The prizewinners of the first Allianz Translator's Prize have been nominated. The prize of 10,000 euros sponsored by the Allianz Kulturstiftung is awarded for outstanding translations of works in the humanities or social sciences. It will be awarded for the first time on May 17 at the Warsaw Book Fair where Germany will be present as a guest country. The Frankfurt Book Fair with its Book Information Center (B.I.Z.) in Warsaw is the partner for the competition and the award ceremony

The German-Polish Jury agreed to split the prize and nominate two prizewinners: Anna Wolkowicz for Noten zur Literatur (Notes on Literature) by Theodor W. Adorno, published by Warsaw publisher Czytelnik, and Adam Lipszyc, who edited and translated essays by Gershom Sholem for the publisher Pogranicze in Sejny. Wolkowicz has already made herself a name with her translations of Alfred Döblin's Reise in Polen (Travels in Poland) and Karl Jaspers' Einführung in die Philosophie (Introduction to Philosophy). The essayist and literature critic Adam Lipszyc has also translated works by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Walter Benjamin.

The Jury was made up of Prof. Dr. Robert Picht, Vice Rector of the European College in Natolin/Warsaw, Dr. Albrecht Lempp, Director of the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation in Warsaw, Prof. Dr. Leszek Zyliski, Chair of German Studies at Nikolaus-Kopernikus University in Torún (Thorn) and Prof. Dr. Bozena Choluj, Professor of German Studies in Warsaw and for Comparative Central Eastern European Studies at the European University Viadrina. The members of the Jury justified their decision as follows (extract):

"The prize links two works that have a very close relationship. Scholem sees the German-Jewish tradition from the perspective of enlightened religiosity. Adorno's Notes on Nature take the enlightenment further to the point where it reveals its own dialectic. The two excellent translations, which are being awarded the Allianz Translator's Prize this year, allow Poland to be included in this dialog of cultures."

The newly endowed prize will be awarded as the finale to the German-Polish Year when the Presidents of the two countries meet once again in Warsaw this May. The Allianz Translator's Prize honors outstanding translations in the languages of Central and Eastern Europe, which play a special role in contributing to understanding between peoples in the spirit of harmony within Europe. The next venues for this migrating prize will be Hungary and Romania.