Do you want to carry out a historical research project on your own? Please find helpful information here: Tools for historical project work.
Traces of History
Germany
Friedrich Wilke
Born 1993 in Langenhagen, Germany
High- school student (Langenhagen Gymnasium)
"On Heroes, Anti-Heroes and the Individuals Behind All This - the Story of Fritz Rodewald" (2009)
On the 15th June 1972 in the city of Langenhagen by Hannover Airport, a spectacular arrest was made: Ulrike Meinhof, the co-founder of the Red Army Fraction (RAF- Rote Armee Fraktion), one of post–World War II Germany's most violent and prominent left wing groups was taken from the house of Fritz Rodewald, a functionary of the teachers’ union and a supporter of the political left himself. For the bourgeois part of Germany Rodewald was a hero: the attorney general wanted to pay him a reward and the office of the president offered him the Federal Cross of Merit. His friends, workmates and like-minded persons avoided him and called him a “traitor”. Rodewald had been providing accommodation to deserters from the U.S. Armed Forces and agreed to receive a stranger asking for an overnighting house in his home, but later he became suspicious that the woman might be involved with the RAF and eventually decided to call the police. The conclusion of the author is that Fritz Rodewald was not someone who did not know what he was doing, as he tried to picture himself, but that he was indeed a hero, as he wanted to prevent further violence from the RAF, and also because his life was in danger while hosting Ulrike Meinhof.
For his paper Friedrich Wilke won the third national award in the national German competition, whose topic was in 2009/2010 "HEROES - idolized - misjudged - forgotten".
Katharina Trettenbach
Born 1993 in Weiden, Germany
High- school student (Augustinus- Gymnasium, Weiden)
"Melchior Probst- A hero?" (2009)
This competition entry deals with the personality of Melchior Probst the mayor of the city of Weiden during the Republic of Weimar and an opponent of the Nazi regime. As a mayor he had a very democratic approach to his office considering that a variety of parties, ideas, and opinions as well as the institution of parliament and free elections could enforce justice in a democratic state. For the Nazis it was clear that Probst is a potential danger and he must be disposed of. He was first dismissed from his office and then taken to court where his efforts to ensure democracy were used as counts of indictment. He died from severe illness in 1934, not surviving the end of the Nazi regime. Considered an antihero back then, Melchior Probst is hailed today as a very courageous advocate of democracy.
Katharina Trettenbach won with her entry the first prize in the Bavarian region during the German history competition from 2009/2010.
Rebecca Naomi Swalve
Born 1992 in Göttingen, Germany
High-school student (Elisabeth Gymansium, Halle)
"Remembrance Means Life - In Memoriam Gudrun Goeseke" (2009) with Felicitas Mügge
Rebecca Swalve wrote her project on the life and activity of Gudrun Goeseke (1926-2008) a local heroine, whose work and efforts to preserve the lost archive of the Jewish congregation in Halle remained underestimated and not sufficiently appreciated until her death. It all started in 1978, when Gudrun found in the basement of the Halle Jewish Community Centre some old documents containing lists and documents of the deported Jews from this city. She started to organize the archive which had been in a state of complete disorder and through her dedication tried to keep the memory of the killed Jews from Halle alive. But not always good intentions are well understood. In the time of the GDR a great effort was put to abolish religious communities. The Stasi secret police had its spies everywhere and these tried to hinder Gudrun Goeseke in her attempts of unveiling the truth about deportations. After 1990 the archive was seen as the Jewish congregation’s memory and heritage and Mrs. Goeseke was involved in establishing an association that until today deals with the effects of the two German dictatorships: the national socialist and the socialist one.
For their contribution to the German history competition Rebecca Swalve and Felicitas Mügge were awarded one of regional prizes in Sachsen-Anhalt
Anna Wandschneider
Born 1993 in Peine, Germany
Student (Media Sciences and English Studies, Braunschweig University)
“The hidden portrait- no/a picturebook story”(2008/2009)
A mysterious painting with a still life on one side and a woman’s portrait on the other leads Anna to the story of the German painter Otto Bücher, quite a favourite of the National Socialists, and to his Jewish wife, Elli. Curiously enough the portrait doesn’t belong to her, but to one of his presumably many mistresses, which brings this story to a whole new level making us question the heroic deeds that followed. Otto was denied to sell or exhibit his pictures between 1936 and 1938 because he didn’t want to divorce his Jewish wife and clear the racial file he was charged with. He faced deportation himself in 1944 after refusing to let his wife be taken to a concentration camp. Nevertheless he didn’t give her up and in 1945 he saved her once again by hiding her until the danger was over. It remains a mystery who the woman on the back of the painting is and why her image was hidden there. Unquestionable are Ottos intentions of saving the life of his wife.
