55 Years Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe

On April 2, 2026, the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe celebrates its 55th anniversary. Much has changed since its founding – in Europe, in society and within the foundation itself. Yet for us, Europe remains a shared project that thrives on the voices of young and diverse people. This is precisely what our work has been built on from the very beginning: For over five decades, we have been strengthening young perspectives for an open, democratic and pluralistic Europe.

Since its founding by Pauline Schwarzkopf in Hamburg in 1971, the foundation has continued to evolve: it has added and developed new program lines, relocated, critically examined its history, refined the foundation’s mission and expanded its scope of activity far beyond Germany.

Today, more than five decades later, we are a foundation that implements educational, dialogue and participation projects for young people across Europe, using a wide range of topics and methods. Together with our youth networks, we look back on over 55 years of Young Europe:

1971: On April 2, Pauline Schwarzkopf founded the Heinz Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe in Hamburg. In memory of her husband and the horrors of war, she tasked the foundation with promoting the ideas of European unity and peace among young people.

1970s: Until the 1980s, Pauline Schwarzkopf participated in nearly all the foundation’s political seminars and every study trip to the European institutions in Brussels, Strasbourg, and Luxembourg. As the first non-partisan organization, the foundation traveled with young people to Poland and the GDR for European policy exchanges in the late 1970s, despite the Iron Curtain.

1997: The Young European of the Year Award is presented for the first time and has since promoted young people’s commitment to a peaceful Europe. Recent Awardees Include youth activits and educators Magdolna Kremmer from Hungary, Munira Mohamud from Austria and Mikuláš Lakatoš from the Slovak Republic.

2000: The Foundation moves to Berlin and has been headquartered in the Sophienstraße in Berlin-Mitte ever since. Previously, it was located at the International Institute for Politics and Economics “Haus Rissen” in Hamburg and moved to the Europa-Union Hamburg in 1991.

2003: The Schwarzkopf Europe Award is established, enabling young Europeans to honor their own role models who actively shape the development towards a peaceful and pluralistic Europe. Recent awardees include French journalist Rokhaya Diallo, Belarusian politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Ukrainian artist Serhiy Zhadan.

2004: The European Youth Parliament (EYP), one of Europe’s largest youth organizations, becomes part of the Foundation’s work. Since then, the EYP has expanded its network to 40 European countries and reaches approximately 25,000 young people annually.

2008: A historical report commissioned to mark the founder’s 100th birthday, examining the life and work of Heinz Schwarzkopf, reveals his Nazi past as a member of the SA and the SS. These findings led to the foundation being renamed the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe. Since then, the foundation’s work has been dedicated to its founder, Pauline Schwarzkopf. Out of a sense of responsibility toward history and the present, the foundation’s statute was explicitly expanded to include the goal of combating right-wing extremism, racism, and anti-Semitism.

Europe faces major challenges, as does the Foundation; let us work together to build the young Europe of tomorrow responsibly and with enthusiasm.

Pauline Schwarzkopf, March 2001

2014: The Margot Friedländer Award is established to support students in remembering the Holocaust and in taking a stand against current forms of racism and anti-Semitism. The last joint award is presented in 2023. In 2025, Margot Friedländer passes away at the age of 103. An obituary by André Schmitz can be read here.

2013–14: For the first time, the “EU-Crash-Course” brings European topics into classrooms all over the continent – now as part of the newly structured program line Understanding Europe. Since then, our Educational Network has expanded its courses to media, social and climate justice and participation. It is currently active in 11 countries.

2019: The Young Islam Conference becomes part of the foundation, expanding its work to include a platform in which the post-migrant generation can engage in constructive exchange on topics related to the migration society.

2020: The educational programmes Young Ambassadors against Anti-Semitism and Postmigrant Europe are launched. The foundation also becomes part of the competence network “Living Together in Migration Societies”.

2024: As part of the new project “Europa Erleben”, aspiring master craftsmen and women attend an annual two-day educational trip to Brussels. There, they can gather firsthand experiences of European institutions and politics, connect with professionals and with each other.

2024: The Programme Young Postmigrant Alliances is created which includes the Young Islam Conference and other projects. The approach and previous work of the Young Islam Conference under the motto “values, not origins” is expanded and now promotes alliances in a greater variety of forms – such as the Academy for Muslim-Jewish Alliances and Remembrance Culture. 

2024: The European Youth Parliament (EYP) celebrates its 100th international session since 1988 – a journey through Europe featuring 29 countries and 73 different cities. For this session, around 250 young people gathered in Thessaloniki, Greece, to celebrate the history of the EYP, develop policy proposals, exchange ideas with experts, and build connections through social and cultural activities.

2025: The Young European Security Conference takes place for the first time, bringing together more than 200 young people from across Europe in Berlin. At a time when international conflicts and security policy issues are becoming increasingly relevant, it equips young people with knowledge and skills, gives them a platform to formulate and exchange ideas and strengthens their voice security policy debates.

2025: The Inge Deutschkron Award is established to honor and preserve the life and work of Inge Deutschkron – honorary citizen of Berlin, author, and Holocaust survivor. It recognizes projects by young Berliners that strengthen the fight against Antisemitism, keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, and counter far-right tendencies.

2025: Together with four other civil society organisations, the foundation creates Zukunft D: a new initiative aimed at strengthening democracy in a digitalized and interconnected society. It stands for democratic participation and education, easy and equitable access to information, secure data, public infrastructure, transparent decision-making and open access to data.

  • Pauline und Heinz Schwarzkopf

  • Martin Hutsebaut (European Trade Union Confederation) and Pauline Schwarzkopf

  • Study trips to “Europe” in 1978 to NATO Headquarters

  • Barcelona 1991 International Session (EYP)

  • Klaus Kinkel (Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs), Pauline Schwarzkopf and David Stulik (Young European of the Year 1997)

  • Andre Schmitz-Schwarzkopf und Ilka Keuper in front of the new Office in Berlin

  • First seminars in Berlin in 2001

  • Philipp Scharff (first executive director EYP) & Andre Schmitz-Schwarzkopf, at the stavanger international session in Norway, 2005

  • Margot Friedländer & awardess in 2015

  • Regional conference in Germany In 2019 (Young Islam Conference)

  • The Young Islam Conference celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2021

  • Post-migrant group travel 2021

  • Young Ambassadors Against Anti-Semitism 2022

  • First trip with the project „Europa Erleben“ to brussels in 2024

  • The festival Connecting Minds in Germany 2024 (Young Postmigrant Alliances)

  • Participants of thessaloniki 2024, the 100th International session of the eyp

  • First Young European Security Conference in Berlin, 2025

  • Inge Deutschkron awardees 2025

  • Digital Democracy Day 2025