AMCHA

AMCHA was founded in 1988 as an organization by Holocaust survivors for Holocaust survivors to help them and their subsequent generations cope with trauma. A total of around 15,000 people (2022 Annual Report) are supported in the AMCHA centers at 15 locations. The offerings provided by AMCHA Israel include one-to-one sessions with professional therapists, group activities, and visiting services by volunteers. Pedagogical work – education and the imparting of knowledge – is also an important part of the organization.

Antonio Batalha

Casa Stefan Zweig is a non-profit organization under private law based in Petrópolis in Rio de Janeiro. The association was founded in 2006 with the aim of establishing a museum in memory of Stefan Zweig and other artists, intellectuals, and scientists persecuted under National Socialism. The activities of Casa Stefan Zweig are intended – especially with regard to younger generations – to raise awareness about the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and the disenfranchisement of minorities and to strengthen the commitment to integration.

Jan Grabowski

Jan Grabowski is a historian and history professor at the University of Ottawa. Among other areas, he researches issues relating to the extermination of Polish Jews and the history of Jewish-Polish relations in the period from 1939 to 1945. Grabowski is one of the most outspoken advocates of Holocaust education in Poland. His appearances in the press, on television and radio have contributed to bringing the subject of the Holocaust to the forefront of public debate. Grabowski, like other critical Polish historians, has been the target of hostility for years and prosecuted under pretexts.

Zikaron BaSalon

Zikaron BaSalon (in Hebrew: Living Room Remembrance) is a social initiative commemorating the Holocaust. The initiative focuses on the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, bringing new meaning and inviting participants from all sectors and of all ages to take an active part in preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations. It is a unique and authentic tradition of people gathering together to open their hearts to the stories of the survivors, sing, think, read, talk, and most importantly listen. Zikaron BaSalon is now active in 65 countries.

Michèle Pauty

The association IM-MER, founded by Waltraud Barton, has set itself the task of preserving the memory of the 10,000 Austrians deported to Minsk and Maly Trostinec during the Second World War and murdered in the greater Minsk area, of anchoring Maly Trostinec in Austria‘s collective memory as a place of extermination, and of contributing through educational work – especially in the field of human rights and questions of civil courage – to ensuring that nothing like that can ever happen again in the name of justice. Waltraud Barton was a pioneering advocate for the memory of Maly Trostinec and achieved the erection of a memorial for the victims.

Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi

Prof. Mohammed S. Dajani Daoudi founded in 2007 the Wasatia Movement to promote moderation, peace, and tolerance. He has been active in combating antisemitism and educating people about the Holocaust. He became known beyond Israel‘s borders in the spring of 2014 when he led a group of 27 Palestinian university students on a trip to Auschwitz to promote the study of the Holocaust and issues of reconciliation and empathy. This caused Prof. Dajani to lose his academic posts at Al-Quds University. He received death threats, his car was set on fire and his personal safety has been at risk ever since.

Lily Ebert/Dov Forman

Lily Ebert was born in Hungary in 1923 and deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944, where her mother, younger brother and sister were murdered. After four months, Ebert and two of her other sisters were put to work in a munitions factory near Leipzig, where she was liberated by US troops. Via Switzerland and Israel, she arrived in England in 1967 with three children. Today, her great-grandson, Dov Forman, runs a TikTok account for Lily Ebert with over 1.6 million followers and has also published a book with her.

Zwi Nigal

Born in Vienna in 1923, Zwi Nigal fled to Palestine in 1939 and fought in the British army against Nazi Germany. His father was murdered in the Holocaust. In 1946, Nigal returned to Vienna as a British soldier, but did not want to live there anymore. He joined the underground paramilitary organisation Haganah and fought in the Israeli War of Independence in 1948. Since his retirement, he has lectured as a contemporary witness to an average of 1,500 schoolchildren each year in Germany and Austria.

Karl Pfeifer

Karl Pfeifer was born in Baden near Vienna in 1928 and fled to Hungary with his parents in 1938. He managed to escape to Palestine and returned to Austria in 1951. Pfeifer is active as a journalist and was editor of the "Gemeinde", the official organ of the Jewish Community of Vienna. Until 2005, he worked as a Vienna correspondent for Israeli radio and as a freelance journalist for magazines. He is active in his work against antisemitism.

Liliane Segre

Liliana Segre was born in Milan on 10 September 1930. In 1944, at the age of 13, she was one of 776 Italian children deported to Auschwitz. Only 25 survived. To this day, Segre remains active as a contemporary witness on television, in theatres and in schools. She has become one of Italy's most important moral authorities. Segre is president of the Special Committee against Intolerance, Racism and Antisemitism and a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Children and Adolescence. She is also the author and co-author of numerous articles and books. She is particularly concerned about communicating with children and young people.

FStN

In 1998, the Central Austrian Investigation Office for Post-War Justice was founded with the aim of documenting the Austrian judiciary's involvement with Nazi crimes by recording and indexing the files of public prosecutors' offices and courts. It is intended to contribute towards safeguarding this part of Europe's legal cultural heritage and to bring historical experience to bear on the debate about war crimes and human rights violations of the present day. In this respect, its work is particularly close to that of Simon Wiesenthal in terms of both content and difficulties faced.

Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus e.V.

In 2008, the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism (JFDA), initiated by Levi Salomon, was founded with the support of Lala Süsskind and the Jewish Community of Berlin. It aims to strengthen democratic governance, promote interreligious and intercultural exchange, and help those persecuted on political, racial, or religious grounds. This includes the fight against antisemitism and racism. In addition to carrying out educational, public relations and cultural work, the JFDA conducts independent monitoring and records and evaluates antisemitic incidents and tendencies as well as other incidents directed against German Basic Law (constitutional law) and human rights.