The Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden (War Blinded Audio Play Prize), also known as the Kriegsblindenpreis (War Blinded Prize) is the most important literary prize granted to playwrights of

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

s written in the German language. The award was established in 1950 by the Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V. (BKD), a German organization for soldiers and civilians blinded during war, whether from working with munitions or explosives or from a bomb attack or while in flight from an attack.

Rules

Der ''Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden'' is awarded every year "for an original audio play, conceived and produced by a German language broadcaster, that realizes and expands the possibilities of the art form in an outstanding manner. This original audio play must have its initial broadcast in the previous year." Broadcasters and jury members are allowed to submit entries. The prize is given out in the Bundesrat in Berlin and at

Hotel Petersberg The Hotel Petersberg is a hotel and official guest house of Germany, termed the "Bundesgästehaus" (the official title being ''Gästehaus der Verfassungsorgane der Bundesrepublik Deutschland''). It is located on the Petersberg (Siebengebirge), Pete ...

in alternating years. The prize consists of a small sculpture, newly designed each year by a war-blinded artist. Traditionally, the winning play is later broadcast on all participating radio stations.

Jury composition

The jury is composed of seven war blinded (since 2007, other blinded individuals are also included), seven critics, and five other jurors from the Film and Media Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1994, the Bund der Kriegsblinden and the Foundation have worked together to disseminate the award.

Award winners

The year listed below is the year the award was granted; the plays were generally produced and originally broadcast during the previous year.List of prize winners
Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V. Retrieved February 9, 2012 * 1952: ''Darfst du die Stunde rufen?'' by Erwin Wickert, direction: Walter Knaus ( SDR) * 1953: ''Die Andere und ich'' by

Günter Eich Günter Eich (; 1 February 1907 – 20 December 1972) was a German poet, radio playwright, and writer. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris. Life Eich made his first appearance in print with some p ...

, direction: Cläre Schimmel (SDR), Gustav Burmester ( NWDR) * 1954: ''Nachtstreife'' by Heinz Oskar Wuttig, direction: Peter Thomas ( RIAS) * 1955: ''Prinzessin Turandot'' by

Wolfgang Hildesheimer Wolfgang Hildesheimer (9 December 1916 – 21 August 1991) was a German author. He originally trained as an artist, before turning to writing. Biography Hildesheimer was born of Jewish parents, chemist Arnold Hildesheimer (1885–1955) and Hann ...

, direction: Gert Westphal (NWDR) * 1956: ''Philemon und Baucis'' by Leopold Ahlsen, direction: Walter Ohm ( BR), Fritz Schröder-Jahn (NWDR) * 1957: ''Die Panne'' by

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

, direction: Gustav Burmester ( NDR) * 1958: ''Die Versuchung'' by

Benno Meyer-Wehlack Benno may refer to: People Mononym * (927–940), saint * (1049–1061) *Benno I of Osnabrück (bishop, 1052–1067) *Benno of Meissen (bishop, 1066–1106), saint *Benno II of Osnabrück (bishop, 1068–1088) * Benno of Santi Martino e Silvestro ...

, direction: Fritz Schröder-Jahn (NDR) * 1959: ''Der gute Gott von Manhattan'' by

Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...

, direction: Fritz Schröder-Jahn (BR/NDR) * 1960: ''Auf einem Maulwurfshügel'' by Franz Hiesel, direction:

Egon Monk Egon Monk (18 May 1927 – 28 February 2007) was a German actor, director and author. Biography Monk was born in Berlin, Germany and grew up in Berlin-Wedding station, Berlin-Wedding. He served in the German Air Force in World War II (1943–1945). ...

(NDR/

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the g ...

) * 1961: ''Der Minotaurus'' by , direction: Friedhelm Ortmann (SDR) * 1962: ''Totentanz'' by Wolfgang Weyrauch, direction:

Martin Walser Martin Johannes Walser (; 24 March 1927 – 26 July 2023) was a German writer, known especially as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for ''Süddeutscher Rundfunk'', where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was a member of Group 47 ...

