The Chair of the Jury of the International Bridge Prize of the European City of Zgorzelec/Görlitz, Prof. Dr Willi Xylander, announces that the 2015 recipient of the International Bridge Prize is Olga Tokarczuk, a writer whose work broadens the European perspective on the new literature of Central and Eastern Europe and provides a powerful means of communication between people of different nationalities.

In making its choice, the prize jury considered the writer’s entire body of work to date, but particularly appreciated the effort with which Olga Tokarczuk once again reveals to the world, to Europe, to Poles and Germans, and also to ourselves—the people of Lower Silesia—a multicultural, fascinating, though somewhat forgotten Lower Silesia. Her books are imbued with empathy and humanism, reminding us how important, when writing about this place’s complex history, it is to abandon one-sided perspectives and maintain the proper proportions in understanding the region as a space marked by major political conflicts.

“Olga Tokarczuk, a writer from the heart of Europe, is one of the most important bridge-builders in European literature,” says Prof. Xylander.

The International Bridge Prize has been awarded since 1993. Since 1998, when Zgorzelec and Görlitz proclaimed the binational European City of Zgorzelec/Görlitz, it has been known as the International Bridge Prize of the European City of Zgorzelec/Görlitz and has been awarded jointly by both cities. From the very beginning, it has consistently honored individuals particularly committed to building understanding between people and nations in Europe. They include journalists, musicians, politicians, clergy, writers and academics. The prize has been awarded 19 times to date. However, it has been received by only 18 candidates, because Günter Grass, who was honored in 2006 Günter Grass, and whose past was widely discussed publicly at the time, declined to accept the distinction.

Prize recipients:

  • Countess Marion Dönhoff
  • Adam Michnik
  • Dr Jirí Gruša
  • Dr Freya von Moltke
  • Arno Lustiger
  • Miloslaw Cardinal Vlk
  • Prof. Dr Władysław Bartoszewski
  • Prof. Dr Kurt Biedenkopf
  • Dr Valdas Adamkus
  • Giora Feidmann
  • Günter Grass
  • Arvo Pärt
  • Prof. Dr Fritz Stern
  • Prof. Dr Norman Davies
  • Tadeusz Mazowiecki
  • Prof. Dr Gesine Schwan
  • Dr Vitali Kliczko
  • Steffen Möller
  • Dr Jean-Claude Juncker.

UM Zgorzelec