Since October 2024, the Free University of Berlin has been critically remembering the history of the building at Ihnestraße 22 with a permanent exhibition. From 1927 to 1945, this building housed the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI-A). Today, the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at the Free University is located in this building.

Employees of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics were implicated in various injustices through their research. During the Weimar Republic, they espoused eugenic ideas, drew on colonial anthropological research for their work, and supported the National Socialist regime in its racist, antisemitic, and ableist policies of persecution and extermination. How did scientists come to participate in this radical transgression of ethical boundaries? How can science respect ethical boundaries? And in what ways do political regimes, victim groups, and academic disciplines, often considered separate, intersect in the history of the KWI-A? Departing from the history of the KWI-A, we will explore these questions during our guided tours at Ihnestraße memorial.

Dates:

Wednesday, April 22, 12:00–1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 12, 6:00–7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 23, 6:00–7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 15, 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Please register by the Friday before the respective tour using this registration form. You will receive confirmation of your participation with further information no later than the Monday before the respective tour. The tour will take place if at least 5 people register. The tour will be conducted in German. The building and grounds are wheelchair accessible. Further information can be found here: www.erinnerungsort-ihnestrasse.de.

Further guided tours by the Ihnestrasse Memorial team are available on request. Please contact: erinnerungsort@polsoz.fu-berlin.de.