Hundreds of Nazi forced laborers died under the "personnel responsibility" of Herbert Quandt, who later rescued BMW. This hasn't stopped his heirs from awarding a highly endowed journalism prize in his honor to this day – with proud winners. ereporter has been documenting this media scandal for years.
What do BR, BILD, Correctiv, Deutschlandradio, Handelsblatt, HR, NDR, NZZ, SPIEGEL, ZEIT, and ZDF have in common? Journalists from these and many other media houses have already applied for the €50.000 "Herbert Quandt Media Prize." His personal involvement in the "extermination through labor" of hundreds of forced laborers who died miserably in the company-owned concentration camp subcamp There is no doubt about the Akkumulatorenfabrik AG.
The fact that there is still a journalism prize in honor of a major Nazi war criminal (according to the prosecutor Benjamin Ference) says a lot about his heirs. On the current website of the prize, Herbert Quandt is even glorified as a "follower" with reference to a researcher commissioned by the family.
On the other hand, it is a confession of failure for journalism in Germany that the major media companies They could either make the handling of the €50.000 prize a private matter for their employees or cite the award, still named after the concentration camp planner, as proof of the democratic commitment of his heirs. Thus, even a "Goebbels Media Prize" would be no problem at all.
The Speeches at the award ceremony In any case, this would hardly have to be formulated any differently than the unworthy Quandt tributes from the previous year:
I consider this award a great honor and was overwhelmed when I received the news. Also because many reporters I respect have already received this award.
Acceptance speech by Maximilian Münster, brand one
And then you start googling things in a panic: "How do I tax the prize money?" or "Is the Johanna Quandt Foundation reputable, question mark?" In the end, I was reassured and heard from many other people, former prizewinners and renowned journalists, that you can do it without any worries. And that's what I'm doing now. Thank you very, very much.
Acceptance speech by Thilo Adam, DIE ZEIT
I am extremely happy to be able to accept the prestigious Herbert Quandt Media Prize (…).
Acceptance speech by Erik Hane, ZDF
Nominated for the 2024 Quandt Prize are contributions from Handelsblatt, HR, NDR, NZZ, Radio Bremen, SPIEGEL, Wirtschaftswoche, ZEIT, and ZDF, among others. This €50.000 in honor of a Nazi perpetrator will surely find grateful recipients on June 22nd—his birthday.
More information:
On the death of Benjamin Ferencz
50.000 € in honor of a concentration camp planner
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