Brandenburg teachers awarded Karl-Küpper Prize for courage

Teachers Laura Nickel and Max Teske have been awarded the Karl-Küpper Prize for civil courage. The award, which includes 10,000 euros, will be presented in Cologne.

The educators, formerly of a school in Burg im Spreewald, received the honor for publicly exposing daily encounters with right-wing extremism, sexism, and homophobia at their school in 2023. They reported issues such as swastikas on school furniture and anti-democratic slogans in hallways. Following their whistleblowing, both teachers faced threats from right-wing groups on social media and eventually left the school.

The incident prompted discussions in the Brandenburg state parliament and contributed to the 2024 tightening of the Brandenburg School Act, which now requires schools to immediately report incidents involving the glorification of National Socialism, antisemitism, or racism.