Steinmeier awards prizes in the history competition

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has emphasized the importance of historical knowledge and a critical approach to information in light of the increase in disinformation. "We are experiencing how authoritarian and extremist forces are trying to gain control over the interpretation of history and manipulate collective memory," he said at the award ceremony for this year's history competition.

These forces are engaged in disinformation, spreading deep fakes via social media and blurring the line between truth and lies. "And they do this with the aim of asserting their own claims to power, justifying injustice and war, stirring up prejudice and hatred," said Steinmeier.

Steinmeier criticizes disrespectful behaviour at concentration camp memorials

"How deeply their poison has already seeped into our society is shown in an intolerable way when entire groups of schoolchildren or classes behave disrespectfully during visits to concentration camp memorials, provoke with right-wing extremist symbols and slogans and reinterpret, trivialize or deny the crimes against humanity committed by the National Socialists."

The first national prizes, each worth 2,500 euros, went to pupils from the Romain-Rolland-Gymnasium in Dresden, the Buckhorn and Altona grammar schools in Hamburg, the Wilhelm-Hittorf-Gymnasium in Münster and the Bismarck-Gymnasium in Karlsruhe. In addition, 15 second and 30 third national prizes were awarded.

Great participation in this year's history competition

This year's theme of the Federal President's annual history competition was "This far and no further! Borders in history". According to the Körber Foundation, which organizes the competition on behalf of the Federal President, 6,720 children and young people took part this year. They submitted 2,289 entries. This makes this round of the competition the most successful in 30 years.

The first five prizewinners dealt with the German-Czech border, the physicist Otto Lehmann, who researched liquid crystals, the Jewish Hongkew ghetto in Shanghai and Annaliese Teetz, who was the first German woman to obtain a captain's license in 1955 and fought against the discrimination of women in the maritime industry. A group of schoolchildren developed a historical board game.