Young Jury

The Young Jury was a committee that advised the Margot Friedländer Award from 2018 to 2023. Every year, it made a recommendation for the most award-worthy and particularly youth-oriented projects to Margot Friedländer and the jury she appointed. It was made up of up to 12 alumni of the award and other committed young people between the ages of 16 and 20.

The Young Jury 2022/23

Finally, the 2022 meeting of the Young Jury could take place again in Berlin from November 3 to 6, 2022. On the programme: the film „Displaced“ by director Sharon Ryba-Kahn about transgenerational trauma in Jewish families, and a discussion with Tobias Ginsburg about his books, „The Journey into the Reich“ („Die Reise ins Reich“) and „The Last Men of the West“ (“Die letzten Männer des Westens”), both undercover explorations of the extreme right and conspiracy theory scene. The group also took a guided tour of the four monuments to those murdered and persecuted by the Nazis: The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Memorial to the Murdered Sinti and Roma, the Memorial to the Murdered and Persecuted Homosexuals, and the Memorial to the T4-Action.

Members 2022/23

  • Amela

    "Grateful for everything the team has accomplished together and for the great time we had together. It's very nice to see that even younger people get the opportunity to contribute or change something in today's society."

  • Blessing

    "It was a great honour to be part of the Young Jury 2022/23. It's super nice to see so many young people getting involved and dealing with important topics, because it's very important to maintain the culture of remembrance. I'm very grateful for the time because I myself was able to take away so much through the workshops and learn new perspectives."

  • Samet

    "Anti-Semitism and Antiziganism have a long tradition in Germany and are deeply anchored in our social structures. For this reason, passing on and coming to terms with history is an obligatory task of our pluralistic society. As a participant, I was privileged to make an active contribution for the culture of remembrance in Germany and to deal withthe civilizational rupture of the Shoah as well as with the continuities of anti-Semitism."

  • Vlera

    "It is a great honour for me to be a part of the Young Jury 2022. It is admirable to see how many young people are still involved and are committed to these important issues today. Only by looking at the past we can see why things are the way they are today."

  • Madleen

    "It was a great honour for me to be a part of the Young Jury. Being a member not only gave me the chance to get to know interesting projects, but also it gave me the chance to expand my knowledge. In addition to that, I got to meet a wide variety of people, all of whom were very inspiring to me in their own way."

  • Lukas

    "The confrontation with the Shoah is important in order to understand that it's necessary to stand up for democratic values and against Anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination. Each generation has its own approach and therefore also needs different forms of communication. The culture of remembrance is not a self-perpetuating process but has to be worked out again and again. The Margot Friedländer Prize supports young people on this path and thus ensures the promotion of a critical view of history."

  • Rahel

    "For many young people, and history lessons and history itself mean boredom, complicated essays and content that is far removed from life. The Margot Friedländer Prize offers students and their teachers an opportunity to break down this prejudice. History and the memory of the crimes are put into a framework that encourages young people to reflect and get involved. In addition, the fact that young people like me, as a member of the Young Jury, also have an influence in the decision-making process on which projects are awarded, shows that the prize is essentially about innovative and young ideas for remembering the crimes of National Socialism."

  • Laura

    "Working on and for the project, I took away a lot: especially new acquaintances and new perspectives. It was a great experience."

  • Damla

    "The experiences I had with the Young Jury definitely shaped me and made me incredibly aware of the issue."

  • Naledi

    "My experience on the Young Jury definitely showed me that there are still young people who want to fight Anti-Semitism. I had the honour of being part of a Young Jury that was just as ambitious as me to make a change in our society."

  • Paula

    "The nice thing about the Young Jury is also that it reflects our plural society so well, and because of that you can take away and learn very different perspectives on historical topics from the other participants."

The Young Jury 2021/22

Finally, the training seminar took place again in Berlin from December 9 to 12, 2021. Due to the pandemic, all workshops were held digitally. Together we watched the film „Masel Tov Cocktail“ and discussed afterwards with the director of the film Arkadij Khaet, as well as with Burak Yilmaz about his book „Ehrensache. Fighting against Hatred of Jews“. In addition, two workshops were held on the Bergen-Belsen DP camp and on post-war trials, while Lara Raabe from the Bildungsforum gegen Antiziganismus offered a workshop on the National Socialist persecution of Sinti and Roma.

Members 2021/22

  • Jasmin

    “I think it's great when young people get involved and work for a better society! That's why I like to be a good role model for other young people, as well as motivate, inspire and positively influence them.”

  • Marcel

    „I want to support and honor the commitment of other young people as a winner of the 2021 Margot Friedländer Award.”

  • Yola-Marie

    “I would like to contribute my part to ensure that the commitment of young people is valued and appreciated.”

  • Stella Viktoria

    “It is a great honor for me to be part of the Young Jury 2021/22. During these four days, I was not only able to read incredibly inspiring projects, but I also learned a lot of new things myself. The varied workshops and the discussions with Burak Yilmaz and Arkadij Khaet also gave me a new perspective on many topics and enriched me enormously.”

  • Greta

    „I am happy to see that there are still so many young people who are actively addressing anti-Semitism and anti-gypsyism to make a difference in society instead of just standing by and watching, like many others do.”

  • Sarah

    “It was a great honor to be part of the Young Jury 2022. Not only did we have the chance to build connections with each other, but also to many exciting projects. It's admirable to see how many young people throughout Germany are still committed to these important issues today!”

  • Nico

    “I am glad that we Germans have such an enlightened culture of remembrance, which is promoted by state institutions. Nevertheless, I look with concern to the coming years, when we will have to be attentive and, above all, educate about the Shoa with fewer and fewer eyewitnesses.”