Anna Wandschneider received for her entry the second prize in the German national history competition.
Rebecca Reichenberg
Born 1992 in Wuppertal, Germany
High school student ("Carl-Fuhlrott-Gymnasium"; Wuppertal)
"My heroes- the Lüninks" (2009)
This competition entry deals with two brothers, Heinrich and Willi Lünink, active communists that, with the risk of their own lives, fought bravely against the national socialistic regime during the Second World War in Germany. Not only did they financially support political enemies of the regime and their families, but also wrote fliers and tried to stop the persecutions which were going on. They were both put into prison and tortured and didn’t get to see their families until ten years later. Nevertheless, they refused to give away any information regarding the resistance movement and thus saved the lives of many.
For her contribution to the German national competition Rebecca Reichenberg was one of the regional prize winners.
Christina Brauner
Born 1989 in Gladbeck, Germany
Student (History and Philosophy; Westfälische Wilhelms-University Münster)
"Fractures - the lives of workers, in times of restructuring" (2005)
In her study, Christina Brauner uses the example of her hometown of Gladbeck to address the subject of structural change in the Ruhr region. Although she chooses an eyewitness-based perspective, the 18-year-old student avoids portraying mineworkers simply as victims of restructuring. Instead, her work focuses more on the question of personal adjustments to structural change and its consequences. She detects two opposing tendencies: On one hand, since the 1950s, one can observe continuous improvement of working conditions and of work itself. But increasing mechanization went hand in hand with job reductions. Despite various attempts to restructure the Gladbeck economy, including bringing in a Siemens factory, the region still has one of the highest unemployment rates in western Germany. Christina Brauner concludes that "the structural change led to 'fractures' in the lives of eyewitnesses: These fractures refer to an end of traditions, beliefs and ways of life, but - very pragmatically - they also refer to the search for work and the differences between 'old' and 'new' work."
Christina Brauner's study "Fractures - the lives of workers, in times of restructuring" won first prize in the 2004/2005 German Federal President's History Competition. The competition's subject was: "Hard work pays off. Work in history."
Karolina Kaleta
Born 1988 in Hamburg, Germany
Student (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt)
"From the executive floor of Promonta. Eleven chapters on the theme:
'Hard work pays off" (2004)
This group project focuses on the history of the Promonta company, a Hamburg-based cosmetics and pharmaceutical firm. Using photographs, advertising posters and documents, the authors describe the company's history - particularly its founding in 1914 and the development of its most successful products. One special episode is the company's cooperation in the 1920s with Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science. On the basis of this episode, the authors illustrate the influence of the "productive force of science" on the company's development.
Karolina Kaleta and her fellow students (altogether 11 authors) won fourth prize for their contribution to the Federal President's History Competition of 2004/2004, whose theme was: "Hard work pays off. Work in history."
Christoph Delcker
Born 1985 in Karlsruhe, Germany
Student (German Literature, Music and Media; Humboldt University, Berlin)
"The struggle for pay and time. The change of the Labour Existence - Observations on the Labour Situation in Karlsruhe during the Weimar Republic" (2005)
Christoph Delcker focused in his research on the life of the German worker Otto Wieland. During the time of Weimar Republic Otto Wieland was employed as a worker in a factory in Karlsruhe and fought for better working conditions and fair salaries by calling out a strike. This act of civil disobedience caused massive consequences for Wieland: he was fired immediately by his employer.
By using historical documents, the author could show that the case of the worker Otto Wieland is a typical example among others of suppressed workers trying to fight for labour-related rights in Germany in the 1920s. Just like Wieland most oft the workers, who got involved in strikes risked to loose their jobs and therefore loose the financial resources of their existence. Christopher Delcker won the second prize of the national history competition "Work makes life livable? Work in a historical context" in 2004/ 05.
Julia Schmidt
Born 1982 in Giessen, Germany
Student (Humboldt University Berlin)
„Don´t be afraid, you are better than many sparrows" - Or not? The sparrow between birdmurder and birdlove (2002)
Together with two class mates, Julia Schmidt dealt in her competition entry with the hunt for sparrows, the sparrow in popular belief and an developing bird protection among people in the 19. century. The students described and analyzed the picture of the sparrow from 19th century until the end of the 20th century in detail. In this competition entry, a general transformation of the human-animal relationship, including aspects of usability and harmfulness, becomes exemplarily visible.
For her research paper, Julia Schmidt was awarded first price in the German History Competition 2000/2001, whose overall topic was: "Used, loved, killed. Animals in our history".
