On Saturday (07.10.2023), the Silesian Cultural Award ceremony took place at the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw.
This year's winners were the director of the Krzyżowa-Music Chamber Music Festival, Matthias von Hülsen, well-known writer, Marek Krajewski, and writer and journalist, Karolina Kuszyk.
The awards were presented jointly by Lower Saxony's Minister of the Interior, Daniela Behrens, and Lower Silesia Regional Board Member, Krzysztof Maj.
Read more: Matthias von Hülsen, initiator and general director of the Krzyżowa-Music Festival, received this...
On October 02, Dr. Annemarie Franke - Vice-Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of the Krzyżowa Foundation - and Dr. Robert Żurek - Managing Director, Member of the Board, received the Princess Jadwiga Śląska Award on behalf of the Krzyzowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe.
This unique award is given to individuals and institutions for significant contributions to reconciliation and deepening of Polish-German cooperation or outstanding charitable activities.
The chapter of the Princess Hedwig of Silesia Award also decided to honor Marian Turski, an outstanding historian and journalist, with this year's award.
Read more: The Krzyżowa Foundation received the Princess Jadwiga of Silesia Award
Press release 21.04.2023
Press release from the Lüneburg University Society and the Lüneburg Museum Foundation.
The award ceremony commemorates the famous rescue of a Polish pianist by a German officer in 1944 ( known from the film 'The Pianist').
Lüneburg. On 17 November 1944, a German officer discovers a pianist of Jewish origin in his hiding place in Warsaw. Instead of shooting him, he takes care of him and saves his life. Today, a prize for memory culture projects is named after these two men: the Hosenfeld-Szpilman Prize. This year it went to the Krzyżowa-Music Chamber Music Festival.
Festival director Ph.D. Matthias von Hülsen came to the award ceremony in the Libeskind Building at Leuphana University Lüneburg together with four long-time participants of the Krzyżowa-Music Festival: Miriam Helms Ålien (violin), Pablo Barragán (clarinet), Alexey Stadler (cello) and Amadeus Wiesensee (piano).
"You give us hope," said political scientist Prof. Dr. Gesine Schwan in her laudation towards the musicians. "They unwaveringly believe in the peaceful and joy-giving power of music. Music is the royal road to understanding." Reconciliation in Europe after the German war of aggression would not have been possible without the generosity of neighbouring countries. A "courageous confrontation with guilt" is needed. The Chamber Music Festival aims to overcome the legacy of suffering and prejudice.
Schwan called the meeting between German officer Wilm Hosenfeld and Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman "a deeply moving and comforting human encounter". After the soldier discovered the Jew in his hiding place in Warsaw, he provided him with clothing, blankets and food for weeks. When Hosenfeld himself became a prisoner of war, Szpilman tried to free his saviour. He was unsuccessful. Hosenfeld died in a camp in Stalingrad in 1952.
Read more: Music against oblivion: Krzyżowa-Music receives the Hosenfeld-Szpilman Prize 2023
The European Commission has announced the list of winners of the 2019 Altiero Spinelli Prize. The Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe is one of the 16 winners from all over Europe, thereby the first Polish organization in the history of this competition to receive such a distinction.
The Altiero Spinelli Prize has been awarded since 2017 and is a recognition of outstanding activities that promote understanding of the European Union as an integration project and its values. It focuses in particular on initiatives that help young citizens to engage in the democratic processes shaping the future of the EU. In the last edition of the Altiero Spinelli Prize, the activities undertaken in 2019 were assessed, and the work of the International Youth Meeting Center in Krzyżowa was recognized as outstanding in Europe.
Read more: The Krzyżowa Foundation is the first Polish winner of the Altiero Spinelli Prize
