An eye sharpened by the phenomena of the Soviet world sees things differently and sees other things, and that includes in the American world.“

(Karl Schlögel, American Matrix)

The Gerda Henkel Prize 2024 goes to Prof. Karl Schlögel, an expert in east European history. “Karl Schlögel shows most impressively that historical judgement and constant critical self-reflection are indispensable if we wish to adequately understand the conflicts of today,” explained the jury, commenting on its decision. Karl Schlögel, whose books are available in countless different languages, will be officially awarded the prize in Düsseldorf on 25 November 2024. The Gerda Henkel Prize is bestowed every two years and comes with prize money of 100,000 Euros. With the prize, the Gerda Henkel Foundation honours excellent and internationally acclaimed researchers who have demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement in the disciplines and funding areas supported by the Foundation and can be expected to continue to do so (https://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/en/prize).

The Gerda Henkel Foundation Board of Trustees embraced the unanimous recommendation from the jury, which is made up of members of the Academic Advisory Council and independent persons. The jury was chaired by historian Prof. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, Rector of Wissenschaftskollegs zu Berlin, and it explained its recommendation as follows: “Historian Karl Schlögel has not only substantially shaped our understanding of the more recent history of Russia, the Soviet Union, and east Europe, but has also established his own particular genre of historical narration. It is one that visualizes the spatial dimension to history in a unique way. His works combine his own personal experiences when travelling and everyday observations with his profound historical knowledge and acute analysis. Not least thanks to their unmistakable literary style and their vividness, they attract a fascinated readership the world over. The topics he has covered include Stalin’s ‘Great Purge’ and Soviet Modernism, enforced migration and the Russian diaspora, through to the “Ukrainian lessons” (2015), which he himself was forced to learn late on in his career. His latest work on the “American Matrix” (2023) offers a completely new account of the history of the 20th century as one characterized by the interweaving of the American and Soviet empires. Karl Schlögel shows most impressively that historical judgement and constant critical self-reflection are indispensable if we wish to adequately understand the conflicts of today.”

Karl Schlögel, born in 1948 in Bavaria, studied Philosophy, Sociology, East European History and Slavic Studies at the Free University of Berlin. He gained his PhD in 1981 and initially worked as a self-employed translator, publicist, and author before being appointed in 1990 to the newly created Chair of East European History at the Universität of Konstanz. In 1994, he moved to the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, where he taught until 2013. Karl Schlögel is a member of the order Pour le Mérite. The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung honoured him in 2004 with its Sigmund Freud Prize. In 2016, he was awarded the Preis des Historischen Kolleg/German Prize for Historians, and in 2018 the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Non-Fiction. His most recent publications are: “American Matrix. Besichtigung einer Epoche” (2023); “Der Duft der Imperien. Chanel No. 5 und Rotes Moskau” (2020), “The Soviet Century. Archaeology of a Lost World” (2017) and “Ukraine. A Nation on the Borderland” (2015). A broader audience is familiar with his work from his monographs “Moscow. 1937” (2008) and “In Space We Read Time: On the History of Civilization and Geopolitics”.

The Gerda Henkel Foundation was established in June 1976 by Lisa Maskell in memory of her mother Gerda Henkel as an incorporated foundation under civil law, headquartered in Düsseldorf. The Gerda Henkel Foundation provides financial support for the historical humanities. Research projects that explore current issues in a larger historical context or consciously focus on topics of relevance to the present or the future receive support from programmes of a limited duration such as the the special programme “Forced Migration”, or the “Democracy” and “Lost Cities” funding programmes. As part of the Lisa Maskell Fellowship programme, the Foundation supports young scholars in the humanities in both Africa and Southeast Asia. With its “Patrimonies” funding initiative, it promotes the preservation of the cultural heritage, specifically in regions experiencing crisis. In connection with funded projects, the Foundation also provides assistance for social support measures as part of complementary projects. The Gerda Henkel Foundation can by virtue of its statutes pursue its objectives both inside and outside Germany.

We are happy to receive your request for images and are making available a portrait of the prize winner (free of charge), a CV, and a list of his publications.

Contact:
Gerda Henkel Foundation press office
Dr Sybille Springer
Telephone +49 211 93 65 24 - 19
springer@gerda-henkel-stiftung.de