The winner of the €25,000 (about $27,115) German Nonfiction Book Prize is Tausend Aufbrüche. Die Deutschen und ihre Demokratie seit den 1980er Jahren (A Thousand New Beginnings. Germans and Their Democracy Since the 1980s) by Christina Morina.
The prize jury said: "There is a broad consensus that democracies around the world are in crisis. Yet the question of what it actually means to live democracy is often pushed into the background. Using sources that have received little attention to date, Christina Morina shows how a very different understanding of democracy developed in East and West Germany since the 1980s. Her methodically sophisticated and eye-opening contemporary historical analysis based on letters, petitions and leaflets gives a voice to citizens of East and West Germany. With this book, Morina offers surprising and necessary insights to spur current social debate. Her book risks a great deal, but without polarizing--democracy is a process, not a condition."