Gerda Henkel Foundation

Gerda Henkel Foundation
legal form	legal foundation under civil law
founding	1976
Seat	Düsseldorf ( ⊙ coordinates: 51 ° 13 ′ 50.4 ″  N , 6 ° 47 ′ 20 ″  E )
purpose	Promotion of science
Chair	Julia Schulz-Dornburg (Chair of the Board of Trustees)
Foundation capital	50,196,163 euros (2018)
Employees	21st
Website	gerda-henkel-stiftung.de

The Gerda Henkel Foundation has been promoting research in the field of historical humanities since its establishment in the summer of 1976 .

In over 40 years of foundation activity, more than 7,100 research projects have been supported with around 190 million euros worldwide. The core areas of funding activity - supporting research projects and awarding doctoral and research grants - have been expanded again and again to include funding initiatives with which the foundation sets new and independent accents in the promotion of science.

These include the international Gerda Henkel Prize, which was announced for the first time in 2006 and is endowed with 100,000 euros, for outstanding scientific achievements in the disciplines and funding areas funded by the foundation, the LISA science portal launched in 2010 and the special program Security, Society and State . As part of the Lisa Maskell scholarship program, the foundation has been promoting young humanities scholars in Africa and Southeast Asia since 2014 . In its “Patrimonies” funding priority, the foundation is increasingly committed to the preservation of cultural heritage, especially in crisis regions. Research that puts current problems in larger historical contexts is at the center of the funding priorities Democracy as Utopia, Experience and Threat, and Lost Cities. Perception of and living with abandoned cities in the cultures of the world . In connection with funded projects, the foundation also supports accompanying social measures as part of supplementary projects.

founding

The Gerda Henkel Foundation was established in June 1976 by Lisa Maskell in memory of her mother Gerda Henkel as a foundation under civil law with legal capacity, based in Düsseldorf . Lisa Maskell (1914–1998), daughter of Hugo Henkel , was a granddaughter of the manufacturer Fritz Henkel , who founded Henkel & Cie. In Aachen in 1876 . founded. In 1878 the company was relocated to Düsseldorf, the current headquarters of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA .

Science funding

The purpose of the foundation is to promote science. The disciplines of archeology , history , art history , historical Islamic studies , legal history , the history of science and prehistory and early history are at the center of the funding activities. The Gerda Henkel Foundation grants doctoral and research grants as well as personnel, travel and material resources for projects which, due to their methodological approaches and scientific content, are expected to produce particular results. It also supports the printing of research results from previously funded projects with grants.

In 2018, the foundation provided funds totaling around 15.8 million euros to support scientific projects.

International commitment

The foundation operates internationally. In cooperation with renowned universities, it awards several scholarships in Germany, Europe and the USA: Partners include the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton , Stanford University in Stanford , the Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l'homme in Aix- en- France, France. Provence, the Maison Fondation des sciences de l'homme in Paris, the New Europe College in Bucharest and the Center for Advanced Studies in Sofia. The foundation provides the German Historical Institute in London with funding for the award of a visiting professorship . At the German Historical Institute Washington in cooperation with the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, she enables a scholarship for projects in the field of digital history. In 2011 and 2012, the foundation announced M4HUMAN (Mobility for experienced researchers in historical humanities and Islamic studies), an international scholarship program that enables scientists to spend longer research periods abroad. The European Commission supported the program with funds from the 7th EU Research Framework Program and its Marie Curie Actions .

Organs and bodies

Foundation office at Malkastenstrasse 15 in Düsseldorf - Pempelfort , garden side

Board of Trustees

• Julia Schulz-Dornburg, chairwoman
• Hans-Joachim Gehrke , Deputy Chairman
• Carolin Emcke
• Martin Kobler
• Ulrich Lehner
• Andreas Schmitz

