To mark German Unity Day, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to 21 people on Monday – including Gerald Richter from Chemnitz.
The Order of Merit is awarded to people who champion democratic values, reconciliation and international understanding. Gerald Richter is one of them. For more than 15 years, he has been working continuously on art projects with school pupils.
It all began in 2011, when far-right marches took place alongside the commemorative events marking the anniversary of the bombing of the city of Chemnitz. Gerald Richter decided at the time to counteract this. He launched the ‘Chemnitz Peace Banners’, an art project in which children and young people design banners to illustrate the values of the Basic Law.
To date, thousands of young people have designed peace banners. These banners have since been displayed at the Chemnitz Peace Day and adorn the façades of the large buildings in the city centre. They have also been displayed at the Dresden Frauenkirche and, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law in May 2024, at the Paul Löbe House of the German Bundestag. In addition, Gerald Richter, as a recipient of the Stefan Heym Encouragement Prize, runs workshops to introduce young people to the life and work of the writer, who was born in Chemnitz.
