Chemnitz Peace Prize 2024 awarded

Today, the Citizens' Association FUER CHEMNITZ e. V., in cooperation with the City of Chemnitz Migration Commissioner, Etelka Kobuß, presented the Chemnitz Peace Prize for the 21st time in the City Council Chamber of Chemnitz City Hall.

The Chemnitz Peace Prize is a civil society award, by citizens for citizens. The prize is awarded to individuals, organisations, projects and initiatives from Chemnitz who stand up for basic values such as tolerance and democracy, consider the integration of different cultures to be an essential part of our coexistence, take a stand against all forms of exclusion, xenophobia and racism, actively work for peace and promote and support non-violent coexistence.

The award winners are chosen by the honorary jury of the Chemnitz Peace Prize.

The award ceremony traditionally takes place shortly before 5 March, the anniversary of the bombing of Chemnitz in 1945. 23 years ago, a group of Chemnitz residents led by Pastor Hans-Jochen Vogel and artist Sabine Kühnrich declared 5 March to be Chemnitz Peace Day. The aim is that on this day, peace-building cultural and political impulses should be given to and by the city in order to prevent it from slipping into meaningless rituals. The call for peace is more topical than ever.

The prize winners

1st prize

This year's first prize was awarded to the organisers and initiators of the "Sprachencafé" project.
The project, which is unique in Saxony, brings together many people from 20 nations every week to exchange ideas in German. For many years, the organisers and initiators of the Language Café have been creating an atmosphere in which migrants, regardless of their origin, can communicate in order to improve their German language skills, be corrected, lose their fear of speaking a foreign language and maintain social contacts. For the organisers, the encounters allow them to broaden their own horizons by learning about other countries and people's lives, thus also breaking down their own prejudices. The guests at the language café come not only from Chemnitz, but also from the surrounding area.
The prizewinners received the Peace Prize sculpture by sculptor Erik Neukirchner.

2nd prize

The second prize went to Alke and Michael Schmidt.
The artist couple (she is a violinist at the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra, he is a puppeteer) give people from different countries and cultures a warm welcome in Chemnitz. They appreciate the diversity of their neighbourhood, Sonnenberg. For decades, the couple have opened up their private home to exchange ideas with migrants in an informal atmosphere, to understand their worries and needs and to provide guidance and support. For the Schmidt couple, this is a matter close to their hearts and a matter of course.

3rd prize

The third prize was awarded to Gabriele Engelhardt.
It is thanks to Gabriele Engelhardt that a permanent, concise and loud voice against fascism, right-wing extremism and war has been heard in Chemnitz for many years. She is exceptionally committed to opposing right-wing extremist activities, for democratic coexistence and as a spokesperson for the civil society alliance "Aufstehen gegen Rassismus" (Stand up against racism) in Chemnitz. She does not avoid any discussion, unites many people in joint actions and fights for a city without racism, in which everyone is seen as a human being.

Honour award

Doris Müller received the prize of honour.
During the period of mass unemployment immediately after the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany, Doris Müller did everything she could to help people who suddenly found themselves in completely insecure circumstances. Of 100,000 jobs in industry and mechanical engineering in Karl-Marx-Stadt/Chemnitz, 15,000 remained in 1992. A large proportion of people in Chemnitz were insecure and worried about their livelihoods. Doris Müller was not immune to the destruction of East German industry. Together with her colleagues, she was put on short-time working. "I couldn't bear the way they treated us," she says today. The then 50-year-old turned her own life completely upside down. She completed training courses on labour law at IG-Metall and trained as a social counsellor. From then on, she fought for the interests of the unemployed with almost superhuman energy, whether in the "Neue Arbeit - Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe" association, in IG Metall, in other associations or in the city council. She fought tenaciously for a house for the unemployed (Otto Brenner House), for advice centres in the city and organised eleven conferences for the unemployed with prominent politicians as guests. Even today, in her old age, she still heads the New Labour Association.
Dr Peter Seifert wrote in the book "Arbeitslos, aber nicht wehrlos!" (Berlin, 2021): "For me as mayor, Neue Arbeit was an essential building block for maintaining social peace in Chemnitz. Doris Müller became a figurehead. In my eyes, she is a Chemnitz 'Mother Courage'."
The winner of the honour also received the Peace Prize sculpture by sculptor Erik Neukirchner.

Children's and Youth Prize

The Children's and Youth Prize went to Luisa Frieden.
Luisa Frieden is currently working at the Majdanek concentration camp memorial in Lublin (Poland) as part of an international voluntary service programme. She has developed a concept for guided tours and now looks after groups of visitors to the memorial. She also prepares programmes and workshops and accompanies meetings of Holocaust survivors.
She believes that a culture of remembrance is indispensable and calls for a much more intensive examination of the National Socialist era in school lessons. It is very important to her to make her contribution to our democracy and a peaceful Europe. She deliberately undertook the voluntary year in Majdanek because she cannot tolerate the increasing forgetfulness of history in our society and sees this as a serious threat to international peace.

The award ceremony

Mayor Knut Kunze opened the award ceremony with a greeting from the city of Chemnitz. Sabine Kühnrich opened the event on behalf of the jury and the FUER CHEMNITZ e. V. citizens' association.
Heda Bayer and Chris Münster performed a short theatrical improvisation in memory of Egmont Elschner, the long-standing spokesperson of the jury who passed away last year. Followed by Julia Bombien with some personal thoughts.

The laudatory speeches were given by Ute Spindler for the children's and youth prize, Carmen Schreiter and Thiemo Kirmse for the third prize and Etelka Kobuß for the second prize. Heike Steege gave the laudatory speech for the first prize. Dr Melanie Hartwig and Sabine Kühnrich gave the laudatory speech for the honorary prize.

The clarinet ensemble made up of pupils from the Chemnitz Municipal Music School provided the musical accompaniment to the ceremony. There was a small reception afterwards.

If you have any questions, please contact

Sabine Kühnrich
Bürgerverein FUER CHEMNITZ e.V. and member of the jury
Phone: 0177 223 1335
E-mail: sabine.kuehnrich(at)gmx.de

Etelka Kobuß
Migration Officer of the City of Chemnitz and member of the jury
Phone: 0371 488 5047
E-mail: migrationsbeauftragte(at)stadt-chemnitz.de