Funeral service for victims of inhumane and racist research

The human bones found during excavations on Dahlem campus were buried in a funeral service in Berlin

MARCH 23, 2023

About nine years ago, countless fragments of human bones came to light during construction work and excavations on the Dahlem campus. ​Their scientific analysis indicated that they came from the collection of the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Human Heredity, Anthropology and Eugenics. The University of Berlin Freie Universität has been using the building, which dates back to 1927, since 1948. On 23rd March, 2023, the human remains were laid to rest in a public funeral service at the Waldfriedhof cemetery in Berlin-Dahlem. Freie Universität, together with the Max Planck Society and Berlin Heritage Authority, had invited the public to attend. A memorial stone now commemorates the victims. It reads: “In memory of the victims of the crimes committed in the name of science."

As the first research campus of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), the Dahlem campus is the historical nucleus of the Max Planck Society, which emerged from the KWG in 1948. The Max Planck Society's ties to Dahlem are still visible today: three Max Planck Institutes are located in Dahlem as the Max Planck Archives and the Harnack-Haus Conference Center. But the campus is also a reminder of the horrific crimes committed by scientists in the name of science. From 1927 to 1945, the site was home to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI). It was located in the building that is now the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität.

The Institute was involved in the conduct of inhumane and unethical research, which included scientific studies in a post-colonial context and cooperation with the Nazi regime. Since 1943, the institute had even been in direct contact with the Auschwitz extermination camp, from which it obtained human preparations from murdered victims through Joseph Mengele.

As the first research campus of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), the Dahlem campus is the historical nucleus of the Max Planck Society, which emerged from the KWG in 1948. The Max Planck Society's ties to Dahlem are still visible today: three Max Planck Institutes are located in Dahlem as the Max Planck Archives and the Harnack-Haus Conference Center. But the campus is also a reminder of the horrific crimes committed by scientists in the name of science. From 1927 to 1945, the site was home to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI). It was located in the building that is now the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität.

The Institute was involved in the conduct of inhumane and unethical research, which included scientific studies in a post-colonial context and cooperation with the Nazi regime. Since 1943, the institute had even been in direct contact with the Auschwitz extermination camp, from which it obtained human preparations from murdered victims through Joseph Mengele.

More:
https://www.mpg.de/20068063/funeral-service-bone-finds-dahlem?c=2249