Neunkirchen honors heroes of tolerance with the Alex Deutsch Prize 2025!

Neunkirchen honors heroes of tolerance with the Alex Deutsch Prize 2025!

On November 4, 2025, the fourth award ceremony of the Alex Deutsch Prize took place in the historic meeting room of the Ottweiler district office. District Administrator Sören Meng opened the event with a moving speech that recalled the words of Auschwitz survivor Alex Deutsch. The prize has been awarded by the Neunkirchen district in collaboration with the Alex Deutsch Foundation since 2017 and aims to honor people or groups who promote tolerance, humanity and democratic values. Numerous guests of honor were present at the event, including State Parliament President Heike Winzent and Doris Deutsch, Alex Deutsch's widow.

In his opening speech, Meng emphasized the fragility of peace and understanding. He appealed to those present to take responsibility and defend the values ​​of humanity and tolerance. The prize is therefore seen as a mandate to actively live and promote these principles.

The winners of 2025

This year, for the first time, three prizes were awarded that honor the different approaches to promoting democracy and Jewish life:

• Die Evangelische Kita Steinbach erhielt eine Auszeichnung für gelebte Demokratie im Alltag.
• Die Gemeinschaftsschule Quierschied wurde für ihr Jahresprojekt „Schule des Erinnerns“ geehrt.
• Roland Rixecker wurde für sein außergewöhnliches Engagement gegen Antisemitismus und für das jüdische Leben im Saarland ausgezeichnet.

Rixecker has set up a reporting center for anti-Semitic incidents and works closely with Federal Commissioner Felix Klein. This illustrates how important the fight against anti-Semitism is even today.

A cultural and historical commemoration

The event was given a special touch by the performance of the school band from class 7b from the Alex Deutsch School. They presented a specially composed “Alex Deutsch song”. Peter Henkel, the director of the Saar Historical Museum, also gave a speech on the importance of contemporary witnesses, in which he emphasized the need not to forget the lessons of the past.

A special symbolic work of art, the sculpture “Two Hands – Two Numbers – One Stone”, commemorates the friendship between Karl Löb and Alex Deutsch, both of whom had to do forced labor in Auschwitz. This sculpture stands as a memorial to the horrors of the Holocaust and the need to remember.

Anti-Semitism today

The current phenomenon of anti-Semitism remains a pressing problem in society. Attacks on Jewish people and institutions, as well as increasing anti-Semitic hate speech on social media, are worrying developments. In particular, the attacks in Halle in 2019 and anti-Semitic incidents during demonstrations against Israel in 2021 illustrate the complexity and increase in anti-Semitic violence.

According to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the fight against anti-Semitism and solidarity with Jewish people is a task for society as a whole that requires educational measures and public debates to raise awareness and promote an open, tolerant society. Jewish life has existed in Germany for over 1,700 years and enriches society through diversity and culture. It is therefore essential to give these topics a high priority in school projects and when teaching history.

The awarding of the Alex Deutsch Prize sends a strong signal against anti-Semitism and for the values ​​that Alex Deutsch represented during his life. It shows that the work of remembrance and the commitment to human rights must never stop.

For more information on anti-Semitism activities, visit Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Details about the award ceremony can be found in the Saarbrücken newspaper. You can find out more about the history of Auschwitz here Answers.com experience.