  • Sara

    “I think that the responsibility that derives from the past is a continuous task, under which no line can and must be drawn. That is why a society-wide remembrance of the victims of the Nazi regime and an ongoing confrontation with the Holocaust must be essential for German society.”

  • Lukas

    “The German culture of remembrance should finally detach itself from the narratives of the perpetrators and focus on the demands and interests of those who historically and currently experience anti-Semitism and racism. Their perspectives on the Shoa, German colonialism or the racist attacks of the last decades are no "nice to have", they play the central role.”

  • Dawud

    “As part of this country, it is important for me to participate in the culture of remembrance. By participating in the Young Jury, I reproduced a piece of the culture of memory together with the other jury and enriched myself with the content of the discussions. Indeed, the culture of remembrance lives from being permanently and continuously maintained.”

  • Golnas

    “Germany has a past that is strongly marked by racism, also in the form of anti-Semitism and anti-gypsyism, and so that this past is not forgotten, or the memory of the acts, as well as the acts themselves are weakened, we citizens are obliged to remember and to clarify.”

  • Katrin

    “It’s impressive to see how many students wanted to get involved, so it was all the more difficult to make a choice.”

Gardinia and Nicolas with Margot Friedländer at the award ceremony 2021 © Stefanie Loos | Schwarzkopf-Stiftung Junges Europa

The Young Jury 2020/21

The training seminar of the Young Jury 2020/21 took place from December 3 to 6, 2020. Due to the Corona pandemic, the whole program was adapted to the digital space. In a diverse programme, twelve motivated young people from all over Germany prepared the selection of the best projects.

The participants discussed the short film „Mazel Tov Cocktail“ with director Arkadij Khaet and screenwriter Merle Teresa Kirchhoff after a screening. They also took part in a workshop with the memorial and educational site Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz and spoke with author Ronen Steinke about Jewish realities and anti-Semitic terror in Germany. The Young Ambassadors Against Antisemitism network also introdcued itself.

Eight promising projects were recommended to Margot Friedländer and the jury.

Members of 2020/21

  • Stella

    “I got so much inspiration and great ideas from these four days that I would love to travel back in time a few years. Back to my school days and set up my own project on the topic of anti-Semitism to take part in the Margot Friedländer Award and also to contribute to improving the situation of Jews in Germany today by educating the young generation and not making the same mistakes as many other generations.”

  • Gardinia

    “It was a great honour to be able to participate in the Jury of 2020/21. Not only did we experience great and exciting projects but we also had the chance to build our own network with the participants.”

  • Elif

    “I am incredibly grateful to be part of the Young Jury of the Margot Friedländer Award. The projects we got to know do make a significant difference for society. All the projects are inspiring and encouraging: at their innermost core, they address the Holocaust and reach young people through sustainable and practical projects.”

  • Anouk

    “I didn't expect to be a bit sad when the project is over. I very much hope to meet everyone in person, ideally at the award ceremony!”

  • Jessica

    “We have learnt a lot, achieved a lot and gained an incredible amount of inspiration to keep going and make a difference in the world. The weekend was incredibly fun and I look forward to seeing who wins the award!”

  • Johanna

    Quote by Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world - in fact, it's the only way the world has ever been changed.”

  • Milena

    “I am very happy to be part of the Young Jury 2021. It's great how much interest there is in the award and how people participate despite Covid-19. We read innovative and moving project applications over the weekend, from which we have made a good shortlist for Margot Friedländer & her jury.“

  • Nicolas

    “The Young Jury seminar programme gave me a new perspective, especially on current anti-Semitism. What was challenging about the jury process itself was selecting the best projects from a large pool of great ideas. I think that as a group this experience, the sometimes hard work for a common goal, gave us a lot of strength for the future.”

The Young Jury 2019/20

The training seminar took place in Berlin from November 14 to 17, 2019. The programme included a visit to the extracurricular learning site “7xJung“, a workshop on Berlin’s remembrance landscape and intensive discussions about the submitted project ideas.

Members of the jury were:

  • Ruby, Hessen
  • Erik, Baden-Württemberg
  • Fabiola, Bayern
  • Hagen, NRW
  • Sandhya, Hessen
  • Karla, Thüringen
  • Mona, NRW
  • Elisabeth, Hessen
  • Romy, NRW

The Young Jury 2018/19

The training seminar took place from November 22 to 25, 2018. During a panel discussion, representatives of the Leo Baeck Institute, the memorial and educational site Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz and Gegen Vergessen e. V. spoke about anti-Semitism in the present. In addition to a study day on the topic of continuity lines of anti-Semitism at the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, the young people were introduced to jury work and visited the Fraenkelufer Synagogue. In several sessions, they then decided on a dozen projects which they recommended to the award’s jury.

The members of the jury were:

  • Tuğrulhan, NRW
  • Hagen, NRW
  • Mona, NRW
  • Janika, Berlin
  • Linda, NRW
  • Simeon-Joel, Baden-Württemberg
  • Samuel, Baden-Württemberg
  • Julia, NRW,
  • Milad, Niedersachsen
  • Angelina Ludowika, Niedersachsen
  • Bosse, Niedersachsen
  • Noah, NRW

“I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving young people the chance to gain an insight into jury work and also to deal with the issues of anti-Semitism, racism and exclusion. We have been able to work perfectly together as a team of twelve, but also in small groups. This has enabled us to evaluate the projects quite well. I hope you can set up another project like this for young adults in the coming years.”
— Simeon-Joel Brunner, Kornwestheim

“Like the others, I personally feel that I have learned and taken away a lot as part of the young jury. The programme was really diverse and stimulating and especially the support and guidance was so great that you always felt comfortable, appreciated and taken care of.”

Janika Raisch, Berlin, Projekt "Zweitzeugen”

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