German Jewish History Award
Award winners from Baden-Württemberg

Two Germans from the south west of the country have received the distinguished German Jewish History Award for their work in reclaiming Jewish history in two local towns, Haigerloch and Münsingen, both on the Swabian Alb.

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The hobby historians Helmut Gabeli from Haigerloch and Walter Ott from Münsingen were given the award by the American Obermayer Foundation in Berlin.
Helmut Gabeli

He moved to Haigerloch in the 1960s and quickly became touched by the town’s Jewish history as he realised that the market place where he and his wife did their shopping had been before the Nazi regime a synagogue. They decided to stop shopping there. Later, 20 years ago, he was amongst the founders of a group that had set its aims as keeping alive the memory of Jews in the town and in particular to campaign for the restoration of the Jewish synagogue in the town. The synagogue is now restored and also acts as a museum illustrating the history of Jews in the area. Helmut Gabeli as a hobby historian has also researched widely on Jewish history in the region from the Middle Ages up to WW II.
Walter Ott

Born and raised near Stuttgart, Ott has devoted much of his time to restoring the Jewish cemetery in Buttenhausen a local village and to writing a history of the town. Very early in life, at 14, through the Hitler Youth he had moved to Poland and studied farming. Later doing agricultural work in Buttenhausen he became fascinated by the strong history of Jews in the town. In the Nazi era the local Jews had been transported to concentration camps and the town was used as a transit area for many other Jews from all over Germany.
Obermayer German-Jewish History Awards

Gabeli and Ott are among five winners of this year’s Obermayer German-Jewish History Awards. These are given annually "to individuals who have made outstanding voluntary contributions toward preserving and recording the Jewish history, heritage, culture and/or remnants of local German communities".

Letzte Änderung am: 26.01.2010, 00.00 Uhr