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Helmut Schmidt Prize in German-American Economic History Print E-mail

The Helmut Schmidt Prize, awarded by the German Historical Institute Washington, pays tribute to the former German chancellor for his part in transforming the framework of transatlantic economic cooperation. Since 2007 the Prize is generously sponsored by the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius.

The first Helmut Schmidt Prize was awarded to Harold James of Princeton University in 2004. The prize citation was delivered by Knut Borchardt of the University of Munich (Emeritus). James was honored for his authoritative research in the fields of German history as well as international economic and financial history. His recent works include International Monetary Cooperation Since Bretton Woods (1996) and the provocative study The End of Globalization: Lessons from the Great Depression (2001).

The second Helmut Schmidt Prize was awarded to Volker Berghahn of Columbia University on February 14, 2007. Gerald Feldman (University of California at Berkeley) delivered the prize citation. Berghahn was honored for his wide-ranging research in German, American, and transatlantic history. His publications include Der Untergang des alten Europas, 1900-1929 (1999), Quest for Economic Empire, ed. (1996), Imperial Germany (1995), The Americanization of West German Industry, 1945-1973 (1986). His America and the Intellectual Cold Wars in Europe appeared in 2001.

The third Helmut Schmidt Prize for German-American Economic History was awarded to Richard H. Tilly of the University of Münster on December 10, 2009. Tilly was honored for his seminal research on the themes of growth, financial institutions, business history, as well as social and regional history. Tilly's numerous publications include the classics Financial Institutions and Industrialization in the Rhineland, 1815-1870 (1966) and Kapital, Staat und sozialer Protest in der deutschen Industrialisierung (1980). After Volker Berghahn (Columbia University) delivered the laudatio, Tilly gave a lecture on "Banking Crises in Three Countries: An Historical and Comparative Perspective," which was published in the Bulletin of the GHI 46 (Spring 2010): 77-89.

The fourth Helmut Schmidt Prize in German-American Economic History was awarded to Charles S. Maier of Harvard University on December 8, 2011. A renowned expert on the history of 20th-century Europe and the United States. Maier was honored for his wide-ranging oeuvre, which includes Recasting Bourgeois Europe (1975), Dissolution: The Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany (1997), and Among Empires: American Ascendancy and its Predecessors (2006). After Volker Berghahn (Columbia University) delivered the laudatio, Maier gave a lecture on "Lessons from History? German Economic Experiences and the Crisis of the Euro," which was published in the Bulletin of the GHI 50 (Spring 2012): 75-89.


Former Helmut Schmidt Prize Recipients

2004: Harold James (Lecture - pdf)
2007: Volker Berghahn (Lecture -pdf)
2009: Richard Tilly (Lecture - pdf)
2011: Charles Maier (Lecture - pdf)