The award

The Tschiche Democracy Award honors people and initiatives that have shown outstanding commitment to an open, diverse and democratic society in Saxony-Anhalt.

Work against racism, anti-Semitism and all other forms of group-based hostility that lead to discrimination, exclusion and violence are the focus of this award.

All proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by a six-member jury (consisting of representatives of Hans-Jochen Tschiche’s family and Miteinander e. V., the Heinrich Böll Foundation Saxony-Anhalt and Alliance 90/The Greens Saxony-Anhalt).

Hans-Jochen Tschiche

* November 10, 1929 | † June 25, 2015

 One of the last public photos shows Hans-Jochen Tschiche sitting in front of a bookshelf, in which gardening guides, art picture books, philosophical writings and theological works are lined up. The picture reveals Hans-Jochen Tschiche as someone who, as a Christian, theologian, civil rights activist and politician, constantly tested reality against what he stood for: democratic conflict, responsibility and solidarity. Hans-Jochen Tschiche cultivated these virtues regardless of office or mandate. It was his attitude. He had a keen sense of when the challenged, and he stood up for them. In doing so, he did not only make friends.

Hans-Jochen Tschiche was an encourager in a discouraging time. In the late 1980s of the GDR, he and people from the oppositional peace and environmental movements sought ways out of social stagnation. In seminars and samizdat magazines, he demanded what others did not even dare to think: a radical democratization of society. As a founding member of the New Forum, he provided impetus for a renewal of the GDR. Tschiche had already swum against the tide before. He had criticized the suppression of the Prague Spring and supported the protest against Wolf Biermann’s expatriation.

A few years later, Tschiche was the leader of the Green parliamentary group in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt when asylum seekers’ shelters were attacked and migrants were hounded by neo-Nazis. Tschiche was not satisfied with the response of consternation. His parliamentary group commissioned a study on the manifestations of right-wing extremism in Saxony-Anhalt and called for a social debate on the subject.

After the far-right DVU’s election success in Saxony-Anhalt, this debate became more urgent and broader. Hans-Jochen Tschiche, together with SPD and PDS, the two governing parties at the time, facilitated a genuine dialogue between civil society initiatives and politics on how to push back right-wing extremism and the arduous grassroots work of democratizing society.

From the Miteinander e. V. Obituary, which has been co-founded by Tschiche.

Criteria

Potential award winners can nominate themselves, be nominated by anyone living in Saxony-Anhalt or by democratic associations and initiatives active here.

Prize candidates should be active in at least one of these areas:

• combating racism and right-wing extremism 
• supporting victims of right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic violence
• strengthening and supporting democratic structures
• youth participation and education
• the integration of refugees and migrants

Applications and proposals can be submitted until January 31, 2023.

Prize and award ceremony

The Hans-Jochen-Tschiche-Memorial Prize comes with a cash prize of 1,000 euros.
The presentation and handing over will take place at an award ceremony.

The jury’s decision is final.