The Jewish Museum Berlin Presents Jan Philipp Reemtsma and Hubertus Erlen with the "Prize for Understanding and Tolerance"

Born in 1952, Jan Philipp Reemtsma is not only one of Germany’s best-known literary scholars, but also an important patron of cultural, scientific, and political initiatives. His unusual decision to use his inheritance to found the Hamburg Institute for Social Research (HIS), thus funding important journalistic and historical projects, showed how a sense of personal responsibility can make a lasting impact on the profile of a society. Jan Philipp Reemtsma combined his interest in philosophy, literature, and politics with social involvement early on. In 1981, he founded the Arno Schmidt Foundation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the author’s work. Three years later, Jan Philipp Reemtsma brought the Hamburg Institute for Social Research into being. Its main areas of focus are the nation and society of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the theory and history of violence. A milestone in coming to terms with the past is not least marked by two exhibitions that stimulated intense and controversial debate. These exhibitions were about the crimes of the Wehrmacht and brought to light for the first time the scale of the mass murder in the Soviet Union in which also German soldiers were involved. And they point to one of the core themes of Reemtsma’s work: His commitment to openly addressing violence during the Nazi era. His sense of moral obligation is apparent in his treatment of the forced laborers who worked in the Reemtsma family factories – irrespective of other foundation initiatives, he pays them compensation directly and unbureaucratically.

Born in 1943, the doctor of engineering Hubertus Erlen shows a commitment to issues concerning society, science, and personnel policy that are virtually unrivalled among managers. As former chair of Schering and currently vice-chair of the supervisory board to the Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Hubertus Erlen’s influence has spread far beyond business life. This was clearly demonstrated when he founded the Schering Foundation that promotes science, culture, and social projects. In 2002, he developed the concept for the non-profit foundation and convinced the Schering advisory board to provide 20 million € for this purpose. The foundation capital was later raised to 35 million €. Hubertus Erlen is also philanthropically active in his private life. He is one of the founding fathers of the James Simon Foundation who provided one million € of foundation capital in 2007. Named after the famous Jewish patron, the James Simon Foundation promotes art, culture, and welfare work. A lover of theater and music, Hubertus Erlen is also a founding member of the circle of friends and supporters of the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsches Theater. As chair of the Robert Koch Foundation, he is involved in sponsoring and encouraging both leading-edge and junior researchers.

The presentation of the award will take place as part of the traditional gala dinner held at the Jewish Museum Berlin. A reception in the "Forced Labor. The Germans, the Forced Laborers, and the War" special exhibition rooms will commence the evening, followed by the award ceremony in the Museum’s Glass Courtyard. The gala dinner which concludes the evening also supports a worthy cause, with the proceeds going towards the Museum’s educational work.

As at the preceding award ceremonies, the guest list comprises prominent figures from the worlds of politics, business, culture, and the media. Acceptances from the political arena have been received from Federal President Christian Wulff, Treasury Secretary Wolfgang Schäuble, Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler, Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit, Minister of State for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann, and Foreign Office Minister of State Cornelia Pieper. Further guests include Israeli Ambassador S. E. Yoram Ben-Zeev, chair of the Robert Bosch management board Franz Fehrenbach, Goldman, Sachs & Co. managing director Alexander Dibelius, "BILD" chief editor Kai Diekmann, the actress Iris Berben, the art collector and patron Dieter Rosenkranz, and the president of the Jewish Community of Berlin Lala Süsskind to name but a few.

We cordially invite you to attend the award ceremony:

Award Ceremony for the "Prize for Understanding and Tolerance"

Please plan sufficient time for the security checks at the museum entrance and be prepared to show your press or personal identification.

Order of Events (Program to date: 25.10.10. Subject to alterations.)

Accredited press representatives are permitted entry to the Glass Courtyard for the welcome address and the award ceremony.

Press representatives are not permitted to stay in the Glass Courtyard during the dinner. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Two computers with wireless LAN internet access will be available for you to use in the press room (until 11 pm). There will also be a buffet for press representatives.

The "Jewish Museum Berlin Prize for Understanding and Tolerance" was presented for the first time in 2002 to Berthold Beitz, Chairman of the Curatorium of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation, and Heinrich von Pierer, former Chairman of the Siemens AG Board. Further recipients of the award were the corporate consultant Roland Berger (2008), the now deceased art collector and patron Heinz Berggruen (2005), the composer and pianist Daniel Barenboim (2006), the author Imre Kertész (2008), former Chancellor Helmut Kohl (2007), the now deceased politician Otto Graf Lambsdorff (2005), the entrepren€ Michael Otto (2004), the BMW manager Helmut Panke (2006), the now deceased former Federal President Johannes Rau (2004), the former Federal Minister for Internal Affairs Otto Schily (2003), the publisher Friede Springer (2003), the historian Fritz Stern (2007). Last year the prize went to the Bosch Group and the film director Michael Verhoeven.

Note on Accreditation

Due to security precautions and the limited number of seats in the Glass Courtyard, press representatives should reserve seats by fax or e-mail by Wednesday 10 November 2010. The Museum’s press office can then issue personal accreditations. Unfortunately, only selected pool photographers can be accredited. Press representatives without accreditation will not be permitted entrance to the Museum on 13 November.

Dress Code

black tie/evening dress

Note: Due to preparations for the award ceremony, the Jewish Museum Berlin will be closed to the public for the whole day on Saturday 13 November 2010.