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Professor Süssmuth has been making a huge contribution to building good-neighborly relations between Poles and Germans for many years. Prof. Suessmuth contributed to the adoption of the joint declaration of the Bundestag and the People's Chamber of the GDR on the recognition of the border with Poland. She repeatedly emphasized the role Poland played in the uniting Europe. She pointed to the importance of the transformation process of Poland after the fall of communism for the whole of Europe. Rita Suessmuth is a great friend of Poland, a co-architect of Polish-German dialogue in the aspect of European integration. It works for dialogue, openness and debate, incl. in the aspect of the discourse on the history of neighborly relations between Poland and Germany. Her involvement in Polish-German cooperation is demonstrated by the activity in the Deutsches-Polen Institut in Darmstadt - an institution dealing with the dissemination of knowledge about Polish culture and history, and activity in the Board of the Polish-German Foundation for Science - an intergovernmental institution supporting cooperation between scientists from both countries. Rita Suessmuth met and talked many times with the patron of the award, Józef Oleksy. They were linked not only by formal political relations, but above all by long-term friendship and mutual cordiality. The ceremony took place in the Column Hall of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. As during the previous edition, its run was entrusted to Jerzy Wenderlich.