The History of the Peace Prize

Moving History

The Peace Prize was awarded for the first time in the spring of 1950 to Max Tau, a writer living in exile in Norway. The award ceremony was held in a private home in Alsterdorf near Hamburg. On the initiative of Friedrich Wittig, who would later become the chairman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, the private foundation quickly came to symbolise the ideals of the entire industry. The Peace Prize was then entrusted to the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. On 16 September 1951, the Peace Prize was given to Albert Schweitzer at an award ceremony that took place for the first time in the Church of St. Paul (Paulskirche) in Frankfurt. The Peace Prize was a sign of hope for Germany, which had been isolated and disgraced by its own history. It reflected and encouraged an emerging critical self-reflection. To this day, the Peace Prize continues to thrive on the achievements and efforts of its outstanding recipients. Their work represents the most important cultural and historical currents of the 20th century.

Major Debates

Martin Walser’s 1998 Peace Prize acceptance speech was not the first to lead to a major debate in German society. The Peace Prize has repeatedly given rise to fundamental controversies and, in so doing, has increasingly become known as Germany’s most important award. Other controversies include those surrounding Karl Jaspers (1958), Ernst Bloch (1967), Léopold Sédar Senghor (1968), THE CLUB OF ROME (1973), Ernesto Cardenal (1980) and Annemarie Schimmel (1995) – as well as the passionate debate surrounding Günter Grass’ laudation to Yasar Kemal (1997).