Bremen - Hannah Arendt Prize for Masha Gessen
The ceremony for the controversial award of the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought to Masha Gessen only took place on a small scale. Instead of the large hall of Bremen City Hall, a good 50 guests crowded into a small function room in the Steintor district on Saturday, where the sponsoring association had moved after the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Bremen Senate withdrew. Many of the guests had to stand in the cramped room and police officers secured the event outside the door.
On Saturday morning, the organizers had changed the venue again at short notice - for security reasons, according to the organizers. The award's sponsoring association was nevertheless satisfied in the end. "It was a very dense event in a small format, and we are all glad that it took place," Eva Senghaas from the association's board told the German Press Agency. It was a "very fruitful form of dialog" that showed "that it is possible to discuss controversial issues and assessments in a good way".
The event originally planned for Friday in the town hall had been canceled following criticism of Gessen's statements. The Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Bremen Senate had previously withdrawn from the award ceremony. This was triggered by statements in an article in the US magazine "The New Yorker", in which Gessen is said to have compared the situation in Gaza with the Jewish ghettos in occupied Europe. "This statement is unacceptable to us and we reject it," said the Böll Foundation, which has close ties to the Green Party. The cancellation of the ceremony in the town hall was therefore appropriate.
The jury's decision in favor of Masha Gessen had already been made in early summer. The decisive factor was Gessen's journalistic commitment to reporting on Russia, it was said at the time. "We can therefore only cancel the award ceremony, this festive setting," the Böll Foundation said. "We cannot cancel the award ceremony."
The sponsoring association, on the other hand, had defended its decision to hold on to the award and look for another venue. It was remarkable that a public dispute about understanding the conflict was prevented and Gessen was boycotted, it said. Gessen had endeavored to "bring knowledge, insight and a sharp mind to this dispute". Gessen, born in Moscow in 1967, writes about political currents and conflicts in US and Russian society. Gessen lives in New York.
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- Despite the controversy surrounding her statements, Russian-born author Masha Gessen received the prestigious Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought in Germany, highlighting the importance of literature in addressing complex conflicts and promoting dialogue.
- The cancellation of the award ceremony for Masha Gessen in Bremen City Hall was a response to her comparison of the situation in Gaza to the Jewish ghettos in occupied Europe, sparking a public dispute about understanding conflicts and resulting in her boycott.
- In the face of criticism and withdrawal from sponsors, the organizing association in Germany successfully hosted the Hannah Arendt Prize ceremony for Masha Gessen in a small venue, emphasizing the significance of awards in recognizing and fostering journalistic commitment, especially in reporting on conflicts in countries like Russia.
Source: www.stern.de
