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4 March to 10 May 2026 | Hamburg State and University Library

Exhibition at the Hamburg State and University Library | 22 April to 22 May 2022

Wednesday 16 September 2026, to mark International Democracy Day: “Crafting for Democracy” in the exhibition space of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung.

BKHS Publication No. 13

Britain’s ongoing struggle over its membership of the European Community (EC)

The Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi was violently killed in his country’s consulate in Istanbul. 2 October 2022 marks the fourth anniversary of his death. The case is escalating into a growing crisis in the kingdom. An overview of the events.

The collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad train station in November 2024, which claimed 16 lives, ignited a struggle for justice in Serbia that was met with repression. Student-led protests have since shaken Serbia, creating a society-wide front demanding the rule of law. This text examines the crisis through the lens of the UN Youth, Peace and Security agenda, showing how government actions threaten three of its pillars – participation, protection and partnership – and how youth are experimenting with new democratic practices.

Latin American youth have always been peacebuilders: university reformers, student resisters, Indigenous organisers, feminist activists. Their struggles anticipated many of the principles later enshrined in the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda. Yet, paradoxically, the agenda itself has failed to resonate in the region. For the framework to matter in Latin America, it must stop speaking about youth and start speaking with them, on their own terms, in their own vocabularies.

The connections between climate, youth, peace and security are gaining traction in global policymaking and research, highlighting the deep interdependencies between sustainability, conflict and the power of youth engagement. This article explores the challenges for young people engaging in climate action and/or peacebuilding, outlines innovative youth-led responses and maps out a shared path that depicts young people as not just being on the journey, but at the centre of it.

In 2015, the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 established the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and recognised the important and positive role of young people in preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace. Despite this important milestone and although young people are leading change worldwide, their expertise on peace and security is still often dismissed.

The Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung (BKHS) is launching a platform on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). In 2015, the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 established the YPS agenda and recognised the important and positive role of young people in preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace. Young people are leading positive change worldwide – yet, a decade after the YPS agenda was formalised, youths’ expertise around peace and security is often dismissed.

Reading of letters on the SPIEGEL affair | FULLY BOOKED

A guided tour of our exhibition as part of Sustainability Week Hamburg

What do the recent mass protests in Kenya, Nepal and Morocco have in common? All have been described as “Gen Z” protests – a reference to the generation born in the late 1990s and early 2000s – as they have seen a mass mobilisation of young people on the streets. Young people around the world are demanding their right to be involved in decisions that affect their present and their future.

Three questions for Kirsten Hartmann on the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and our new project "Gen P(eacebuilder) - Implementing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda".

Yara Itani was a BKHS Fellow in the “Gen P(eacebuilder)” project

The Federal Minister of Defence will deliver the fifth Helmut Schmidt Lecture on 22 June in Berlin

Introducing an inclusive geoeconomics strategy for Germany | Thursday, 18 June 2026, 10 a.m. | Language: English

On the 120th birthday of the Hamburg publisher Gerd Bucerius

Archival cataloging and indexing of correspondence in the Helmut Schmidt Archive

As part of our contemporary witness project, we are documenting personal memories and exclusive insights from people who worked closely with Helmut Schmidt - both during his time as an active politician and later as former chancellor, publicist and co-editor of Die Zeit.

The Hamburg storm surge of 1962 is one of the most drastic events in the city's history and still characterises the collective memory of Hamburg today. As the worst flood disaster of the 20th century, 315 people lost their lives and several thousand were left homeless.

Why Germany must combine social stability, environmental sustainability and strategic sovereignty in order to weather the transatlantic upheavals.

The fifth issue of BKHS Magazine, #5, is themed “Strengthening Partner Europe!”.

The Schmidt International exhibition uses ten stations to illustrate just how closely Germany, Europe and the world are intertwined: How can political cooperation across borders succeed? How should Western democracies respond to autocratic states? How do we safeguard freedom and the rule of law in the long term?

Boris Pistorius delivered the fifth Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin on 22 June 2026. At the event organised by the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, he recognised the former Minister of Defence and Federal Chancellor as a politician who spoke his mind.

