Ordre des Palmes académiques for Susanne Rau
Susanne Rau, Professor of History and Cultures of Modern Spaces at the University of Erfurt and spokesperson of the “Religion and Urbanity” research group has been honoured by France’s Minister of Education and Youth Pap Ndiaye with the “Ordre des Palmes Académiques françaises” (short: Palmes Académiques), one of the highest awards in France for services to education. The award ceremony took place during the summer festival of the Max-Weber-Kolleg on 10 July 2023, where the historian from Erfurt received the order from the French First Counsellor, Thomas Guibert. Congratulations!

Susanne Rau reflected upon her long relationship with France, its language and people in her speech, while also expressing her gratitude for receiving the Palmes Académiques:
Permettez-moi de commencer mon discours de remerciement en français, cette langue que j’ai commencé à apprendre dès mon enfance, pendant les vacances passées avec mes parents en France, ensuite à l’école et à l’université comme matière secondaire, alors que l’histoire était la matière principale.
Le fait que l’on ne prononce pas toutes les lettres écrites de cette langue m’a fasciné dès mon enfance – et j’avais l’intention de ‘dévoiler’ ou au moins de comprendre ce mystère. Ce que je n’ai bien sûr que plus ou moins réussi à faire, comme je le constate de temps en temps… Mais les erreurs et les lacunes m’ont toujours incité à continuer d’apprendre et à chercher à comprendre les gens et leurs histoires. Car, comme toute relation humaine, la langue est un défi permanent.
Vous voyez, M. Guibert, j’aime votre langue aussi bien que j’aime le pays et ses habitants – et que ma connaissance imparfaite de la langue serve au moins aujourd’hui à vous demander de transmettre à Monsieur le Ministre, Pap Ndiaye, mes remerciements les plus sincères.
Désormais je porterai fièrement ce « ruban violet », même si je ne l’accrocherai certainement pas tous les jours à mes vêtements. Mais cette décoration me rappellera toujours que j’appartiens désormais plus que jamais à votre pays et que, résidant en Allemagne, je m’efforcerai toujours de jeter des ponts par-dessus toute sorte de frontière entre les pays et leurs cultures pour établir échanges et compréhension.”

Allow me to begin my speech of thanks in French, the language I began to learn as a child, during holidays spent with my parents in France, then at school and university as a secondary subject, with history as the main subject.
The fact that you don’t pronounce all the written letters in this language has fascinated me since childhood – and I intended to ‘unveil’ or at least understand this mystery. Which, of course, I have only more or less succeeded in doing, as I realise from time to time… But the mistakes and shortcomings have always encouraged me to keep learning and trying to understand the French people and their stories. Because, like all human relationships, language is a constant challenge.
You see, Mr Guibert, I love your language just as much as I love the country and its people – and may my imperfect knowledge of the language serve at least today to ask you to pass on to the Minister, Pap Ndiaye, my most sincere thanks.
From now on I will proudly wear this “purple ribbon”, even if I certainly won’t be hanging it on my clothes every day. But this decoration will always remind me that I now belong more than ever to your country and that, living in Germany, I will always strive to build bridges across all kinds of borders between countries and their cultures to establish exchanges and mutual understanding.”
For futher info please consult the press release by the University of Erfurt.
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
urbrel (July 12, 2023). Ordre des Palmes académiques for Susanne Rau. Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations. Retrieved May 18, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/v3gf