Government of Hamburg - Honours and Awards

Honours and Awards

The highest honour given by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is the honorary citizenship (Ehrenbürgerrecht). It is given by the senate, if the parliament confirmed the motion of the senate. The honorary citizenship is comparable to the honour Freedom of the City.

See also: List of Honorary Citizens of Hamburg

The Golden Book consists of the signatures of especially honoured guests of Hamburg. The book itself is a box with not fixed sheets. It is folded in golden leather and a gift of the family of the First Mayor Carl Friedrich Petersen (1809 – 1892). In 1937 the German leader Adolf Hitler signed the book before giving a public speech in Hamburg. During the denazification Hitler's sheet, as these from other Nazis, was removed from the book. The only signature remained is from Joseph Goebbels, because he wrote on the same sheet as the former German President Paul von Hindenburg. The Dalai Lama signed the Golden Book during his 5th visit in Hamburg in February 2007.

Decorations

Hamburg citizens were not allowed to receive decorations — only medals or medallions. This act was first enlawed for members of the senate and Hamburg's judges, later the act was false legally extended for all citizens by the Senate of Hamburg. The act originated from the Hamburg city law of the 13th century. One of the few Hanseaten – citizens of a Hanseatic city – who received decoration was Alwin Münchmeyer, an entrepreneur. Münchmeyer stated later, that this were his "falls of mankind". Even Helmut Schmidt — former Hamburg Senator of the Interior and German chancellor — declined several times to be awarded with the Federal Cross of Merit, stating he had been a Hamburg senator and according to the Hanseatic tradition not allowed to wear decorations.

In 1843 the Hamburg fire medal was awarded to the volunteers, who came to help during the great fire from 5 May until 8 May 1842. In total 4858 medals were awarded from the grateful Hamburg in distress to its friends, as the inscription states "Das Dankbare Hamburg Seinen Freunden In Der Noth".

During World War I (1914 – 1918) the Hanseatic Cross (German: Hanseatenkreuz) was a decoration of the three Hanseatic Cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were member states of the German Empire. Each city-state established its own version of the cross, but the design and award criteria were similar for each. There were approximately 50,000 awards of the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg.

Medallions

In 2007 the Herbert Weichmann medallion – named for the First Mayor Herbert Weichmann (in office 1965 – 1971) – was granted for the first time by the city of Hamburg, honoring "those - both Jewish and non-Jewish - who have contributed to Jewish life in Germany". First recipients were Paul Spiegel (posthumous), who was a member of the executive committee of the Zentralrat der Juden, and Hinrich Reemtsma, whose foundation constributed €500,000 for the removal of the Jewish community centre in Hamburg.