The bathing house in Waldram repeatedly sets standards in the fight against prejudice, anti-Semitism and racism.
For this, the sponsoring association will now be honored on January 25 in Berlin.
Wolfratshausen
- The Badehaus Waldram is this year's winner of the Obermayer Awards. Along with five other award winners from all over Germany, the Badehaus is being honored for its fight against prejudice and racism. The Badehaus is the only Bavarian initiative to be given this honor. "We are very grateful and proud of this award and recognition of our many years of work," says the association's website.
The Obermayer Awards have been presented since 2000.
According to the press release, they honor citizens and organizations that work to remember the important role that the Jewish population played in German society for hundreds of years before the Nazi era.
It is also awarded to people who - based on the lessons of history - are dedicated to combating prejudice and racism, including anti-Semitism, and promoting reconciliation and understanding between different groups.
Also interesting: Prominent visitors find the bathhouse "incredibly impressive"
Joel Obermayer, Managing Director of the organization Widen the Circle, which administers the awards, explains: “The innovative, committed winners of the Obermayer Awards 2022 are role models, not only in Germany, but also in other countries where efforts are being made to create a legacy of brutal To overcome racism and discrimination.” Above all, the fact that the commitment of a new generation is being promoted, as in Waldram, is important in order to create a better future.
Dennis Buchner, President of the Berlin House of Representatives, makes the connection to the present: “The current time of the corona pandemic shows how quickly scapegoats for social conflicts are being sought again.
Unfortunately, anti-Semitic outbursts and criminal offenses are also increasing.
I'm glad that by presenting the Obermayer Awards we can set an example for tolerance, understanding and respect."
Worth reading: Badehaus documentation site: Prominent Wolfratshauser keeps promises
As stated in the press release, “the museum conveys the complex history of the “Föhrenwald” camp. The settlement, originally built for employees and forced laborers, was used after the war as a camp for Jewish Holocaust survivors (displaced persons) and later as a place of refuge for those who had been driven from their homes. The association "Bürger fürs Badehaus" was founded ten years ago. Since then, the now more than 540 members have invested almost 40,000 volunteer hours in the renovation of the building and the design of innovative exhibitions, which include films with eyewitness interviews. During the pandemic, a film was made as part of a project in which young Germans conduct interviews with three generations of former residents of the Föhrenwald camp in Israel.
The Obermayer Awards were created by Arthur S. Obermayer (1931 - 2016), an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, and his wife Judith H. Obermayer.
The virtual ceremony in the Berlin House of Representatives on the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day will be broadcast as a live stream on January 25 from 6 p.m. on the website of the Berlin House of Representatives.
A repeat (English only) will be available from 8 p.m.
The prize money for the awards is 1000 euros.
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By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter.
