Literature - Hannah Arendt Prize: prize donors wanted to adapt the ceremony
The Heinrich Böll Foundation Bremen has defended its actions in connection with the planned awarding of the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought to the US publicist Masha Gessen. "The cancellation of the ceremony for Masha Gessen was a joint decision by all three prize-giving institutions," the organization, which has close ties to the Green Party, announced on Friday evening. According to its own statements, the sponsoring association is sticking to the much-criticized event and had announced it for this Saturday.
Attempts to save the joint event by the Bremen Senate, the state and federal Böll Foundations as prize-giving institutions and the Hannah Arendt Association, which nominates the jury, have thus come to nothing.
"Unfortunately, the Hannah Arendt Association has refused to communicate with us since Gessen's article appeared in the New Yorker," the statement said. As a result, it was not possible to reach an agreement on a possible modification of the ceremony "in favor of a factually controversial format".
"Nevertheless, we as the Böll Foundations continue to seek a controversial debate with Masha Gessen and have already invited Masha Gessen to do so," it continued. The sponsoring association could not be reached for comment by telephone on Friday evening.
Masha Gessen writes about political currents and conflicts in US and Russian society. She is criticized for 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.
The three prize-giving institutions had jointly decided to cancel the ceremony on Friday "because we consider Gessen's comparison of the Gaza war with the liquidation of a ghetto during the Nazi era to be unacceptable and out of the question - especially in the context of a festive award ceremony", according to the Böll Foundation Bremen.
However, both the prize and the prize money will be awarded even if the institutions that donated the prize are no longer involved, explained Henning Bleyl from the Heinrich Böll Foundation Bremen on Friday evening. The prize was already awarded to Masha Gessen in the summer. "So we can only cancel the award ceremony, this festive setting. We cannot cancel the award ceremony." The sponsoring association wanted to award the prize on a smaller scale on Saturday.
The Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought was founded in 1994. The award is intended to honor people who contribute to public political thought and action in the tradition of Arendt. According to the information provided, an independent, international jury decides on the award. The prize money of 10,000 euros is donated by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Senate of the City of Bremen.
Information on the postponement
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- Despite the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Bremen defending its actions, the planned award ceremony for Masha Gessen, who is criticized for her statements about Gaza and Jewish ghettos, has been cancelled due to refusal to communicate by the Hannah Arendt Association.
- Despite the cancellation of the ceremony, the Hannah Arendt Prize and the associated award money of 10,000 euros donated by the Heinrich Böll Foundation Bremen and the Senate of the City of Bremen will still be given to Masha Gessen.
- Masha Gessen, a US publicist and critic, is known for her writings about political currents and conflicts in US and Russian society, and has been a subject of controversy due to her comparison of the situation in Gaza with Jewish ghettos during the Nazi era.
- The Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought, initiated in 1994, honors individuals who contribute to public political thought and action in the tradition of Hannah Arendt, and is awarded by an independent, international jury through the donations of the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Senate of the City of Bremen.
Source: www.stern.de
