Natalija Bock receives Erich Kästner Prize for her commitment to war refugees

The Dresden Press Club has awarded its Erich Kästner Prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, to Natalija Bock. Born in the Ukraine, she has lived with her family in Dresden for 26 years and has been a focal point for war refugees since the Russian war of aggression on her old homeland. She organized the reception of people in private apartments, arranged daycare and jobs and acted as an interface to local and state politics. She is also a co-founder of the Ukrainian Coordination Center and the Ukrainian House Dresden.

"Natalija Bock has become a role model for many people, also because she represents clear values and finds clear words at a time when some people prefer to remain unclear, as the public debate in Saxony shows time and again," explained Press Club Chairman Tobias Wolf. The prizewinner sees the award as more than just a personal accolade and recalled the willingness of thousands of people in Saxony to help. "This is a prize for an empathetic, cosmopolitan and helpful Saxony that needs to be preserved. Thank you."

The laudatory speech was held by former Saxon Prime Minister Georg Milbradt (CDU). Through her many years of activities, Bock had become "the face of Ukraine in Dresden, a European country that is exposed to a cruel war that violates international law". The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, also attended the award ceremony. Natalija Bock is an important representative of the Ukrainian community in Saxony, a "true ambassador of hearts", he said.

Prize is linked to sculpture

The Dresden Press Club has been awarding the prize since 1994 to personalities who have rendered outstanding services to the ideas of humanity, tolerance and international understanding. The election takes place every two years at the club's general meeting. The award is also associated with a sculpture by the sculptor Vinzenz Wanitschke. The award winner donates the money to artistic, cultural or charitable projects. Natalija Bock gives it to Diakonie and Plattform Dresden, which use it to support Ukrainians.

The writer Erich Kästner (1899-1974) is a son of the city of Dresden and created a monument to it with his book "Als ich ein kleiner Junge war" (When I was a little boy). The first Erich Kästner Prize was awarded to Ignatz Bubis in 1994. Dr. Marion Gräfin Dönhoff, Richard von Weizsäcker, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Dieter Hildebrandt are also among the prize winners. Teresa Enke, Chairwoman of the Robert Enke Foundation, was last honored in 2022.