English Translation

35 -4 - But this would mean that Gierach's merit for the research of the people would be too narrowly limited. This is also largely not based on individual works, but basically and ultimately on his entire work, whose scope and meaning is far greater than in his own writings. For far beyond this, he has been stimulating. How great is his share of the deep and broad domestic movement alone. Like many of the Sudeten German Heinat customers, the connection with him is evident in their creation and implementation. When the Sudeten German local researchers joined forces to form the Association for Homeland Research (and this is always premature with folk research), then Gierach stood behind it.As we see here in the Homeland Movement, we are always standing next to Emil Lehmann. Thus also in the 19ž4 founded the institute for sudetenGerman home research (now Sudetendeutsche Anstalt für Landes- und Volksforschung) in Reichenberg; the new name of the institute shows how much it regards folk research as its task, and it has been doing so since its existence; the magazines published by the Sudetetendeutsche Institution, bes. The "Sudeta" (for early and early history research) and "Karpathenland" (especially for the Germans in Slovakia) bear witness, as well as various other publications that have emerged through and in connection with Gierach's suggestion. Their list in detail would lead too far. There are only the researches on Sudeten German Heimatkunde, which he stimulated and published. Or to use another example: since l9i9 he has led the communications of the Association for National History of the Jeschken-Isergaues. But not only his narrower homeland was his pianist and creativity. His affiliation to the German Society (Akademie) of Sciences in Prague - he belonged to some of their commissions partly in charge, partly in co-operation - he has set a permanent monument by establishing the series of "Sudetendeutsche Lebensbilder" and - apart from the contributions from his pen - in the three volumes available so far. Going beyond his narrower homeland of Reichenberg and yet remaining in the Silesian tribal territory, he created the first Silesian Tribal Culture Week, namely in Reichenberg, which in the next few years followed a number of the same weeks in other cities of the Greater Silesian region; the rich years of the "Silesian Yearbooks" emerged from these tribal culture weeks.8 If one looks at this activity of Gierach, one can see how justly the title of the festivity dedicated to him (as mentioned above) is "Science in the People's Struggle"; he characterizes Gierakh's view of the tasks of the scientific worker in the threatened border area. Josef Pfitzner's contribution to this festschrift grants a fuller picture than the above one only offers with a few strokes. It also allows me to add a little to what he has said about his personality and his work in the above remarks about the work and the achievements of Gierach. Gierach is a strong-willed, purposeful, firm character - he has remained unwaveringly faithful to the national high thought since his youth, and he has stood up for him with the gift of the otherwise so rare civil courage. - Unconcerned about the opposition of the still powerful and then influential Jewish community in the Prague Czech state leadership, he represented him in the faculty of the university and just as unconcerned for the consequences of the state power which he threatened for him in his public work always and everywhere. Gierach's work in folk research - whether in individual works, or in the complete works - is so important that the application seems justified that he is awarded the Eichendorff Prize for i941/42. f.d.dd.A.: Jfwhy