Otto Hahn Peace Medal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Otto Hahn Peace Medal in gold is named after Otto Hahn , the German nuclear chemist, Nobel Prize laureate and honorary citizen of Berlin , and commemorates his global peace and humanitarian commitment, especially since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

On December 17th, 1938 Otto Hahn and his assistant Fritz Straßmann discovered the fission of the uranium atom in Berlin-Dahlem and demonstrated it radiochemically, the scientific and technological basis for the use of nuclear energy . December 17, 1938 thus marked the beginning of the atomic age , which fundamentally changed the world in scientific, political, economic, social and philosophical terms.

The award was donated by his grandson Dietrich Hahn in 1988 and is bestowed by the German Society for the United Nations (DGVN), Landesverband Berlin-Brandenburg, to personalities or institutions who have made “outstanding contributions to peace and international understanding”.

The gold medal (together with a leather-bound certificate with gold inlay) is presented every two years by the governing mayor of Berlin and the chairperson of the DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg, traditionally in a ceremony on December 17th in Berlin. On the back of the peace medal is the last sentence of the Mainau Declaration initiated by Otto Hahn in 1955 in English:

“All nations must decide voluntarily to refrain from violence as the last means of politics. If they are not prepared to do so, they will cease to exist. "

“All nations must come to the decision to voluntarily renounce violence as the last resort in politics. If they are not ready for this, they will cease to exist. "

