Obermayer German Jewish History Award, Distinguished Service

Nils Busch-Petersen 

Berlin

As the managing director of the Handelsverband Berlin-Brandenburg e. V. (Berlin-Brandenburg Retailers Association), Nils Busch-Petersen has ventured well outside the realm of business as he dedicates himself to restoring the memory of Germany’s former Jewish culture and educating society about that legacy. A founder and board member of the Synagogal Ensemble Berlin, Busch-Petersen has committed himself above all to helping people rediscover, appreciate and expand upon the musical contributions of one transformative 19th century Jewish composer, Louis Lewandowski, through the Louis Lewandowski Festival—World Festival of Synagogal Music, which he directs.

“The music of the greatest German composer of synagogal music almost vanished into oblivion,” says Ralf Wieland, Speaker of the Berlin House of Representatives, but “Mr. Busch-Petersen has succeeded in making Berlin the home of the world’s largest festival of synagogal music and creating an extraordinary cultural highlight.”

At the same time, Busch-Petersen has been a tireless opponent of right-wing violence and anti-Semitism in Berlin and across the Brandenburg region, where he dedicates himself to building bridges, and “ensuring that history is not forgotten and that religious communities work well together,” adds Wieland. Specifically through projects like “Handeln statt wegsehen” (“Take action instead of looking the other way”) and “Schule ohne Rassismus” (“Schools without Racism”), Busch-Petersen has led by example, working to educate young people and discourage discrimination and racism—especially amidst the new wave of refugee migration into the country.

In 2008, Busch-Petersen enabled a Polish vocational school to partner with a Berlin secondary school, which he helped name the “Oscar-Tietz-Schule” in honor of the renowned Jewish department store founder. Additionally, Busch-Petersen, who has a degree in law, has written biographies that form part of a “Jüdische Miniaturen” (“Jewish miniatures”) series, which describe and preserve to memory the stories of Jewish entrepreneurs of Berlin renown—among them Oscar Tietz, Leonhard Tietz and Adolf Jandorf.