(NDR/BR) * 1963: ''Geh David helfen'' by Hans Kasper, direction: Ulrich Lauterbach (RB/ HR) * 1964: ''Der Bussard über uns'' by Margarete Jehn, music: Peter Zwetkoff, direction: Peter Schulze-Rohr (SWF/NDR) * 1965: ''Nachtprogramm'' by Richard Hey, direction: Fritz Schröder-Jahn (NDR/HR/ SFB) * 1966: ''Miserere'' by Peter Hirche, direction: Oswald Döpke ( WDR) * 1967: ''Zwielicht'' by Rolf Schneider, direction: Otto Kurth (BR/HR/WDR) * 1968: ''Das Aquarium'' by Christa Reinig, direction:

Raoul Wolfgang Schnell __NOTOC__ Raoul is a French variant of the male given name Ralph (name), Ralph or Rudolph (name), Rudolph. Raoul may also refer to: Given name * Raoul André (1916–1992), French director and screenwriter * Raoul Anglès (1887–1967), French p ...

(SDR) * 1969: ''Fünf Mann Menschen'' by

Ernst Jandl Ernst Jandl (; 1 August 1925 – 9 June 2000) was an Austrian writer, poet, and translator. He became known for his experimental lyric, mainly sound poems (''Sprechgedichte'') in the tradition of concrete and visual poetic forms. Poetry Inf ...

and

Friederike Mayröcker Friederike Mayröcker (20 December 1924 – 4 June 2021) was an Austrian writer of poetry and prose, radio plays, children's books and dramatic texts. She experimented with language, and was regarded as an avant-garde poet, and as one of the l ...

, direction: Peter Michel Ladiges ( SWF) * 1970: ''Paul oder die Zerstörung eines Hörbeispiels'' by Wolf Wondratschek, direction: Heinz Hostnig (WDR/BR/HR/SR) * 1971: ''Zwei oder drei Porträts'' by

Helmut Heißenbüttel Helmut Heißenbüttel (21 June 1921 – 19 September 1996) was a German novelist and poet. Among Heißenbüttel's works are ''Das Textbuch'' (''The Textbook'') and ''Marlowe's Ende'' (''Marlowe's End''). He received the Georg Büchner Prize in 196 ...

, direction: Heinz Hostnig (BR/NDR/SWF) * 1972: ''Preislied'' by

Paul Wühr Paul Wühr (10 July 1927 – 12 July 2016) was a German experimental author. Wühr lived by Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, Italy and wrote for the publisher Hanser-Verlag. Selected works Novels * '' Gegenmünchen'', 1970 * ''Das falsche Buch'', ...

, directed by the author (BR/NDR) * 1973: ''Der Tod meines Vaters'' by

Hans Noever Hans Noever (born 10 May 1928) is a German writer, film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed thirteen films between 1973 and 1986. His 1980 film ''Der Preis fürs Überleben'' was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival ...

, directed by the author (BR/WDR) * 1974: ''Das große Identifikationsspiel'' by Alfred Behrens, directed by the author (BR/RIAS) * 1975: ''Goldberg-Variationen'' by Dieter Kühn, direction: Heinz von Cramer (BR/HR) * 1976: ''Centropolis'' by Walter Adler, directed by the author (WDR/BR/SWF) * 1977: ''Fernsehabend'' by Urs Widmer, directed by the author (SWF) * 1978: ''Vor dem Ersticken ein Schrei (Trilogie des bürgerlichen Wahnsinns 1)'' by Christoph Buggert, direction:

(WDR/BR) * 1979: ''Frühstücksgespräche in Miami'' by Reinhard Lettau, direction: Walter Adler (SDR/HR/WDR) * 1980: ''Der Tribun'' written and directed by

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer and academic teacher. Life and career Early life and education Mauricio Raúl Kagel was born on 24 December 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an ...

(WDR) * 1981: ''Moin Vaddr läbt oder A Ballahd inne Munnohrd kinstlich mit Mosseg unde Jesann von Wullar Kinnpussku'' by

Walter Kempowski Walter Kempowski (; 29 April 1929 – 5 October 2007) was a German writer. Kempowski was known for his series of novels called ''German Chronicle'' ("Deutsche Chronik") and the monumental ''Echolot'' ("Sonar"), a collage of autobiographical rep ...