Scientific Advisory Board

• Martin Jehne , chairman
• Birgit Emich
• Ute Daniel
• Peter Geimer

Board

• Michael Hanssler, chairman
• Angela Kühnen

Examples of funding activities

• Making ancient Egyptian wall paintings readable in the burial chamber of Neferhotep ( Thebes , Egypt): Neferhotep was the chief scribe of the creator god Amun and died around 1320 BC during the reign of Pharaoh Eje . His rock tomb near the Valley of the Kings is richly decorated with wall paintings , colored reliefs and figures. A team of restorers aims to clean selected texts and representations from heavy soiling and to make them visible again.
• Excavations in the citadel of Anuradhapura ( Sri Lanka ): Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of the Ceylonese kings, is one of the largest ancient ruins in the world. The aim of an archaeological research project is to clarify when exactly Anuradhapura assumed an urban function and when the place became the center of a high culture with phenomena such as writing and a developed drainage system.
• Contemporary witnesses of the " Hamburg Firestorm " and their families: The term "Hamburg Firestorm" stands for the air raid on Hamburg in the summer of 1943. Using the example of survivors and subsequent generations, a team of historians and psychoanalysts examines the extent to which war experiences lead to long-term trauma and how these are processed individually, in the family and in society.
• The New Objectivity in Dresden : The research project carried out at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden deals with the painting of the New Objectivity and Verism of the 1920s in Dresden. This multi-faceted art trend is being explored in its entirety for the first time and compared with other centers of realistic painting in the Weimar Republic . The results have been included in an exhibition that was on view in Dresden from autumn 2011.
• Research Center Degenerate Art : The research center “Degenerate Art” (Berlin / Hamburg) deals with the effects of the National Socialist art policy, in particular the confiscation of modern works of art in German museums by the National Socialists in 1937. The fate of the artists and the strategies of the museum directors are examined the role of art dealer as well as the way of art to its present location .
• Work on the Mentsun Lhakhang rock cave temple , Nepal : The Mentsun Lhakhang temple with wall paintings and clay stucco statues from the early Buddhist period is the oldest Buddhist cave temple site in Nepal to date. The aim of a research project is to repair the collapsed roof and to restore the murals, which have been damaged by rain and snow and are unique in Nepal.
• Xiongnu princely tombs in Noin-Ula , Mongolia : The Noin-Ula cemetery in northern Mongolia is an important testimony to the sepulchral culture of the Xiongnu , the early Asian Huns . The up to 18 meters deep grave shafts offer rich finds, especially rare organic material. A team of Russian archaeologists used the most modern methods to research one of the last great royal tombs.
• Excavations in Kalapodi , Greece : A team from the German Archaeological Institute in Athens is researching the sanctuary of Kalapodi , which has a continuous sequence of cult buildings from the Archaic to the Late Mycenaean epoch, which is unique for the Greek mainland . The buildings on top of each other provide information about the history of the origins of the Greek temple and illuminate the religion and cult of the "Dark Ages".
• Anabaptist research: At the Baptist Theological College in Elstal , the history of the Anabaptist movement is researched under the direction of Martin Rothkegel and funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation.

Gerda Henkel lectures

The Gerda Henkel lectures are published in a separate series of the foundation at Rhema Verlag, Münster.

Most recently published:

• Lyndal Roper : Luther and I: How a Woman Came to Write the Biography of a Patriarch (2017)
• Stephan Seidlmayer : Research and Encounter. Archeology in Egypt (2015)
• Jürgen Osterhammel : World History and Present Diagnosis (2013)
• Hermann Parzinger : Archeology and Politics. A science and its path to becoming a global player in cultural politics (2012)
• Gudrun Krämer : Distance and closeness. Questions from a critical Islamic scholar (2011)
• Richard Sennett : How I write: Sociology as Literature / How I write: Sociology as Literature (2009)
• Dieter Langewiesche : State, Nation and Federation in European History (2008)
• Martin Warnke : Kings as Artists (2007)

Historical library of the Gerda Henkel Foundation

One with the publisher CH Beck of Munich developed series of publications - the "Historical Library of the Gerda Henkel Foundation" - gathered significant monographs from the project funded by the Foundation fields. The aim of the series is to give established scientists the opportunity to bring fundamental findings from the field of the historical humanities closer to an interested public. In doing so, the foundation underscores its concern to promote outstanding research in the humanities - in this case in the form of a book that meets the highest standards and has a large readership.

