Hannah Arendt Award | Heinrich Böll Stiftung

Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought

This annual award was created to honor individuals who identify critical and unseen aspects of current political events and who are not afraid to enter the public realm by presenting their opinion in controversial political discussions. The Hannah Arendt Award is a public prize, and therefore not based solely on academic achievement. It is funded by both the state government of Bremen and the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Bremen. The prize is endowed with 10,000 Euros and is awarded by an international jury.

Due to current events

Siding with Hamas against "Zionist bastards" - The dramatic transformation of Hannah Arendt Award winner Gianni Vattimo

No-one would ever have imagined that the association supporting the Hannah Arendt Award would ever be confronted with a situation, in which it has to consider revoking an award.

By Ralf Fücks

More about Hannah Arendt

Award Winners

Historian Yfaat Weiss receives 2012 Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought

This year’s award winner is Yfaat Weiss, historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Weiss, so claimed the jury, points out the unusual course of Israeli history as well as the potential of civil society in her country. The prize will be presented on December 7th 2012 in the City Hall of Bremen

Who we are

Fostering democracy and upholding human rights, taking action to prevent the destruction of the global ecosystem, advancing equality between women and men, securing peace through conflict prevention in crisis zones, and defending the freedom of individuals against excessive state and economic power – these are the objectives that drive the ideas and actions of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. We maintain close ties to the German Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) and as a think tank for green visions and projects, we are part of an international network encompassing well over 100 partner projects in approximately 60 countries.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation works independently and nurtures a spirit of intellectual openness. We maintain a world wide network with currently 30 international offices. We cooperate closely with 16 state-level Böll Foundations in each of Germany’s federal states, and we support talented, socio-politically engaged undergraduate and graduate students in Germany and abroad.

We gladly follow Heinrich Böll’s exhortation for citizens to get involved in politics, and we want to inspire others to do the same.