The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations".[1] It is an official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. The prize used to be given on 22 March, the anniversary of Goethe's death. Since 2009, it has been given on 28 August, the anniversary of Goethe's birth. The first awards were made in 1955. In the intervening years, through 2018, a total of 348 women and men from 65 countries have been so honored.[1] It is not to be confused with Goethe-Medaille für Kunst und Wissenschaft (1932–1944) and Goetheplakette der Stadt Frankfurt am Main.
Recent recipients
Source:[2]
2026
- Arvo Pärt, composer, Estonia[3]
- Anita Raja, translator, Italy
- Prodromos Tsinikoris, theatre director, dramaturge and actor, Greece
2025
- Osman Kavala, cultural promoter, Turkey[4]
- Li Yuan, German studies scholar, China
- David Van Reybrouck, cultural historian, archaeologist and author, Belgium
2024
- Claudia Cabrera, literary translator and interpreter, Mexico
- Iskra Geshoska, art historian and cultural manager, North Macedonia
- Carmen Romero Quero, founder and director of the theatre festival Teatro a Mil, Chile
2023
- Gaga Chkheidze, film manager, Georgia
- Yi-Wei Keng, curator, dramaturg, and translator, Taiwan
- OFF-Biennale Budapest, Hungary
2022
- Mohamed Abla, multimedia artist, Egypt
- Tali Nates, historian and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre, South Africa
- Nimi Ravindran und Shiva Pathak from Sandbox Collective, artists and arts administrators, India
2021
- Marilyn Douala Bell, Socio-economist
- Toshio Hosokawa, Composer
- Wen Hui, Choreographer
2020
- Zukiswa Wanner, Writer, publisher and curator[5][6]
- Ian McEwan, Author[7][6]
- Elvira Espejo Ayca, Artist and museum director[8][6]
2019
- Enkhbat Roozon, Publisher, bookseller and political journalist[9]
- Shirin Neshat, Artist and filmmaker[9]
- Doğan Akhanlı, freelance author of novels and essays in Turkish, and a play in German[9]
2018
- Heidi Abderhalden and Rolf Abderhalden (Mapa Teatro), Colombian theater maker[10]
- Claudia Andujar, Brazilian photographer and activist
- Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor[11]
2017
- Urvashi Butalia, Indian feminist and historian
- Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese writer
- Irina Shcherbakova, Russian historian and journalist
2016
- Akinbode Akinbiyi, British-Nigerian photographer
- Yurii Andrukhovych, Ukrainian writer and translator
- David Lordkipanidze, Georgian anthropologist and archaeologist
2015
- Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, Syrian philosopher and writer
- Neil MacGregor, British art historian and former museum director
- Eva Sopher, German-Brazilian cultural entrepreneur
2014
- Krystyna Meissner, Polish director
- Robert Wilson, American director and playwright
- Gerard Mortier, (posthumously) Belgian opera director
2013
- S. Mahmoud Hosseini Zad, Persian translator of German literature.
- Naveen Kishore, publisher of Seagull Books.
- Petros Markaris, Greek novelist.