Below you find a series of interviews with experts on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) that were filmed during our Gen P(eacebuilder) workshop in Hamburg in July 2025. They outline the relevance of the YPS agenda, stress challenges in implementing it and outline concrete examples from the contexts what it means to operationalise it. Whom should we interview next?

Brutal conflicts worldwide, democratic backsliding in many places, geopolitical power struggles, technological threats, the climate emergency: the list of current challenges seems endless. The effective participation of young people is central to the prevention and resolution of conflicts and lasting peace.

Peer Steinbrück opens the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2024

The exhibition “Schmidt! Living Democracy” provides insights into a century of German and international contemporary history and highlights the – still highly topical – issues of conflict, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. In the spirit of Schmidt, we also invite our guests to join in the discussion and ask questions about the future of democracy in Germany, Europe and the world.

Industrial challenges for developing countries and policy recommendations for the EU

From aspiration to reality

To make the UN fit for the future, the missions must change

Painted in oil by the Leipzig painter, the statesman returns to the Chancellery in 1986

New themed tour at the Helmut Schmidt Forum on the importance of visual communication

39. President of the USA turns 100 - Looking back on a crisis-ridden era of foreign policy

Accessible exhibition tour focuses on the fight for the rights of people with disabilities

Today, the lack of access to digital space is a structural problem

Successor Kohl favoured copper cable - ex-chancellor later asked: What is a terminal device?

Social inequalities, climate change and international rivalry are forcing a rethink

Concept brings movement to the debate on inequality

New book “Schmidt! Living Democracy” is also dedicated to controversial topics

16 and 17-year-olds called up for the first time - but forecasts predict a massive shift to the right

Continuity and concentration - "Not so badly done"

Archive discovery about the interplay between politics and science

About traditions and today's responsibility to shape museums - #Challenging Democracy celebrates its premiere in Berlin

From Brandt to Schmidt - International conference sheds light on the historical background

Constitution still surprisingly fresh and modern today - But right-wing extremists are targeting fundamental rights

New report by BKHS and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung shows that it is becoming increasingly difficult to build peace

Pandemics, human rights or the climate crisis: dangers do not stop at borders and require new concepts

A scholarly examination of Helmut Schmidt as an intellectual

Former Chancellor urged the major powers to work together in China 20 years ago

A review of America's industrial policy experiment

The elections to the European Parliament will take place on 9 June 2024. In Germany, young people aged 16 and over will be able to vote for the first time and they are demanding that their voices be heard in politics. Issues relating to peace and security are increasingly among the core interests that influence their voting decisions.

International experts develop policy recommendations for implementing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda

Helmut Schmidt and the secret services - current travelling exhibition at the Helmut Schmidt Forum shows the effects of Stasi crimes

European capacity to act in a changing world

Europe needs a co-operative geo-economic approach

Insights into the evaluation results of "Unlock Europe"

A place of quiet diplomacy during the Cold War: burial of President Tito 45 years ago

13 policy briefs scrutinise the future of the UN, gender equality and acute crises

BKHS travelling exhibition tours the country in politically turbulent times

The path to an inclusive geoeconomy

Where is Europe's ability to act in foreign and security policy?

Struggling for relevance in an era of changes: The Ukraine war and the UN's future role in peace and security crises

Industrial challenges for low- and middle-income countries and policy recommendations for the EU

Review of the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2024: Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu presents “democratic peopleism”

Ahead of the Helmut Schmidt Lecture “For a Just Democracy!”, we take a look at Germany, the USA and Turkey

A trade paradigm for the age of geoeconomic competition: Not economic, but human security

Since 2021, the Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt Stiftung has commemorated its namesake with the annual Helmut-Schmidt-Lecture and invites a current "thought leader of today". The Helmut Schmidt Lecture focuses on social and political topics that have already shaped Helmut Schmidt's work and have lost none of their relevance to this day. The series of events brings together international personalities from politics, academia and civil society and creates space for debates on democracy, human rights, globalisation and social cohesion.