Award winners

Sandro Pertini
Simon Wiesenthal
Karl Popper
Miriam Makeba
Mary Robinson
Muhammad Ali
Tadatoshi Akiba
Melinda Gates
  • 1988 Sandro Pertini  - Italian politician, former President of the Republic of Italy, Rome, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for his political morality and practiced humanity.” (Laudator: Irmgard Schwaetzer , greetings: Richard von Weizsäcker ).
  • 1989 Mikhail Gorbachev  - Russian politician, President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Moscow, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially to the nuclear disarmament of the great powers and the fundamental political reorganization of Europe.” (Laudator: Friedrich Dürrenmatt , greetings: Richard von Weizsäcker).
  • 1991 Simon Wiesenthal  - Austrian journalist and founder of the Jewish Documentation Center, Vienna, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for his exemplary work for law and justice, dignity and tolerance, and reconciliation between people." (Laudators: Helmut Kohl and Christian Meier , greetings: Richard von Weizsäcker).
  • 1993 Karl Popper  - British philosopher and scientific theorist, Kenley near London, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his socio-philosophical achievement, which created the theoretical basis for a humane evolution of democratic societies." (Address: Rita Süssmuth , laudator: Hans Poser , greetings: Helmut Kohl, Richard von Weizsäcker, Thomas Klestil and Queen Elizabeth II. ).
  • 1995 Hans Koschnick  - German politician (SPD) and EU administrator in Mostar, Bremen, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for his humanitarian work in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which exemplarily shows how personal responsibility for the peace mandate of the United Nations can be perceived. ” (Address: Rita Süssmuth, laudator: Hans van den Broek , greetings: Roman Herzog and Helmut Kohl).
  • 1997 Yehudi Menuhin  - British violin virtuoso and conductor, London, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his unwavering and exemplary conviction that music is a force that brings people to understanding and peace under all circumstances." (Address: Hellmuth Karasek , laudator : Rita Süssmuth, greetings: Roman Herzog and Helmut Kohl).
  • 1999 Gerd Ruge  - German journalist and TV documentarist, Munich, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his commitment to promoting objective information and, with his exemplary work, to broaden our understanding of China, the Soviet Union and Russia." (Address: Wolfgang Thierse , laudator: Karl Schlögel , greetings: Johannes Rau and Gerhard Schröder ).
  • 2001 Miriam Makeba  - South African singer, composer and human rights activist, Johannesburg, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for her decades-long work against racism and racial segregation in South Africa, which made her a model for human rights, human dignity and tolerance." (Laudator: Sabine Christiansen , greetings: Johannes Rau, Gerhard Schröder and Thabo Mbeki ).
  • 2003 Mary Robinson  - Irish politician, former President of the Republic of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dublin, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for her government based on high humanitarian ideals and her relentless and courageous commitment to global enforcement and defense human rights. “ (Laudator: Christa Nickels , greetings: Johannes Rau, Gerhard Schröder, Bertie Ahern and Pat Cox ).
  • 2005 Muhammad Ali  - American boxer, civil rights activist and UN Messenger of Peace, Berrien Springs, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his lifelong commitment to the American civil rights movement and the cultural and spiritual emancipation of blacks around the world. “ (Laudator: Jan Philipp Reemtsma , greetings: Horst Köhler and Angela Merkel ).
  • 2008 Hans Küng  - Swiss Catholic theologian, founder and president of the Global Ethic Foundation , Tübingen, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his exemplary commitment to humanity, tolerance and the dialogue between the major world religions, especially in the context of his established Global Ethic project. ” (Laudator: Alfred Grosser , greetings: Horst Köhler and Angela Merkel).
  • 2010 Daniel Barenboim  - Argentine-Israeli conductor and pianist, also the UN Messenger of Peace, Berlin . "For outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for his exemplary commitment to dialogue in the Middle East and the rapprochement between Israel and Palestine" ( Address: André Schmitz , laudator: Rolf Verleger , greetings: Christian Wulff , Angela Merkel and Bill Clinton ).
  • 2012 Tadatoshi Akiba  - Japanese mathematics professor, politician, long-time mayor of Hiroshima and co-founder of the Mayors for Peace organization , Hiroshima, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his tireless commitment to global nuclear disarmament and the associated politics of Relaxation and reconciliation. ” (Address: Dietrich Hahn , laudator: Regina Hagen , greetings: Angela Merkel).
  • 2014 Manfred Nowak  - Austrian law professor, human rights activist and former UN reporter on torture, Vienna, “for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, in particular for his exemplary contribution to the implementation of the rights of every individual, and for the courageous publication of cruel abuses . “ (Address: Thomas Heilmann , laudator: Christoph Strässer , greetings: Heinz Fischer and Angela Merkel).
  • 2016 Melinda Gates   - American businesswoman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Seattle, “for outstanding contributions to peace and international understanding, especially for her admirable philanthropic initiatives that pave the way for a humane lifestyle for millions of people on every continent level. ” (Address: Dietrich Hahn, laudator: Manuela Schwesig , greetings: Angela Merkel; The award ceremony took place on May 25, 2017 in the Berlin City Hall).
  • 2018 John F. Kerry   - American politician, former US Secretary of State, Boston, "for outstanding services to peace and international understanding, especially for his exceptional achievements in diplomacy." (Laudator: Tina Hassel , greetings: Angela Merkel).
  • 2020 Navanethem Pillay (South Africa) - (The date of the award has not yet been set due to the quarantine measures due to the global corona pandemic).

Other Otto Hahn prizes

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal in 1993 to Sir Karl Popper. Berlin 1994.
  2. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 1995 to Hans Koschnick. Berlin 1996.
  3. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 1997 to Yehudi Menuhin. Berlin 1998.
  4. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 1999 to Gerd Ruge. Berlin 2000.
  5. ↑ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2001 to Miriam Makeba. Berlin 2002.
  6. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2003 to Mary Robinson. Berlin 2004.
  7. ↑ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2005 to Muhammad Ali. Berlin 2006.
  8. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2008 to Prof. Hans Küng. Berlin 2009.
  9. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2010 to Daniel Barenboim. Berlin 2011.
  10. ^ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2012 to Prof. Tadatoshi Akiba. Berlin 2013.
  11. ↑ DGVN, LV Berlin-Brandenburg eV (Ed.): Documentation on the award of the Otto Hahn Peace Medal 2014 to Prof. Manfred Nowak. Berlin 2015.