German National Prize for Book and Film

The German National Prize for book and movie was from 1934, the highest award of the Nazi regime for authors and filmmakers. It was intended as a counterpart to the Nobel Prize for Literature , which Germans were no longer allowed to accept. Accordingly, only one author and one filmmaker were honored each year. It consisted of two partial prizes, the National Book Prize (also the Stefan George Prize ) and the National Film Prize .

The prize, endowed with 12,000 Reichsmarks (around € 55,000 in today's purchasing power), was part of the propaganda of the Nazis and was only awarded to personalities loyal to the regime. The award ceremony took place annually as part of the celebrations for " National Labor Day " on May 1st at a ceremony of the Reich Chamber of Culture .

Only Germans and only those works that had already appeared were allowed to be awarded. The founder in 1933 was the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . The five-member jury was appointed by the Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels .

After the beginning of the war, the prize was no longer awarded.

Winner of the National Book Prize

• 1933/34: Richard Euringer for "German Passion"
• 1934/35: Eberhard Wolfgang Möller for "Calling the Younger Time" and "The Letters of the Fallen"
• 1935/36: Gerhard Schumann for "We are the grain"
• 1936/37: Friedrich Bethge for "March of the Veterans"
• 1937/38: the book of poems by the Austrian Hitler Youth , edited by Baldur von Schirach (the prize money was increased to 200,000 RM, which should be used to build a youth hostel )
• 1938/39: Bruno Brehm for his Austria trilogy

National Film Prize Winner

• 1933/34: Gustav Ucicky for " refugees "
• 1934/35: Leni Riefenstahl for " Triumph of the Will "
• 1935/36: Carl Froelich for " Traumulus "
• 1936/37: Veit Harlan for " The Ruler "
• 1937/38: Leni Riefenstahl for " Olympia - Festival of Nations, Festival of Beauty "
• 1938/39: Carl Froelich for " Heimat "

literature

• Eva Dambacher: Literature and Culture Awards 1859–1949; 1996, ISBN 3-929-146-43-6 , pages 130-132
• Keyword National Prize , in: Cornelia Schmitz-Berning: Vocabulary of National Socialism . 2nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007, p. 416f.
• National Prize 1934
• National Prize 1935
• National Prize 1936
• National Prize 1937
• National Prize 1938
• National Prize 1939

notes

1. ↑ Not to be confused with a "Stefan George Prize" for young translators of Francophone literature into German around the year 2000. Donated by the "Conseil International de la langue française". Endowment € 2,500. Here is the 2004 award