Mission, history and development of the foundation

Mission of the Foundation

The death of the scientists in Djibouti was the background for the establishment of the Annette Barthelt Foundation on May 10, 1988. The Foundation is dedicated to two permanent tasks:

I. It strives to present publicly the problems of terrorism and its consequences for those affected and for the society. Outstanding commitment to this topic is honored with theof Annette Barthelt citizenship award for the confrontation with terror and violence at irregular intervals. The awarding of the prize is decided by the Foundation's Board of Directors together with a Civic Advisory Board.

II. annually awards the Annette Barthelt Prize for Marine Research to outstanding scientific work by young oceanographers produced in connection with a marine research activity. The Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation decides on the eligibility for the prize of the works submitted on the basis of a call for entries.

Walter Nellen, the former chairman, and the couple Anne and Rainer Barthelt gave the foundation the necessary momentum. They helped to support the foundation shape and meaning. "to many times, too much attention is paid to terrorist events and terrorists, their persecution and the fight against them, for too long, too intensively and too superficially, without any lasting results. The victims are forgotten. The Annette Barthelt Foundation wants to counteract these tendencies. Its further goal is to preserve the personal memory of Annette Barthelt and her three fellow students Marco Buchalla, Hans-Wilhelm Halbeisen and Daniel Reinschmidt, who were all killed in a bomb attack, by promoting, honoring and encouraging young people who think and feel like her and have focused their life's goal on the same science, namely marine research." (Prof. Dr. W. Nellen on the occasion of the awarding of the Annette Barthelt Prize for dealing with terror and violence on January 16, 1997).

The first chairperson of the foundation (1989)
The Annette Barthelt Foundation has received the necessary momentum from Walter Nellen (left) and Rainer Barthelt. They have helped to give shape and meaning to the foundation.

History and development

  • 18.3.1987 Bomb attack in Djibouti, which killed the four young German marine biologists Annette Barthelt, Marco Buchalla, Hans-Wilhelm Halbeisen and Daniel Reinschmidt and seriously injured other young marine scientists.
  • 18.3.1988 Founding meeting of the Annette Barthelt Foundation in Bonn.
  • 10.5.1989 Foundation of the Annette Barthelt Stiftung e.V. in Bonn.
  • 21.6.1989 Public presentation of the Foundation in the Schleswig-Holstein State Representation in Bonn by the President of the Bundestag, Prof. Dr. Rita Süßmuth.
  • 28.7.1989 Entry of the Annette Barthelt Foundation in the Register of Associations at the Bonn District Court. Prof. Walter Nellen, University of Hamburg, and Dr. Rainer Barthelt, BMZ Bonn, are elected first chairmen of the foundation.
  • 18.3.1990 First public event of the Annette Barthelt Foundation: The first award ceremony for young oceanographers took place at the Institute of Oceanography in Kiel.
  • 1990 First public award ceremony of the Science Prize to young marine scientists at the Institute of Oceanography in Kiel.
  • 1990 Urging from the Foundation, in future all participants in an expedition on German research vessels will also receive private accident insurance.
  • 27.08.1993 First public assignment of the citizenship award for a significant contribution to "addressing violence and terrorism" at the German Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
  • 22.03. 2019 The Annette Barthelt Foundation awards the Science Prize for outstanding examination papers in the field of marine research for the 30th time.
dullo piatkowski wagner
The former chairmen of the Annette Barthelt Foundation (from left), Prof. Dr. Wolf-Christian Dullo (1st chairman), Dr. Uwe Piatkowski (1st deputy chairman) and Dr. H.-F. Wagner (2nd deputy chairman) took over the chairmanship from Prof. Dr. Walter Nellen and Dr. Rainer Barthelt and led the foundation with dedication for many years until the handover to the new team in spring 2021.

Excerpt from the founding charter

In memory of the dead of Djibouti and other victims of terrorism whose fate is in danger of being forgotten, a foundation shall be established as a registered association in cooperation with personalities of the churches, science, economy and politics.

The purpose of the foundation is:

1. to publicly present the problem of terrorism as well as its consequences for those affected and for society by awarding grants to significant contributions that deal with the issue of terrorism, by providing assistance to victims and survivors of terrorist attacks together with the White Ring, and by drawing attention to gaps in current law regarding the care of victims of terrorist attacks and their relatives and working toward improvements;

2. to award grants for outstanding work by young oceanographers submitted following a marine research mission.

The association is unselfishly active and does not primarily pursue its own economic purposes. It serves exclusively and directly non-profit purposes. The activities of the Annette Barthelt Foundation are financed by federal funds and private donations.