Award of the Werner Hahlweg Prize for Military History and Sciences

Postdam, 06/12/2008.

The President of the BWB, Detlev Petry, reads the certificat … (Source: Bundeswehr/WTS)Größere Abbildung anzeigen

In a ceremony in the Senators Hall of the University of Potsdam several junior scientists received the “Werner Hahlweg Prize for Military History and Sciences” on 12 June 2008. Their extraordinary scientific work in the field of military history was honored with this renowned and highly endowed prize, which was presented to them by the President of the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement, Detlev Petry. A scientific advisory board, of which professor Dr. Bernhard R. Kroener, the Chair of military history at the University of Potsdam, is also a member, examined the work concluded in 2006/2007 in a screening and selection system.

The first prize, endowed with 5000 Euros, was awarded to Dr. Oliver Stein from Potsdam for his dissertation “In arms? German policy regarding the arming of the Army in the German Reich under the primacy of policy”. The second prize was shared and 2500 Euros were awarded each to Dr. Eckard Michels, London, for his biography on Prussian colonial officer Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870-1964) and to Dr. M. Christian Ortner, Vienna, for his publication on “The Austrian-Hungarian artillery in the years between 1867 and 1918. Organization, technical development and combat procedures”. The third prize, endowed with 1500 Euros, was awarded to Philipp Münch, Hamburg, for his thesis on “War experiences of civilians during World War I: Hamburg gymnasts between war creed and despair reflected in their letters delivered by the military postal service”.

A considerable allowance for printing costs was awarded to Commander Dr. Oliver Krauß for the study “Armament and armaments testing in the history of the German Navy with special consideration of the torpedo experimental station (TVA)”. This study will be published in the book series “Defense Technology and Scientific Armaments Studies”, published by the Scientific Collection of Defense Engineering Specimens of the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) in autumn.

The prize goes back to Dr. Werner Hahlweg, professor for military history at the University of Münster, who died in 1989 and who left his whole property to the BWB as he had a special relation to the Scientific Collection of Defense Engineering Specimens. One of the testator’s conditions is to award a science prize for military historic topics every two years. Dr. Werner Hahlweg accomplished important, internationally acknowledged lecture and research work. He gained special recognition as doyen of the Clausewitz research.

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