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.