Karlsruhe winners of history competition
Three graduates of a Karlsruhe secondary school have been awarded one of the first prizes in the Federal President's History Competition for their contribution on the subject of housing. This was announced by the Körber Foundation.
The graduates' topic was the reappraisal of the Nazi history of the Mieter- und Bauverein Karlsruhe eG. "We hoped that we would be able to initiate something through our work," said 19-year-old Paul Mai. Until now, the Nazi era has hardly been mentioned on the cooperative's website, for example.
Jeremias Loghis, Paul Mai and Elias Vollmer are all the more pleased that it looks as if the cooperative itself now wants to engage more with its past. For their 50-page paper, the three were awarded one of the first prizes at national level, each worth 2,500 euros. The winners, who graduated from high school in 2022, will be honored by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin on Tuesday.
The Karlsruhe trio already won second prize at national level in 2021 with a contribution on the subject of sport. In this year's competition, they were able to take part again despite having already passed their Abitur exams, as the only requirement for participation is that they must be 21 years old.
The Federal President's History Competition was launched in 1973 by the then Federal President Gustav Heinemann and the Körber Foundation. This year's theme was "More than a roof over your head. Housing has a history". In Baden-Württemberg, 164 entries were submitted by 505 pupils.
The winners' achievement in the Federal President's History Competition has sparked interest in delving deeper into the Nazi past of the Mieter- und Bauverein Karlsruhe eG. Previously, this era was barely acknowledged on the cooperative's website. Additionally, the trio's past success in the competition on the topic of sport further emphasizes their dedication towards historical research and their ability to excel in awards-oriented platforms, even as teenagers.
Source: www.dpa.com