2012
- Irena Veisaitė
- Bolat Atabayev[12]
- Dževad Karahasan, Bosnian writer
2011
2010
- Ágnes Heller, Hungarian philosopher[14][15]
- Fuad Rifka
- John Spalek
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
- Mohan Agashe
- Kevin Willie
- Imre Kertész[18]
- Paul Michael Lützeler
- Anatoli A. Michailow
- Sergio Paulo Rouanet
2003
2002
2001
2000
Other notable recipients
20th century recipients are:[19]
- 1957: Hans Trümpelmann
- 1960: Hermann Boeschenstein
- 1961: Robert Minder
- 1963: Marian Szyrocki
- 1967: Peter Jørgensen
- 1968: Gertrud Seidmann
- 1969: Cornelis Soeteman
- 1970: Pierre Bertaux
- 1973: Chetana Nagavajara
- 1976: Pierre-Paul Sagave, Elichi Kikuchi, Waichi Sakurai, John Asher, Ingerid Dal
- 1982: Ekrem Akurgal, Werner Kraft
- 1983: Bruno Bettelheim
- 1985: Alokeranjan Dasgupta, Johannes Edfelt
- 1987: Gordon A. Craig, Pierre Boulez, Pavica Mrazović
- 1988: George Mosse, Pierre Bourdieu, Giorgio Strehler
- 1989: Ernst Gombrich
- 1990: György Ligeti, Thomas Messer, Hubert Orłowski, Eda Sagarra, Hilde Spiel
- 1991: Leslie Bodi, Jan Hoet, Panagiotis Kondylis, Eduardo Paolozzi, Hans Sahl
- 1992: Elisabeth Augustin, Karl Raimund Popper, Hugo Rokyta
- 1993: Michel Tournier
- 1994: István Szabó, Billy Wilder
- 1995: Isang Yun, Hermann von der Dunk[20]
- 1996: Jan Křen
- 1997: Nam June Paik, Rolf Liebermann
- 1998: Ralf Dahrendorf
- 1999: Dani Karavan, Leoluca Orlando, Jiří Gruša
Controversy
South African novelist Zukiswa Wanner and Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla returned their Goethe Medals in protest of Germany's support of Israel during Israel's bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip.[21]
References
- ^ "Goethe Medal – Goethe-Institut". www.goethe.de. Archived 2020-01-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "Awardees". Goethe-Institut. 27 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Goethe-Medaille für Übersetzerin, Komponisten und Regisseur" (in German). nmz – neue musikzeitung. 29 April 2026. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
- ^ Goethe-Medaille für türkischen Kulturförderer Osman Kavala. wdr.de, 6 May 2025 (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2025.
- ^ "Goethe Medal – Goethe-Institut, Zukiswa Wanner". www.goethe.de. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ ""Widerspruch ertragen": Goethe-Medaillen 2020 vergeben" (in German). Süddeutsche Zeitung. dpa. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Goethe Medal – Goethe-Institut, Ian McEwan". www.goethe.de. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "Goethe Medal – Goethe-Institut, Elvira Espejo Ayca". www.goethe.de. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
- ^ "Goethe-Medaillen für Akhanli, Neshat, Roozon". Badische Zeitung. dpa. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Helbing, Michael (28 August 2018). "Verleihung der Goethe-Medaille an Heidi und Rolf Abderhalden in Weimar" (in German). Thüringer Allgemeine. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Komponist Péter Eötvös erhält Goethe-Medaille". Musik Heute. 14 June 2018. Archived 8 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Kazakh Dissident Theater Director Arrested In Connection With Zhanaozen Riots". Radio Free Europe. 15 June 2012. Archived 22 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ^ Flood, Alison (21 June 2011). "Germany honours Le Carré with Goethe Medal". The Guardian. Archived 8 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Awardees – Goethe-Institut". www.goethe.de. Archived 2022-11-28 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
- ^ "Hungarian Philosopher Receives Goethe Medal". kultura.hu. 2010-07-02. Archived 2024-03-16 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
- ^ Hanimann, Joseph (8 April 2008). "S wie Sobel" (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ Lusa (30 May 2006). "Tradutora Vera San Payo de Lemos galardoada com Medalha Goethe 2006" (in Portuguese). PÚBLICO. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ Gomori, George (31 March 2016). "Imre Kertész obituary". The Guardian. Archived 1 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Goethe-Medaille, Die Preisträger*innen 1955–2024". Goethe-Institut. 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ Redactie (2018-08-23). "Historicus Hermann von der Dunk (89) overleden" (in nl-NL). de Volkskrant. Retrieved 2019-07-22.
- ^ "Egyptian, South African artists return German medals over Israel support". Al Jazeera. 9 March 2024.
External links
- Official website (in English, German)