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In 1978, on the occasion of the 330th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia, the Historian's Prize of the City of Münster was established. Awarding of this years Historian’s Prize, which has been awarded eight times to date, will also have a special place in this year’s celebration of the 375th anniversary.

The recipient of the 9th Historian’s Prize of the City of Münster is Prof. Dr. Ute Daniel, for her excellent work on questions relating to the aftermath of wars and how societies dealt with peace once this was established. This is different from previous recipients, whom were awarded the prize for their research into the structures and processes that led to peace . Special about this year’s event is that the laudation is accompanied by a scientific conference on the topic "Winning the peace? Cities after 1648 in comparison".

The organizers are the Münster City Archives, the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics", the Institute for Comparative Urban History and the Department of History.

Laureate Prof. Dr. Ute Daniel

The German historian Prof. Dr. Ute Daniel has been awarded the "Historiker*innenpreis der Stadt Münster". This was decided by the City Council of Münster in February, following the vote of the jury. The award will be presented as part of the program celebrating the 375th anniversary of the Peace of Westphalia on September 27. The prize is endowed with 15,000 euros.

The prize winner, Daniel, has taught 19th/20th century and early modern history at the Technical University of Braunschweig since 1996. She is the first woman to receive the "Historiker*innenpreis der Stadt Münster," which has been awarded eight times since 1981. With her "Compendium of Cultural History," Daniel has written a standard work on one of the most important current fields of historical research. She has repeatedly dealt with unusual questions and thus set new trends - often against the "mainstream" of her mostly male colleagues in the field.

What is unusual about her work is both the wide range of different topics and the time period spanning several centuries: for example, she has worked on working-class women in the wartime society of the First World War as well as on the history of courts and court theater in the 18th and 19th centuries. Daniel has also researched the role of war reporting and propaganda and the history of relations between politics and the media. Most recently, she has contrasted parliamentary developments in Germany and Britain in the detailed essay "Postheroic History of Democracy," suggesting new perspectives on democracy and the history of democracy.

Accordingly, the jury's statement said, "Daniel is honored for her wide-ranging body of work, her contributions to the methodological advancement of historical scholarship, and the high degree of originality and innovation of her research." The jury was composed of politicians from all council factions and representatives of historical scholarship and its neighboring disciplines. From the side of the city administration, Lord Mayor Markus Lewe and Head of the Department of Culture Cornelia Wilkens took part.