The award is presented in memory of Fritz Joachim Meyer. Fritz Meyer was born in Dresden on May 28th 1925. His father, Henry Meyer, served as conductor of the Jewish Youth Orchestra in Dresden, starting in 1929. Fritz and his brother Heinz benefitted from music education from an early age onward as their father taught his sons and other Jewish children to play the violin. Fritz Meyer took piano lessons from pianists Margarete Anschel and Arthur Chitz. The highly talented brothers participated actively in the cultural life of the Israelite community in Dresden.

Following the anti-semitic policies introduced by the Nazis in the 1930s, the Meyer family suffered. On January 20th and 21st 1942, their parents Harry and Joanne Meyer were deported to Riga. Joanne Meyer died in Riga, while Harry Meyer was murdered in KZ Dachau or KZ Auschwitz. The two brothers initially remained in Dresden and it is likely that their last public performance occurred at the New Jewish Cemetery on August 10th 1042. On November 23rd and 24th the brothers were deported to the labour camp at Hellerberg in Dresden, where they were forced to work for Zeiss Ikon. On March 2nd 1943, the brothers were deported to Auschwitz. Heinz Meyer was forced to play in the death camp’s orchestra for inmates. After only 3 weeks in Auschwitz, Fritz Meyer died of typhus and malnutrition on March 29th at the age of 17.