Hamburg's students shine in the history competition!

Hamburg's students shine in the history competition!

Today is a special day because the winners of the 29th Federal Presidential History Competition are being celebrated. This year the focus is on the topic “Borders in History”, which motivated many students from all over Germany to take part in this exciting competition. Over 6,720 children and young people got involved and submitted a total of 2,289 contributions. This round was the most successful in the last 30 years!

Particularly noteworthy are the 190 submitted works from Hamburg, which were honored by Education Senator Ksenija Bekeris in the magnificent Körber Forum in HafenCity. The state winner, the Kaiser-Friedrich-Ufer high school, was also honored here and received prize money of 2,500 euros. The participants' achievements are impressive: Helen Gärtner from Kaifu-Gymnasium researched social and political borders in the GDR, while Adele Dittrich researched emigration via the port of Hamburg with Albert Ballin as the central figure.

Diverse topics and interesting perspectives

What makes the submitted contributions so exciting? In addition to classical historical research, modern perspectives on borders were also examined. Nike Takeuchi and Sarah Bartels dealt with the Second German Women's Movement, while other students worked on topics such as “Between Hamburg and Altona” and the “Limits of Women's School Education in the Empire”. This diversity shows that the importance of borders goes far beyond geographical lines and can also include social, political and ethical issues.

It is also astonishing that many contributions focus on personal family stories and borderline experiences. Students have even expanded their research to Hungary, South Korea and South American countries. The works not only address historical aspects, but also address current questions about escape and migration.

A competition for the future

The history competition has been organized by the Hamburg Körber Foundation and the Federal President's Office since 1973. The aim is to stimulate interest in history and at the same time promote independence and a sense of responsibility. Students can submit their results in a variety of formats, be it written work, films, podcasts or exhibitions, showing how versatile history education can be.

The awarding of the 250 state victories is a first step, after which the winners have the chance to grab one of the 50 coveted national prizes. These will be awarded on November 11, 2025 by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The participants from the Brecht School Hamburg, the Lohbrügge High School and many other schools were also awarded prizes for their outstanding contributions.

We can look forward to seeing what stories and insights the students have developed about borders in history and how these will continue to shape historical consciousness in Germany in the coming years.

For detailed information on the competition conditions and topics, please visit the websites Hamburg, Körber-Stiftung and Bildung Saxony recommended.