The award ceremony is traditionally held at an anniversary gala dinner to which the museum invites numerous friends and guests from the realms of politics, business, culture, and the media. The proceeds from the dinners go to support the museum’s educational work for children and youth.
“Tolerance is... anything but arbitrariness. Tolerance is the ability to engage in serious dialogue, accept that others think differently, and see them as an asset.” This is how Chancellor Angela Merkel defined the word in 2006 in her speech presenting the award to Helmut Panke.
Award Winners
The following people have received the Prize for Understanding and Tolerance to date:
Year awarded | Award winner |
---|---|
2021 | Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria Daniel Libeskind, architect |
2020 | Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State Igor Levit, pianist |
2019 | Heiko Maas, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Anselm Kiefer, artist |
2018 | Susanne Klatten, entrepreneur David Grossman, writer |
2017 | Joachim Gauck, former President of Germany Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens AG |
2016 | Renate Lasker-Harpprecht and Anita Lasker Wallfisch, historical eyewitnesses Hasso Plattner, businessman |
2015 | W. Michael Blumenthal, Founding Director of the Jewish Museum Berlin |
2014 | Hubert Burda, publisher Wolfgang Schäuble, Federal Finance Minister |
2013 | Berthold Leibinger, associate of the TRUMPF Group Iris Berben, actor |
2012 | Klaus Mangold, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rothschild GmbH (Frankfurt and Moscow) Richard von Weizsäcker, former President of Germany |
2011 | Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany |
2010 | Jan Philipp Reemtsma, literature scholar Hubertus Erlen, business executive |
2009 | Franz Fehrenbach and Christof Bosch, both as representatives of the Bosch company Michael Verhoeven, film director |
2008 | Roland Berger, corporate consultant Imre Kertész, Nobel Laureate in Literature |
2007 | Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor of Germany Fritz Stern, historian |
2006 | Daniel Barenboim, General Music Director of the Berlin State Oper Helmut Panke, business executive |
2005 | Heinz Berggruen, art collector and patron Otto Graf Lambsdorff, former Federal Minister of Germany |
2004 | Michael Otto, businessman Johannes Rau, former President of Germany |
2003 | Otto Schily, former Interior Minister of Germany Friede Springer, publisher |
2002 | Berthold Beitz, former Chairman of the Curatorium of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach Foundation Heinrich von Pierer, former Chairman of the Siemens AG Board |
Audio recording of the acceptance speech by the 2015 award winner, W. Michael Blumenthal (in German); Jewish Museum Berlin, 2015
Impressions of the Award Ceremonies from 2002 to 2021

Prize Ceremony 2021
Prize winner Daniel Libeskind and prize winner Charlotte Knobloch; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Pietschmann/Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2020
Award winner Igor Levit and Director Hetty Berg at the Jewish Museum Berlin
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann

Prize Ceremony 2020
Award winner Madeleine K. Albright and director Hetty Berg
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann

Prize Ceremony 2019
Laudator Carolin Emcke, award winners Heiko Maas and Anselm Kiefer, laudator Alexander Kluge and Managing Director Martin Michaelis (from left to right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Pietschmann/Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2018
Award winners Susanne Klatten and David Grossman
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Pietschmann/Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2017
Award winners Joachim Gauck and Joe Kaeser with director Peter Schäfer
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Pietschmann/Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2016
Award winners Renate Lasker-Harpprecht, Hasso Plattner, and Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (left to right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann/André Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2015
The President of Germany, Joachim Gauck (right), who presented the prize, and the Museum’s Director Peter Schäfer congratulate the award winner, W. Michael Blumenthal.
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann/André Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2014
Hubert Burda (left) and Wolfgang Schäuble (right), 2014 award winners
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: David Ausserhofer/André Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2013
Award winner Iris Berben (third from right) with Regine and Doris Leibinger, the daughter and wife of award winner Berthold Leibinger, along with Ulrich Raulff (left), Frank Walter Steinmeier, and W. Michael Blumenthal (right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann/André Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2012
Klaus Mangold (top left), 2012 award winner, with W. Michael Blumenthal (top right), Richard von Weizsäcker (bottom left), and Joachim Gauck (bottom right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Pietschmann/Wagenzik/Ausserhofer

Prize Ceremony 2011
Angela Merkel, 2011 award winner, with W. Michael Blumenthal
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Ausserhofer/Bolk/Breloer/Lopata/Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2010
The award winners Jan Philipp Reemtsma (second from left) and Hubertus Erlen (right) with Christian Wulff (second from right) and W. Michael Blumenthal (left)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: André Wagenzik

Prize Ceremony 2009
The award winners Michael Verhoeven (second from right), Christof Bosch (right), and Franz Fehrenbach (left) with Horst Köhler
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann/Georg Lopata

Prize Ceremony 2008
The award winners Roland Berger and Imre Kertesz with Hildegard Hamm-Brücher and Michael Naumann (left to right)
Bildschön, Berlin

Prize Ceremony 2007
W. Michael Blumenthal, award winner Fritz Stern, and Richard Holbrooke (left to right)
Bildschön, Berlin

Prize Ceremony 2006
Concert with Daniel Barenboim (piano) and Nabil Shehata (contrabass)
Eventfotografen, Berlin-Basel

Prize Ceremony 2005
Award winner Heinz Berggruen (center) with Michael Naumann and W. Michael Blumenthal
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Stephan Schraps

Prize Ceremony 2005
W. Michael Blumenthal, Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff, and Salomon Korn (left to right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Stephan Schraps

Prize Ceremony 2004
W. Michael Blumenthal, Christina Rau, Michael Otto, Kurt Biedenkopf, and Gerhard Schröder (left to right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Johannes Eisele

Prize Ceremony 2003
W. Michael Blumenthal, Friede Springer, and Richard von Weizsäcker (left to right)
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Bildschön
Contact
Johanna Brandt (Parenting time)
Managing Director
T +49 (0)30 259 93 553
F +49 (0)30 259 93 432
j.brandt@jmberlin.de
Address
Jewish Museum Berlin
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin
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The Prizewinners 2019
The Prize for Understanding and Tolerance goes to German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas and the artist Anselm Kiefer
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The Prizewinners 2020
The prize will be awarded to former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and pianist Igor Levit.
Press Release
27 Oct 2020