Hamburger Kulturpreis heißt nicht mehr nach Biermann-Ratjen
The Hamburg Senate has renamed the Senator-Biermann-Ratjen Medal, a prestigious cultural award, to the "Medaille für Kunst und Kultur in Hamburg" (Medal for Art and Culture in Hamburg). The decision follows a 2024 review of historical records revealing that Hans Harder Biermann-Ratjen (1901–1969), the former culture senator for whom the medal was named, was a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Historian Helmut Stubbe da Luz presented evidence in June 2024 that Biermann-Ratjen had disclosed his NSDAP membership in a 1943 application to the Reich Literature Chamber when seeking to publish a novel.
The renaming matters because it reflects ongoing efforts in Germany to confront the Nazi past of public figures and to separate institutional honors from problematic historical legacies. Culture Senator Carsten Brosda emphasized that the discussion about Biermann-Ratjen's past should continue, but independently of honoring those who currently contribute to Hamburg's cultural scene. The new medal will be awarded for the first time this summer to Peter Hess, founder of the Hamburg Stolpersteine initiative and memorial plaques, marking a shift toward recognizing contemporary civic cultural engagement rather than historical political figures.