The 7th price-award of Dr. Bigler was offered to Rita Ackermann (ZH), Lukas David Krejci (SG) and Milo Rau.

The first of those nominees was the head teacher of the primary school of Hutten in canton Zurich, Rita Ackermann. With her 190 children she has realised to play the child opera Brundibar, which had been performed in the ghetto of Theresienstadt in the first place. Moreover, the children of the school are being taught of the Holocaust and of tolerance. The parents of the children had been informed of the pedagogical aims of that theatre and were invited to participate in it.

More information about the child opera Brundibár: Link.

Further information about the school Hutten you can find here.

The second price-award was given to the rector and teacher of the gymnasium Friedberg, Lukas David Krejci. Since years the school paid attention to Holocaust education in classes and invested in several projects. The scholars were for example instructed to be guides of the exhibition “Anne Frank – a story for today” in Gossau SG. After that exhibition, Krejci wrote a piece of theatre, called “tonight – Anne Frank”.

Some foto impressions of the past musicals.

Milo Rau was the third nominee. He is sensitive to the education of tolerance in political context through artistic means. In his works he broached the issue of mass violence (i.e. in his theaters “Hate Radio” of the genocide in Ruanda 1994 and “City of change”). With his theatre “Zürcher Prozesse” he tried to encourage his visitors to think of Islam and the hate of strangers.

Informations about Milo Rau and his projects.

More information about the speeches and the media news are on the German version.

On April 4, 2013 Mr. Achim Lück, teacher at the secondary school “Unteres Furttal” (Kanton Zurich) received the 6th Dr. Bigler award. As a teacher he has addressed the question of how to convey the subject of the Holocaust to senior classes. He subsequently decided to write a play about the Jewish novelist and songwriter Dr. Friedrich Löhner-Beda, who was deported to the concentration camp at Buchenwald and murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. The play also – in a lively, serious yet humoristic way – focuses on how a school class deals with the subject of the Holocaust in today’s world.

During the award ceremony the audience was privy to two extracts from the play “Und ein Lied erklingt…”. A one-time complete performance will take place on June 27, 2013 in Baden (see flyer). The ceremony was embellished by interesting speeches, which we do not want to deprive you of. The hyperlinks to said speeches as well as the ceremony’s PowerPoint presentation can be found below.

Slides of the 6^th Bigler award ceremony

Opening speech by Dr. phil. Revital Ludewig

Welcoming by Dr. iur. h.c. Margrith Bigler, award benefactor

Guest speech by Ruth Kempnich, teacher

Laudation by lic. phil. Guido Arnet, head of the school in Baden

Award presentation speech by Dr. iur. h.c. Margrith Bigler, award benefactor

Acceptance speech by Achim Lück, recipient and teacher at the secondary school "Unteres Furttal"

Press reports:

Tachles - Kopf der Woche und Nachrichtenhinweis.

The following photos shall allow you an insight into the festitives.

The last presentation of the 5th Bigler award took place in St. Gallen on April 5, 2012

Laureate: Lic. phil. Edward Schlegel

On April 5, 2012 the educator Edward Schlegel was presented the 5th Dr. Bigler award in a festive ceremony. Edward Schlegel was honored for his valuable contribution to Holocaust education, especially the organization of a block week for his students at the teacher’s college of St. Gallen. Said week is titled “Berlin – a global city in an area of tension between powers”. Each year, Schlegel visits historic places in Berlin with future high-school teachers, where the group deals with subjects ranging from National Socialism and the Holocaust to an education geared towards tolerance and democracy with Schlegel also organizing discussions with contemporary witnesses.

Press statements:

St. Galler Tagblatt - the article can be found here in PDF format.

St. Galler Nachrichten - the article can be found here in PDF format.

Tachles - the article can be found  here in PDF format.

The fourth laureates: Beat Sidler and Prof. Dr. Kurt Messmer

On January 27, 2011 the pedagogues Beat Sidler and Prof. Dr. Kurt Messmer were presented the Bigler award in Zürich. They were both honored for their long-standing contribution to Holocaust education. For many years now Beat Sidler has organized a Holocaust remembrance day at his high school in Immensee. Prof. Dr. Kurt Messmer is a didactics expert of history on the college of education in Lucerne who, with the help of a team of authors, created two documentaries which are very valuable for Holocaust education.

The third laureate: the Swiss Association of Survivors of the Holocaust (Kontaktstelle für Überlebende des Holocaust)

On January 27, 2010 the Association for Survivors of the Holocaust  was presented the third Dr. Bigler/Bergheimer award in Zurich. It was thereby being honored for its commitment to the liveliest form of Holocaust education: the telling of life stories shaped by the Holocaust during different events. Gabor Hirsch, founder and president of the association, accepted the award, Dr. Rolf Bloch was the ceremony’s guest speaker.

The artice can be found here in PDF format.