At the Ministerial Conference on UN Peacekeeping, states reaffirmed their support for peacekeeping missions and announced numerous contributions. Despite global austerity measures, this momentum must be maintained and rhetorical commitments must also lead to tangible effects on the ground.

The Future of United Nations Peace Operations

Alliance brings together the expertise and brain power of close to 100 peace operations experts from around the globe

Plea for a focus on peacebuilding against the backdrop of the uncertain future of the crisis-ridden UN peacekeeping missions

UN peacekeeping missions are in crisis. Germany has a duty to take on more security policy responsibility.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, Turkish opposition politician, finds clear words for the success criteria of functioning democracies at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin.

Fourth issue of the BKHS Magazine presents important aspects of defence-oriented democracies

Turkish opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu opened Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu speaks at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2024 on the success criteria of functioning democracies

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya opened Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin 2021

Democracy is a challenge - every day. The travelling exhibition #ChallengingDemocracy takes a biographical look at Schmidt as an actor in contemporary history and combines the themes of the late 1960s to 1980s with current challenges. Then as now, the questions are: What protects and what threatens democracy? How social is democracy? How sustainable is democracy?

More than 200 guests discuss the reshaping of globalisation at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Concrete ideas for reshaping globalisation in the third issue of BKHS Magazine

held by Peer Steinbrück on 4 December 2023

In conversation with the guests of the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2023

Hatice Cengiz finds powerful words for the fight for justice at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2022

Speaking up is not only about the right to express an opinion, but also about who is going to listen, which consequences one might fear – and the courage to do it anyway. This issue of the BKHS Magazine celebrates people who dare to speak up all over the globe: journalists in the face of declining press freedom, peacebuilders in the midst of war, artists at risk of persecution, human rights defenders up against repression, workers demanding fair wages, LGBTQI* activists in their fight against discrimination and women* claiming the power to make choices about their own bodies.

held by Peer Steinbrück on 10 November 2022

A brief introduction to the speaker of our Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2022

The pressure that democracy is under at home and abroad has also given a new impetus to thinking about and mobilising for democracy. But what does "living democracy" really mean?

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds the inaugural speech for the Helmut Schmidt Lecture series

New BKHS eyewitness project: Employees of the Federal Chancellor talk about working with a tireless boss

Political developments and the future of the democratic order

President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy Moritz Schularick holds the third Helmut Schmidt Lecture on 4 December in Berlin

Welcoming speech by Mr Peer Steinbrück, chair of the board of trustees of the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya opens Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

Human rights activist Hatice Cengiz holds the second Helmut Schmidt Lecture in Berlin

On the challenges facing Gen Z and their significance for the resilience of our democracy

The origin of Helmut Schmidt’s probably best-known nickname

Helmut Schmidt’s understanding of democracy and what we can learn from it

The first World Economic Summit was held 50 years ago

Dealing with terrorism in the Federal Republic of Germany since the Second World War

The latest BKHS Magazine "Strengthening Partner Europe!" has been published - A look inside the magazine

The Port of Hamburg as an example of sustainable security policy

Two days before Christmas: Special session in Hamburg City Hall makes headlines

Review of the Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2023 on the topic “Remaking Globalisation!”

"Investment boom" in Germany with more and more formats as a lucrative business

Helmut Schmidt Lecture 2023 with the President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy Moritz Schularick in Berlin

Conference opens up multifaceted perspectives on the NATO Double-Track Decision and its consequences

Two power-conscious and eloquent rivals engaged in a rhetorical duel

Helmut Schmidt and his commitment to German unity

Loki and Helmut Schmidt’s home as the subject of research

China’s New Silk Road project turns ten while the G7 struggles for “economic security”

Exhibition about the Kislau concentration camp spans the present day

“Global Expert Group” develops proposals for conflict resolution and peacebuilding of the future

Helmut Schmidt’s role in the founding of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

How democratic is lot-based public participation really?

Escape game provides a playful introduction to European peace and security policy

How the Spiegel affair contributed to the Hamburg press law

Despite massive anti-nuclear protests: Chancellor Schmidt saw nuclear power as the key to energy independence

Exhibitions as venues for current debates - varied programme at the Helmut Schmidt Forum

Sino-German Relations in the Mirror of Time – Conference on International Perspectives on China

Loki Schmidt as a pioneer of nature and species conservation in Germany

Russian attack on Ukraine exacerbates global crises – BKHS and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung establish global network of conflict experts

More topical than ever: Helmut Schmidt published almost 50 titles – An author with conviction and authenticity

No change through trade – How the US and the EU can protect themselves from critical dependencies

The statesman’s letters are being systematically catalogued for the first time

Helmut Schmidt’s mother Ludovika worked as a maid – her parents had a white goods shop on Mundsburger Damm

International Conference of BKHS and Europa-Kolleg Hamburg: FOTAR - The Future of Transatlantic Relations

Fears about the future and a lack of trust in the EU are a challenge for us all

Hatice Cengiz on her life after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi: A fight for press freedom, human rights and justice

On the togetherness, coexistence and opposition of the two social democrats and statesmen

The opportunity for a value-based EU-US economic policy both internally and externally

Helmut Schmidt at the wheel: parking offences, collisions with trams and other "motor vehicle matters"

Helmut Schmidt recognised the value of archives for the future during his lifetime

Schmidt-Map takes you to surprising places - historical facts in compact form

Our new podcast takes you on a musical tour of Germany

First Helmut Schmidt Future Prize: Vanessa Nakate stands for justice and climate activism in the Global South

The role of the G7 for a value-based foreign policy

High-profile media campaign in 1980 exposed the spying on homosexuals in public toilets

Crimes such as those currently taking place are not an unavoidable side effect of wars, but often a deliberate decision by the warring parties. The international community does not have to stand idly by.

The idea of "human duties" in the state as a supplement to the "Declaration of Human Rights"

Government as friend or foe - Broad majority in favour of arms deliveries to Ukraine

The NATO Double-Track Decision as leverage for disarmament negotiations

The offence of genocide fulfilled" - Helmut Schmidt paves the way for rehabilitation of German Sinti and Roma

What his service diary from 1977 reveals about the man and politician Helmut Schmidt

The Lorenz abduction in 1975 as a turning point in Germany's approach to terrorism

On the connection between the global economy and social peace

A critical look at the US President's first year in office

40 years ago: Chancellor Schmidt meets Erich Honecker at the German-German summit after two cancellations

A discussion on EU trade policy, the transatlantic trade partnership and the future of the World Trade Organisation

Reading and writing in the Schmidt household - insights into the library in Langenhorn

A guest article by Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Why the "peace through democracy" approach is in crisis and what alternatives there are

On the friendship between two politicians and their shared desire for peace

in co-operation with the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH)

Relics in the Schmidt House commemorate the building of the Wall 60 years ago

A fictitious speech recalls the guidelines of Schmidt's European policy

Helmut Schmidt took the helm on his diplomatic mission

Helmut Schmidt joined the SPD 75 years ago

The interim results of Europe Day on 9 May are thought-provoking

Helmut Schmidt was never a shirt-sleeved “doer”

Dissent and democracy in Germany - A review of the 20th anniversary of Jugend debattiert

Helmut Schmidt's early career as head of office in Hamburg

How the zero issue of Die Zeit was discovered in the Helmut Schmidt archive and why the former German Chancellor became editor

40 years ago: Helmut Schmidt's nuclear policy makes him the enemy of the protest movement

The estate of Helmut Schmidt's brother Wolfgang sheds light on the family history

50 years ago: The Bundeswehr's hairnet decree causes outrage

On 20 January 2021, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States - also, as US political scientist Brian Klaas recently commented in the Washington Post, to “save democracy”.

“Democracy is not a state, democracy is a process.” Helmut Schmidt

A safety manoeuvre in a storm

New BKHS platform on youth, peace and security

Challenges and potential of games for political education and participation

The Interactions Between European Integration and German Reunification

Was Helmut Schmidt und Uwe Seeler miteinander verbindet

Der Bericht „Neue Perspektiven: Friedensförderung und Konfliktbearbeitung in einer sich wandelnden Weltordnung“ steht hier kostenlos zum Download bereit.

February 2024 | Report | An international network of representatives from academia, civil society, and politics releases a new report on the future of peacebuilding

The Evolution of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Challenges and Prospects

BKHS and FES are bringing together a diverse group of peace experts in Hamburg and creating a space for meaningful dialogue

What’s Next for Global Peace Work? – An Interview with Julia Strasheim and Tina Blohm

FOTAR (Future of Transatlantic Relations) is a conference format conceived and organized by the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation and the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, and generously funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, Equality, and Districts. It brings together high-level international experts from academia and politics, as well as representatives of civil society from the U.S. and Europe, to discuss the future of transatlantic relations. FOTAR takes place in Hamburg every two years.

Every two years, the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation, in cooperation with the Europa-Kolleg Hamburg, offers a distinguished Scholar-in-Residence program. The program is aimed at outstanding scholars from Germany and abroad whose research focuses on Europe and international relations. During their stay in Hamburg, the Scholar-in-Residence plans an academic conference on a previously under-explored aspect of historical, political science, legal, economic, or cultural issues.

The Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung and Die Zeit present the Helmut-Schmidt-Zukunftspreis annually. This award honors an international figure who, through their significant work, stands for democracy and the common good.

The BKHS’s “Inclusive Geoeconomics” research project is developing recommendations for geoeconomic practices that will establish a global economy that is resilient and competitive, as well as fair and sustainable.

Global trade conflicts, sanctions and the reorganisation of international supply chains are changing work, income and everyday life. In the port city of Hamburg, international developments are having a direct impact on everyday working life. Visit our panel discussion as part of Hamburg Sustainability Week.

On 18 March 1976, the German Bundestag passes the law on co-determination in companies

Join us for a chat over coffee on 12 April | Helmut-Schmidt-Forum

Young, digital, engaged? The role of "online" in the political participation mix of young people in Germany

EU peacebuilding under China's influence: a growing challenge?

Rethinking economic security: Hamburg as a safe harbour for an inclusive geo-economy

Transatlantic co-operation

Europe needs an independent foreign policy

A look into the engine room of democracy | Wednesday, 18 March, 6 p.m. | Helmut-Schmidt-Forum

Long Night of Museums 2026 at the Helmut Schmidt Forum invites people to talk and exchange ideas

A brief look at the history of compulsory military service and an invitation to a discussion in the Helmut Schmidt Forum

Recommendations for institutional reform at the trade-security nexus

From Crisis Manager to Agenda Setter: Policy Recommendations for the G7 from the Next Generation of Leaders

Peace powered by youth: Germany needs to champion the Youth, Peace and Security agenda

A look at the influence of the European Union in the Hanseatic city

At the EU summit in Brussels, the European heads of state and government get stuck due to a lift breakdown. A youth group spontaneously takes their seats in the European Council and has to make important decisions for the future of Europe - from peace and security to healthcare, climate protection and the fight against hate on the internet. But the documents are encrypted: Only by working together can the young people decipher clues, analyse information and make the right decisions in time.

Folders, books, photo albums and an extensive collection of dossiers: the Helmut Schmidt-Archiv contains all of this. The wide range of documents not only provides a very personal insight into Helmut Schmidt's interests and main topics, the estate also reflects the political discourse of the time. The files are open to academic research – here you will find an overview about the background and how you can gain access to the files..

Panel discussion with Emily Haber, Aydan Özoğuz and Elisabeth Winter

To mark the fifth anniversary of our permanent exhibition ‘Schmidt! Living Democracy’ in Hamburg city centre

Peer Steinbrück delivers the welcome remarks at the 2026 Helmut Schmidt Lecture featuring Boris Pistorius

15 October 2026 | 6.00 pm On the critical infrastructure of democracy

Conference: “Strengthening Democracy – Resilience as a Task for Society as a Whole” | 15 and 16 October 2026