Writer Pavel Kohout and Ambassador Hermann Huber honoured with the Art Prize for German-Czech Understanding 2014
Award winners honoured at the ceremony in Chemnitz town hall
In the 25th anniversary year of the Peaceful Revolution, two personalities have been honoured with the Art Prize for German-Czech Understanding 2014 for their outstanding services to freedom and democracy: the writer and playwright Pavel Kohout and the former ambassador Hermann Huber, who organised the daily lives of thousands of refugees from the GDR at the Prague embassy in 1989. The awards were presented at a ceremony on Wednesday evening in Chemnitz Town Hall, which was attended by friends and companions as well as high-ranking guests such as the Consul General of the Czech Republic, Jiří Kuděla, the Rector of Chemnitz University of Technology, Prof. Dr Arnold van Zyl, and representatives from the worlds of culture, science and politics.
This year's prizewinner, Pavel Kohout, was honoured for his promotion of German-language theatre in the Czech Republic and his intensive literary examination of German-Czech relations, as his laudator, cultural critic Hans Peter Riese, acknowledged. Kohout's biography reflects world history: although initially a communist, he was one of the leading figures of the Prague Spring of 1968 and, together with Vaclav Havel, one of the co-initiators and prominent signatories of Charter 77. Pavel Kohout was expatriated in 1979 and hushed up east of the Iron Curtain until the fall of communism. His works, theatre plays and novels, reflect his gruelling biography and are a plea for freedom of thought. "Democracy can never be better than us, the people who make it," warned the prizewinner in his acceptance speech, who is also a staunch advocate of the European idea. Europe is a miracle and the fulfilment of a dream. "Long live the perfect, immature, hopeful European Union."
Pavel Kohout was presented with the work "Tensions" by the Chemnitz artist Michael Morgner. The biography of the co-founder of the Clara Mosch artists' group is also a reflection of the resistance against what the state has decreed. "Without having met before, I see a great connection. With the Clara Mosch artists' group, we challenged the powerful, we spoke out. We were spied on. We were frightened. But we didn't fall over," says Michael Morgner.
"In the autumn of 1989, the demonstrators in many places provided proof of what is possible when people have courage. When the courage of many becomes greater than the fear of consequences. When their ideas are stronger than the boundaries that a state tries to set," emphasised the Mayor of Chemnitz, Barbara Ludwig, in her speech. "Especially in these days, we remember the uncertainty of upheaval, but above all, we also remember hope, dreams and the unbridled euphoria of being able to change something. We remember the people who continued to write the European history of freedom in the 20th century. It is always the people who initiate social and societal reflection, who change the reality of life. Just as our award winners have done with their work."
Tomáš Kafka from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the laudatory speech for the second prizewinner. Hermann Huber, ambassador to the Czech Republic during the peaceful revolution, had prepared the departure of thousands of GDR citizens and organised everyday life in the turbulent weeks of 1989, when thousands of refugees sought refuge in the embassy. The prize, a work of art by Czech artist Eva Hašková, was accepted by his wife Jacqueline Huber on his behalf. "His service may be over, but his merits remain," said Kafka, who honoured Huber's humanist and democratic commitment. "He showed us how to go about serving democratic ideals."
This year's honorary prizes went to theatre scholar Jitka Ludvová (Prague) and former school headmaster Dirk du Pin (Reinbek). All award winners signed the Golden Book of the City of Chemnitz.
The Art Prize for German-Czech Understanding has been jointly organised for 18 years by the Adalbert Stifter Verein (Munich), the Brücke/Most-Stiftung (Dresden), the Collegium Bohemicum o.p.s. (Aussig/Ústí nad Labem), the Prague Literature House of German-speaking Authors, the International Art Association pro arte vivendi (Berlin) and the Union for Good Neighbourliness of German- and Czech-speaking Countries (Prague). Co-organisers of the 2014 Art Prize are the City of Chemnitz and Chemnitz University of Technology.