Mendelssohn Medal for Rabbi Nachama

Rabbi Andreas Nachama was awarded the Moses Mendelssohn Medal in Berlin on 9 September for his tireless commitment to interreligious understanding. "Dear Andreas Nachama, like Mendelssohn you convince with virtue instead of agitation. You are a true master of tolerance," said Minister of State Monika Grütters in her laudation at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin. As a person, Nachama stands for thoughtfulness and prudence. Grütters emphasized that he is not agitated and alarmistic about anti-Semitism and racism.

For Norbert Lammert, Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Andreas Nachama stands for the attitude that Mendelssohn already stood for: "To search for truth, to love beauty, to want to do good, to do the best - that is man's destiny". This is one of the reasons, Lammert said, why it is an honour for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, together with the Moses Mendelssohn Foundation, to present the renowned award this year.

Interreligious peace project

Since 2015, Andreas Nachama - side by side with pastor Greogor Hohberg and Imam Kadir Sanci - has been involved in the interreligious peace project House of One. The rabbi, born in 1951 as the son of Holocaust survivors in Berlin, also heads the Topography of Terror Foundation. A place that informs about the perpetrators of National Socialism. "Nachama has made a name for himself far beyond Berlin's city limits not only as a historian and community leader, but also as an exhibition organizer," said Julius H. Schoeps, Chairman of the Board of the Moses Mendelssohn Foundation. "He is someone who not only helps to shape visionary future projects, such as the House of One, but has also been firmly involved in interreligious dialogue for decades.

The Moses Mendelssohn Medal has been awarded since 1993 to personalities who are committed to tolerance and international understanding in the spirit of the philosopher. It is awarded by the Moses Mendelssohn Foundation and - this year for the first time - together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Previous prizewinners include Ignatz Bubis, former chairman of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and conductor Daniel Barenboim.