Calling all students in the UK and Ireland with an interest in German history and culture! The German History Society invites submissions to our Creative Research Contest.
First prize: £250, plus £250 for the school materials to support history teaching.
Second prize: £150
We have produced two series of our documentary series Glimpses of Germany History covering diverse themes and historical periods, including medieval religious beliefs, German craftsmanship, migration, empire, and the post Second World War rebuilding of West Germany. Each video explores the past through the close study of a single object, and these range from stained glass windows to banknotes, board games, a seventeenth century ‘cabinet of curiosities’, denazification questionnaires – and even a king’s head!
We would like you to take inspiration from one of these videos and carry out a research project on a related theme.
We welcome projects exploring any time period and any part of the German-speaking lands. Perhaps you have an interest in food culture and want to write about the significance of the Döner Kebab? Perhaps you want to explore the impact of industrialisation, life under dictatorship, or the treatment of POWs during the First or Second World War? Perhaps you want to consider what art, gardening, or other cultural activities can reveal about the past? The choice is endless – and entirely yours!
All we require is that you:
1) develop your ideas based on research into historical sources and scholarship;
2) include a list of your sources, responsibly referenced;
3) present your ideas in a creative manner! Your submission could take the form of an essay (ca. 1000 words), a podcast or video (ca. 5 minutes), a digital exhibition, poetry, a short story, a research poster – or other forms we might not even imagine.
The deadline for submissions is 5pm on 31 July 2026, but you can submit earlier if you wish. Please send entries to Caroline Sharples at [email protected] with name, age, and school details. Please also feel free to get in touch with any questions about the contest or about your topics.
We welcome submissions from all ages, but any under-16s who want to take part must have their entries sent to us by a parent or teacher.
We look forward to seeing your creative research!
Dr Caroline Sharples
Outreach officer, German History Society
Senior Lecturer in History, University of Roehampton