Karl Schlögel receives Peace Prize: A call for Ukraine!

Karl Schlögel receives Peace Prize: A call for Ukraine!

In a moving setting in Frankfurt's Paulskirche, Karl Schlögel was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. The ceremony, which also marked the end of the 77th Frankfurt Book Fair, attracted over 700 guests, including well-known personalities such as Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer and Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour. Schlögel, a 77-year-old historian and Eastern Europe expert, is considered a influential voice in the current debate about Europe and the war in Ukraine. ZDF reports that this prize is one of the most important in Germany.

In his acceptance speech, Schlögel spoke clearly and unambiguously about the fact that the conflict should be described as a war and not just as the Ukraine conflict. He dared to sharply criticize the Russian regime and described Vladimir Putin as the “master of escalation dominance.” After the shock of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of war in 2022, Schlögel's perspective as a historian has been particularly in demand, especially at a time when the war in Europe is perceived as one of the greatest upheavals in his life. The BR emphasizes that Schlögel will continue to propagate a greater understanding of Ukraine and a critical examination of Russian aggression in the future.

A life for history

Born in 1948 in tranquil Hawangen in the Allgäu, Schlögel developed a fascination for Eastern Europe at an early age. His first trips to Prague and Moscow in the 1960s shaped his career. He has always sought a very special approach to history: “I want to research history on site, not from a desk,” is the historian's conviction, as well as that FAZ. This led him to develop his own perspective on the turbulent history and present of Eastern Europe with his impressive experiences and observations.

His most important theoretical work, “In Space We Read Time,” illuminates the eventful history and cultural upheavals in cities like Lviv, which Schlögel sees as part of a common European history. During a visit to Lviv, which has been shaped by various rulers such as Hungarian, Polish and Soviet, he emphasizes the urgency of making the city “speak”.

Wake-up call for Europe

The driving force behind Schlögel's commitment is the conviction that the war against Ukraine is also a war against European values. He describes the Ukrainians as realists who are committed to defending themselves against a determined aggressor. This is also underlined by the Peace Prize jury, which emphasizes that without a free Ukraine, no peace in Europe is possible.

With his view of the current geopolitical tensions and the respect he shows the soldiers, Schlögel not only wants to promote peace, but also act as a mirror for Europe. Particularly impressive was an empty chair at the awards ceremony, which commemorated the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, who is currently in prison. In her speech, the laudator Katja Petrowskaja praised Schlögel's “willingness to experience” and “ability to observe” and recalled a personal conversation that she had with him at a demo in Berlin in 2022. This shows how intertwined Schlögel's work and his personal experiences are.

With such a perspective, it is no wonder that Karl Schlögel receives the award, which not only honors him but also draws attention to the immense challenges facing Europe today.