, direction: Horst H. Vollmer (HR) * 1982: ''Hell genug und trotzdem stockfinster'' by , direction: Bernd Lau (WDR) * 1983: ''Die Brautschau des Dichters

Robert Walser Robert Walser (15 April 1878 – 25 December 1956) was a German language Swiss writer. He additionally worked as a copyist, an inventor's assistant, a butler, and in various other low-paying trades. Despite marginal early success in his lit ...

im Hof der Anstaltswäscherei von Bellelay, Kanton Bern'' by Gert Hofmann, direction: Hans Rosenhauer (NDR/HR) * 1984: ''Wald. Ein deutsches Requiem'' written and directed by

Gerhard Rühm Gerhard Rühm (born 12 February 1930) is an Austrian author, composer and visual artist. Biography Rühm was born in Vienna. He studied the piano and music composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Following his st ...

(WDR) * 1985: ''Nachtschatten'' by

Friederike Roth Friederike Roth (born 6 April 1948) is a German writer. She is especially active as a playwright. Roth was born in Sindelfingen Sindelfingen ( Swabian: ''Sendlfenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg in south Germany. It lies near Stuttgart at ...

, direction: Heinz von Cramer (SDR/NDR/RIAS) * 1986: ''Die Befreiung des Prometheus. Hörstück in neun Bildern'' by

Heiner Goebbels Heiner Goebbels (born 17 August 1952) is a German composer, Conductor (music), conductor and professor at University of Giessen, Justus-Liebig-University in Gießen and artistic director of the International Festival of the Arts Ruhrtriennale 201 ...

and

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postd ...

, direction: Heiner Goebbels (HR/SWF) * 1987: ''Drei Männer im Feld'' by Ludwig Harig, direction: Hans Gerd Krogmann (WDR) * 1988: ''Leben und Tod des Kornettisten Bix Beiderbecke aus Nord-Amerika. Eine Radio-Ballade'' by

Ror Wolf Ror Wolf (born Richard Georg Wolf; 29 June 1932 – 17 February 2020) was a German writer, poet, and artist who also published under the pseudonym Raoul Tranchirer. He wrote audio plays, novels, and poems and made collages. Life Richard Georg ...

, direction: Heinz Hostnig (SWR/HR/NDR/WDR) * 1989: ''Wer Sie sind'' by Peter Jacobi, direction: Dieter Carls (WDR) * 1990: ''Ein Nebulo bist du'' by Jens Sparschuh, direction: Norbert Schaeffer (SR/SWF/SDR) * 1991: ''Stille Helden siegen selten'' written and directed by Karl-Heinz Schmidt-Lauzemis and Ralph Oehme (HR/Sachsenradio/SFB) * 1992: ''Die sehr merkwürdigen Jazzabenteuer des Herrn Lehmann. Ein Jazz-Hörspiel'' written and directed by Horst Giese (RIAS/author) * 1993: ''Sense'' by Werner Fritsch, direction: Norbert Schaeffer (SWF) * 1994: ''Unser Boot nach Bir Ould Brini'' by Christian Geissler, direction: Hermann Naber (SWF) * 1995: ''Apocalypse Live'' by Andreas Ammer /

FM Einheit Frank-Martin Strauß, better known as F.M. Einheit and also known as Mufti, (born 18 December 1958, in Dortmund) is an industrial and electronic musician and actor from Germany. While primarily known for his percussion work with the influentia ...

Ulrike Haage Ulrike Haage (born in Kassel, lives and works in Berlin) is a German pianist and composer, producer for radio plays and a sound artist. Biography The jazz years Ulrike Haage spent her childhood in Ruhr. She grew up listening to the jazz recor ...

, direction: Andreas Ammer / F.M. Einheit (BR/Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel (Marstall)/

Bavarian State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under El ...

) * 1996: ''Frauentags Ende oder die Rückkehr nach Ubliaduh'' by

Fritz Rudolf Fries Fritz Rudolf Fries (19 May 1935 – 17 December 2014) was a German writer and translator. Life Fritz Rudolf Fries was born in Bilbao, Spain. His mother was a German of Spanish descent, and his father a German businessman who was shot during the S ...

, direction: Wolfgang Rindfleisch (MDR) * 1997: ''Compagnons und Concurrenten oder Die wahren Künste'' by Ingomar von Kieseritzky, direction: Joachim Staritz (SDR/DLR) * 1998: ''Die graue staubige Straße'' written and directed by Ilona Jeismann and Peter Avar (SFB) * 1999: ''Rafael Sanchez erzählt: Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod'' by Rafael Sanchez and Eberhard Petschinka, Regie: Eberhard Petschinka (WDR/MDR/ORF) * 2000: ''Unter dem Gras darüber'' written and directed by Inge Kurtz and Jürgen Geers (HR) * 2001: ''Pitcher'' written and directed by Walter Filz (WDR) * 2002: ''Crashing Aeroplanes (Fasten your seat belts)'' written and directed by Andreas Ammer /

(WDR/DLR) * 2003: ''Rosebud'' written and directed by

Christoph Schlingensief Christoph Maria Schlingensief (24 October 1960 – 21 August 2010) was a German theatre director, performance artist, and filmmaker. Starting as an independent underground filmmaker, Schlingensief later staged productions for theatres and festiva ...

