Awarding of the German National Prize for Science and Art at the Nuremberg Opera House during the Nuremberg Rally (September 6, 1938)

In 1937, Hitler ordered the introduction of the German National Prize for Science and Art as a substitute for the Nobel Prize. This was Hitler’s response to what he perceived as the "shameful" awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the journalist and writer Carl von Ossietzky. From that point on, all Germans were banned from accepting the Nobel Prize. This policy prevented Richard Kuhn from receiving his Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1938 and Gerhard Domagk from receiving his Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1939. The German National Prize was also supposed to emphasize that German science and art were "close to the people" and put an end to international "Jewish-liberal" influences in fields. The photograph shows Hitler and Joseph Goebbels awarding the German National Prize for Science and Art to Fritz Todt, Ferdinand Porsche, Willy Messerschmidt, and Ernst Henkel (standing, from right to left). Rudolf Heß is seated at the far left.

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