The GHS is proud to announce the winner of the 2025/26 Postgraduate Essay Prize! First place was awarded to Diana Röthlinger (University of Oxford) for the essay: ‘Defining Gender, Imagining Germanness: Masculinity, Femininity, and Belonging in the German-German Transformation Discourse, 1989–1991’. On the winning essay the panel commented:

The judges were impressed by the essay’s strong and original argument about the role gender played in the German reunification process. It convincingly shows how ideas about masculinity and femininity shaped conceptions of belonging in the years 1989–91. We particularly liked the essay’s attention to the ways in which gender intersected with East-West differences and migrant identities, as well as its clear and convincing analysis of a wide range of sources.

Second place was awarded to Leonie Schottler (University of Cambridge) for the essay: ‘Yekke descendants’ every-day reconciliation with post-Holocaust Germany through the lens of consumption and boycott of products from Germany, c.1949-2025’. The panel commented:

The judges were impressed by the originality of this essay and its use of an unusually rich set of oral history interviews. It offers a fresh perspective on the changing relationship between Yekke descendants and Germany in the decades after the Holocaust. The essay combined an interesting and original question with a strong empirical basis and made a valuable contribution to our understanding of German-Israeli relations.

Congratulations to the winner and runner up on their success! The German History Society awards a prize of £500 to the winner of the annual competition, and £250 to the runner up. In addition, the essay will be considered for publication in the society’s journal German History.