Federal President’s History Competition

The history competition, organised since 1973 by the Körber-Stiftung in Hamburg and the Office of the Federal President, goes back to a joint initiative of the then Federal President Gustav Heinemann and the Hamburg benefactor Kurt A. Körber. They wanted to encourage young people to engage with the democratic traditions of German history. With more than 150,700 participants and around 34,800 projects to date, it is the largest historical research competition for young people in Germany.

Aims and competition principle

The principle of the history competition is called “learning through research and discovery”. Children and young people deal with the history that took place on their own doorstep – and which often continues to have an impact on the present day. In addition to competitions such as “Everyday life under National Socialism”, “It can’t go on like this! Crisis, upheaval, new departure” or “Moving times. Sport makes society”, participants research their own local or family history and ask questions about the environment in which they live.

They research sources in archives, interview contemporary witnesses or talk to experts. Their own place of residence, their neighbours, parents or grandparents become part of their history – even if it is not in school textbooks. Photographs, street names, monuments or historical buildings can provide inspiration for a DIY search for clues. Participation in the competition encourages many pupils to take a stand on current debates and to initiate discussions on how to deal with their own local history.

All the information about the respective invitations to enter and competition results can be found in the free magazine “Spurensuchen” (Searching for Clues), which is published annually.