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2023 Obermayer Awards

Jörg Friedrich
Jörg Friedrich with students from the Nohfelden Community School. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Stefan Schirmer
Stefan Schirmer, a longtime volunteer with FC Ente Bagdad. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Marlies and Rudolf Walter
Marlies and Rudolf Walter have created a comprehensive online database with detailed biographies of all of the Jewish residents of Bad Kissingen during the Nazi era. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Roswitha Weber
Educator Roswitha Weber has spent her career helping children recognize and embrace their natural capacity for empathy. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Marion Welsch
Marion Welsch’s second book A Washing Machine in Haifa (Eine Waschmaschine in Haifa) chronicles a Jewish family’s escape from Germany, and their complicated relationship to their former neighbors after the war. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Zweitzeugen
Ruth-Anne Damm, Nina Taubenreuther, and Sarah Hüttenberend of Zweitzeugen, which aims to create secondary witnesses to history, particularly among children, in an age-appropriate ways. Photo courtesy of Widen the Circle.
Date/Time
Format
Online
Admissions
General: Free
Cosponsors
Widen the Circle

For two decades, the Obermayer Awards have honored people and organizations in Germany that have worked creatively and selflessly to raise awareness of Jewish history and culture in their communities, and to fight the rise of hate, prejudice, and antisemitism. Award recipients have included teachers and engineers, publishers and judges, artists and bankers, lawyers and business executives, and they come from every corner of the country. They have worked toward real reconciliation in their own communities, forging meaningful relationships with former residents and their descendants while also making it possible to teach the lessons of history to new generations.

The 2023 Obermayer Awards will be presented on January 23, 2023 at Abgeordnetenhaus in Berlin, the home of the Berlin Parliament. Winners will be announced in January 2023. You can watch the ceremony online here.

About the Awardees

  • Jörg Friedrich inspires students to look closer and think harder about history, and about its significance today.
  • Stefan Schirmer and FC Ente Bagdad build understanding and acceptance, preserve Jewish history, and play a lot of soccer.
  • Marlies and Rudolf Walter touch the hearts of survivors and descendants.
  • Roswitha Weber introduces Jewish culture, Nazi crimes, and the importance of empathy to elementary school students.
  • Marion Welsch believes in the power of personal stories to bring people together.
  • Zweitzeugen e.V. captures the stories of survivors and uses them to teach the significance of history and the importance of empathy.

Upcoming Events

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Closing Borders: Immigration and World War I
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Book Club: Family Declassified
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Book Talk: Saints and Liars by Debórah Dwork
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The Archive
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