Prague, Oct 26 (CTK) – Czech journalist Tomas Lindner and two Germans were decorated with the Johnny Klein Prize for their contribution to Czech-German understanding, the Union of German Associations in the Czech Republic told journalists yesterday.
The award, named after Klein, a former Bundestag deputy chairman who hailed from Sumperk, north Moravia, is bestowed for the first time this year.
Lindner gained the third prize sponsored with 1500 euros for his article A Cache in the Head carried by the weekly Respekt.
In an interview with Lindner, German Rudi Schlattner narrated the history of his family that hid valuables in the loft of its house in 1945, before ethnic Germans were transferred from Czechoslovakia.
The main prize went to German journalist Steffen Neumann for his article published in the Sachsische Zeitung, dealing with the renewed tradition of an Easter ride in Mikulasovice, north Bohemia.
The jury gave the second prize to German academic Andreas Wiedemann. In his article for portal DigiOst, he described the Czech debate about the deportation of Germans and the atrocities accompanying it.
The Johnny Klein Prize was created on the 20th anniversary of the death of Klein, a German politician and journalist with Czech roots, who fought for Czech-German reconciliation.
The award-giving ceremony will take place in Sumperk on November 26.
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