MDR Wildfire Documentary Wins 2026 German-Czech Journalism Prize
Leipzig – November 07, 2026 -- The MDR documentary "Nationalparks – Brandherde und Naturparadiese?", produced for ARTE, has won the 2026 German-Czech Journalism Prize in the Multimedia category. Author Bettina Wobst received the award on 6 November 2026 in Frankfurt am Main.
Report examines wildfire pressure on national park protection concepts
The film uses Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland to show how climate change, drought and more frequent large fires strain national park protection concepts. It frames the core conflict as whether national parks protect nature or also endanger the people living in and around them.
Wobst, a filmmaker based in Dresden, travelled the German-Czech border region. In the Czech village of Mezná she met a couple who lost their home in the summer 2022 wildfire. They believe inadequate fire prevention and large volumes of dead wood helped the fire spread.