• Dieter Langewiesche : The violent teacher. Europe's Wars in the Modern Age, 2019, ISBN 978-3-406-72708-5
• Frank Rexroth : Happy Scholasticism. The Science Revolution of the Middle Ages, 2018, ISBN 978-3-406-72521-0
• Hartmut Leppin : The early Christians. From the beginnings to Constantine, 2018, ISBN 978-3-406-72510-4
• Bernd Roeck : The morning of the world. History of the Renaissance, 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-69876-7
• Manfred Hildermeier : History of the Soviet Union 1917-1991. Origin and decline of the first socialist state , 2017, ISBN 978-3-406-71408-5
• Werner Plumpe : Carl Duisberg. 1861-1935. Anatomy of an Industrialist, 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-69637-4
• Jörg Rüpke : Pantheon. History of Ancient Religions , 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-69641-1
• Wolfgang Reinhard : The submission of the world. A Global History of European Expansion 1415 - 2015 , 2015, ISBN 978-3-406-68718-1
• David Nirenberg : Anti-Judaism. Another History of Western Thought , 2015, ISBN 978-3-406-67531-7
• Heinz Halm : Caliphs and Assassins. Egypt and the Middle East at the time of the First Crusades , 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-66163-1
• Friedrich Lenger : Metropolises of Modernity. A European City History since 1850 , 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-65199-1
• Stefan M. Maul : fortune telling art in the ancient Orient. Signs of Heaven and Earth , 2013, ISBN 978-3-406-64514-3
• Manfred Hildermeier : History of Russia. From the Middle Ages to the October Revolution , 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-64551-8
• Willibald Sauerländer : The Catholic Rubens. Saints and Martyrs , 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-62362-2
• Jörg Fisch : The right of peoples to self-determination. The Domestication of an Illusion , 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-59858-6
• Christian Marek : History of Asia Minor in Antiquity , 2010, ISBN 978-3-406-59853-1
• Bernd Stöver : Refuge GDR. Spies and other emigrants , 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-59100-6
• Jürgen Osterhammel : The transformation of the world. A History of the Nineteenth Century , 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58283-7
• Werner Busch : The unclassical picture. From Tizian to Constable and Turner , 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58246-2
• Hugh Barr Nisbet : Lessing. A biography , translated from English by Karl S. Guthke, 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57710-9
• Roderich Ptak : The maritime silk road. Coastal Areas, Seafaring, and Pre-Colonial Trade , 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-56189-4
• Hermann Parzinger : The early peoples of Eurasia. From the Neolithic to the Middle Ages , 2006, ISBN 978-3-406-54961-8

Gerda Henkel Prize

Since 2006, the Gerda Henkel Prize has been awarded every two years to scientists who have achieved outstanding research achievements in the disciplines and funding areas supported by the foundation and are expected to do more. The Gerda Henkel Prize is endowed with 100,000 euros. The prize money is intended for free use.

Award winners

Source:

• 2006 Martin Warnke , Hamburg
• 2008 Richard Sennett , New York / London
• 2010 Gudrun Krämer , Berlin
• 2012 Jürgen Osterhammel , Constance
• 2014 Stephan Seidlmayer , Cairo
• 2016 Lyndal Roper , Oxford
• 2018 Achille Mbembe , Johannesburg
• 2020 Lorraine Daston , Berlin

LISA - Science Portal Gerda Henkel Foundation

In 2010 the foundation set up its own internet portal: LISA - Wissenschaftsportal Gerda Henkel Foundation provides interdisciplinary information on topics from the field of the historical humanities and invites you to discuss research.

Web links

• Pages of the Gerda Henkel Foundation
• Gerda Henkel Prize
• LISA - the science portal of the Gerda Henkel Foundation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gerda Henkel Foundation funds Anabaptist research in Elstal (at: www.baptisten.de on July 10, 2007; accessed on November 11, 2017)
2. ^ Prize winners - Gerda Henkel Foundation. In: gerda-henkel-stiftung.de. Retrieved June 17, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Gerda Henkel Prize: Science historian Lorraine Daston honored. In: FAZ. June 23, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .