Each year the ‘Foundation for the History of Totalitarianism’ launch their prestigious essay competition. The Foundation for the History of Totalitarianism is a non-profit organisation established to provide information and education about the history of totalitarianism, particularly in the 20th century. It aims to encourage study and research in a variety of ways including the creation of an annual history essay prize on a different subject each year.
The subject for the essay in 2021-22 was ‘the Stasi’ who were the secret police in East Germany during the cold war.
The entry by St John Rigby College Year 13 student Will Powell gained first prize beating entries from many of the top independent and state schools in the country.
A video of Will reading his essay can be found here https://youtu.be/rFfosEW6H2Q.
The awards ceremony was held at the Athenaeum Club in London in the late afternoon of 4th May. The winners and those highly commended were invited to attend. Professor Timothy Garton Ash, who was himself monitored by the Stasi, presented the prize and certificates.
This summer Will has accepted an offer to attend the prestigious John Locke Institute Oxford Summer in advance of assessing his numerous offers for further study.
