Science and Injustice

Freie Universität Berlin has installed a permanent exhibition that critically documents the history and research practices of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI-A). The Ihnestraße Memorial addresses how science and injustice became intertwined at this specific site while also commemorating the victims of this dehumanizing treatment.

The Ihnestraße Memorial addresses how science and injustice can become intertwined while also commemorating the victims of this injustice.
Image Credit: Bernd Wannenmacher

Representatives from the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the State Association of German Sinti and Roma in Berlin-Brandenburg, the Herero in Germany, and the Working Group of Victims of National Socialist "Euthanasia" and Forced Sterilization attended the opening event on October 15, 2024.

Now property of Freie Universität Berlin and home to the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, the building at Ihnestraße 22 once housed the KWI-A from 1927 to 1945. Even as early on as the Weimar Republic this institute espoused and propagated eugenic ideas. Some scholars also used older colonial anthropological research in their work. During the National Socialist period members of the institute used their research to bolster the racist, antisemitic, and ableist policies of persecution and extermination enacted by the Nazis and were implicated in such crimes.

The 16,000 bone fragments recovered from various excavations on Freie Universität Berlin's campus in Dahlem from 2015 onward came from the victims of crimes and used to be part of collections held in the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics. On the basis of the investigations conducted, it cannot be excluded that some of the bones originated from a context directly linked to German colonial and National Socialist crimes. In the fall of 2022, the research institutions involved announced that the scientific investigation and analysis of the finds had been completed. In March 2023 the human remains were laid to rest in the Waldfriedhof Dahlem cemetery as part of a dignified ceremony.

The new "Ihnestraße Memorial - Science and Injustice" exhibition addresses the research carried out on this site, which was deeply rooted in racism, dehumanization, and the erosion of human rights. Twelve exhibition stations across four floors as well as the outside area of what is now the Institute of Political Science tell the stories of the scientists and victims of this research. Historical photographs and text panels inform visitors about the ethical violations and complicity of researchers in crimes committed in the name of science. Authentic biographies of the victims and their families feature prominently in the exhibition. The nature of the research carried out here, which was used to prop up theories of scientific racism as well as racism, antisemitism, and ableism as a whole, is addressed throughout. In eight videos researchers provide in-depth background information and representatives of the affected groups highlight how the past relates to the present. The exhibition is in German and English, while the exhibition and accompanying website (https://erinnerungsort-ihnestrasse.de/en/) also include explanations in simple German.

"The Ihnestraße Memorial makes the difficult history of the building, which is now used by Freie Universität Berlin, clearly visible. The exhibition was established in part as a response to calls made over the last few decades to broach this complex subject on site," said historian Dr. Manuela Bauche, who conducts research on the history of the life sciences in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and is the director of the new permanent exhibition.

President of Freie Universität Berlin, Professor Günter M. Ziegler stated, "The opening of the Ihnestraße Memorial is an important milestone for our university. Freie Universität Berlin is dedicated to drawing attention to a site where inhumane research was carried out under abhorrent circumstances. This compels us to continue reflecting on the ethical responsibilities we need to uphold in our research processes."