(WDR) * 2004: ''Jackie'' by

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors to write in German and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices ...

, direction: Karl Bruckmaier (BR) * 2005: ''Stripped – Ein Leben in Kontoauszügen'' by Stefan Weigl, direction: Thomas Wolfertz (WDR) * 2006: ''Föhrenwald'' written and directed by Michaela Melián (BR) * 2007: ''Ein Menschenbild, das in seiner Summe Null ergibt'' by Schorsch Kamerun, directed by the author (WDR) * 2008: ''Karl Marx: Das Kapital, Erster Band'' written and directed by Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel ( Rimini Protokoll) ( DLF/WDR) * 2009: ''Ruhe 1'' written and directed by Paul Plamper (WDR, Museum Ludwig Köln) * 2010: ''Die Sicherheit einer geschlossenen Fahrgastzelle'' by Thilo Reffert, direction: Stefan Kanis (MDR) * 2011: ''Schicksal, Hauptsache Schicksal. Hörspiel nach Motiven aus Joseph Roths „ Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker“'' by Robert Schoen with Lorenz Eberle, directed by the author in cooperation with HR * 2012: ''Testament. Verspätete Vorbereitungen zum Generationswechsel nach Lear'' by She She Pop, directed by the authors (D-Kultur) * 2013: ''Ooops, wrong planet!'' by Gesine Schmidt, direction: Walter Adler (DLF/WDR) * 2014: ''Hate Radio'' by

Milo Rau Milo Rau (born 1977) is a Swiss theatre director, journalist, playwright, essayist, and lecturer. In 2007 he founded a theatre and film production company, the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM), and from 2018 until 2023 was the ...

, direction: Milena Kipfmüller (WDR/ORF) * 2015: ''Ickelsamers Alphabet – Dictionarium der zierlichen Wörter'' by the Liquid Penguin Ensemble (Katharina Bihler, Stefan Scheib), directed by the authors (SR/D-Kultur) * 2016: ''Und jetzt: Die Welt!'' by

Sibylle Berg Sibylle Berg (born 2 June 1962) is a German-Swiss contemporary author and playwright. They write novels, essays, short fiction, plays, radio plays, and columns. And they are as of 2024 a member of the European Parliament. Their 18 books have bee ...

and Marina Frenk, direction: Stefan Kanis (MDR) * 2017: ''Screener'' by Lucas Derycke, directed by the author (WDR) * 2018: ''Coldhaven'' by

John Burnside John Burnside (19 March 1955 – 29 May 2024) was a Scottish writer. He was one of four poets (with Ted Hughes, Sean O'Brien and Jason Allen-Paisant) to have won the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for a single book – in th ...

, direction: Klaus Buhlert (SWR) * 2019: ''Auf der Suche nach den verlorenen Seelenatomen'' by Susann Maria Hempel, performance, music and direction by the author (RBB) * 2020: ''AUDIO.SPACE.MACHINE'' by Christian Wittmann and Georg Zeitblom, composition and direction by the authors (DLF/NDR/SWR) * 2021: ''Atlas'' by Thomas Köck, direction: Heike Tauch (MDR)

Sources

* Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschland
"Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden. Reden der Preisträger seit 1952"
in: ''Der Kriegsblinde. Zeitschrift für Verständnis und Verständigung'' Vols. 3 to 58, Marburg, 1952–2007 * ''HörWelten. 50 Jahre Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden''. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin (2001). . (See: Christian Hörburger und Hans-Ulrich Wagner

pp. 89–190)
„Kunst für die Ohren“ 60 Jahre Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden
Conversation with Juror Frank Olbert * Frank Olbert
"60 Jahre Hörspielpreis der Kriegsblinden"
SWR2 96-minute radio feature (2011)

References

External links

Bund der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands e.V.
official website

Akustische-Medien.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Horspielpreis Der Kriegsblinden German literary awards