12/17/2025
GRHS Member’s Graphic Novel Wins 1st Prize in Germany
Lena Helene Wolf, a member of the GRHS Black Hills Chapter, has been awarded First Prize by the Hesse State Government of Germany for her graphic novel May the Universe Be Your Home! Growing up German in Kazakhstan.
The award, Escape, Displacement and Integration 2025, marked the theme “80 Years of Escape and Displacement—Commitment to Peace, Democracy and Human Dignity: Never Again War, Ethnic Hatred, or Expulsions.” It's a book to be read by several generations of a family, old and young coming together and sharing this book.
The prize was presented by Prof. Dr. Roman Poseck, Interior Minister of Hesse, and Andreas Hofmeister, Hessian Commissioner for Displaced Persons and Repatriates. In his remarks, the Commissioner stated that the jury’s decision was overwhelmingly in favor of the book, highlighting its powerful portrayal of the displacement of the German minority in the USSR and its message of resilience and hope.
The awards ceremony honored other initiatives as well, including a Germans-from-Russia choir, Rjabinuschki and Kalyna, which now includes many Ukrainian refugee singers performing songs in Ukrainian, as well as representatives of Germans from Romania and East Prussia, reflecting a shared history of displacement across Europe.
Told through three generations, the book follows Lena, now living in London, as she uncovers her family’s past—from German settlement in the Russian Empire in the 1760s, through Stalinist deportations to Kazakhstan, and eventual migration back to Germany. Using the graphic novel format, Lena presents this complex history in an accessible, deeply human way for readers young and old.
The title reflects a farewell often spoken by Lena’s father: May the universe be your home—a wish for belonging after generations of displacement.
The book is available through the GRHS Bookshop and is currently a limited edition until a publisher is secured.
https://www.grhs.org/publicstore/9
