Recently a commission sent by the British journal “The Lancet” visited the university to learn more about how the university has been dealing with this aspect of German history.

Today the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science at Freie Universität holds courses in the building on Ihne Strasse 22. This building once housed the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics (KWI-A).

A sign next to the entrance reminds visitors of what took place there during the Nazi period and to a certain extent, also earlier. Two medical doctors, Eugen Fischer and Otmar von Verschuer, conducted research on genetics. Their hypotheses upheld the inhumane doctrines about “race” that the Nazi government propagated. They prepared “ancestry certificates”  and genetic reports/assessments for forced sterilization of humans, and they conducted research on the bodies of individuals murdered in concentration camps and extermination camps.

Human remains were discovered in the vicinity of the building in 2014, 2015, and 2016, at first during construction work and later during archaeological digs. Experts were able to determine that the remains stemmed from crimes committed in this building during the German colonial period and/or Nazi period. Following several years of investigation by researchers at Freie Universität, the remains were buried in March 2023 at the Waldfriedhof cemetery in Berlin-Dahlem.

Three Years of Research

Günter M. Ziegler, the president of Freie Universität, said, “We do not know their names or what their faces looked like, but we do know that they were all the victims of crimes committed in the name of science. We at Freie Universität will never tire of reminding people of that.”

On a November morning Ziegler welcomed a commission from the British medical journal The Lancet at the Otto Suhr Institute. The international delegation, The Lancet Commission on Medicine and the Holocaust, had traveled to Berlin on the occasion of the publication of its report on medical crimes committed during National Socialism.

Following three years of research, the Lancet Commission presented a comprehensive analysis of the atrocities committed in the context of medical research against Jews, Sinti, Roma, people with disabilities or mental illnesses, political prisoners, prisoners of war, and other persecuted groups. The scientists took advantage of their trip to Berlin to visit Dahlem to find out more about the origin of the human remains and the steps the university had undertaken to deal with them. They were also interested in the plans for creating a memorial site at this location. 

Joseph Polak, an American rabbi and professor emeritus of health law, was also a member of the delegation in Dahlem. He had lost his father in the Holocaust and survived the Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps as a toddler. He said, “This building is a symbol of the crimes committed by the Nazis in the name of science. In this building geneticists provided the ideological basis for the persecution and extermination of millions of people. Medical researchers conducted experiments on the bodies of people who had been murdered in Auschwitz. They were conducting science in the service of death.”

Human Remains First Found during Construction Work

Susan Pollock led the members of the Lancet Commission around the site. A professor emeritus of archaeology at Freie Universität, Pollock and her colleague Professor Reinhard Bernbeck had conducted excavations in the area around Ihne Strasse.

She pointed to a nondescript spot next to the University Library, near the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. “In 2014 construction workers wanted to replace an underground water main here,” she said. “Then they found a pit full of bones.” A subsequent forensic analysis showed that they were fragments of bones from at least fifteen different people of all ages who had probably died at least several decades ago.

Working together with the Max Planck Society as the successor to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and the Berlin Monument Authority, the Executive Board of Freie Universität decided to thoroughly examine the area around the site where the bones were discovered. In their excavations Pollock and Bernbeck encountered several additional pits containing human remains. About 16,000 bone fragments were recovered from the area. Analyses indicate that they could be from at least fifty-four different people. However, Pollock points out that this number is a statistical estimate. They could stem from many more individuals.

The researchers cannot say exactly where the bone fragments came from nor can they pinpoint a specific time frame. Following consultations with the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the Central Council of Sinti and Roma, the working group decided not to pursue additional forensic analyses. As Pollock explained, they chose not to conduct genetic research because they did not wish to reproduce the horrific experiments that once took place in this location.

Confrontation with History 

The members of the Lancet Commission observed a moment of quiet contemplation at the site. Then they headed toward the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, where they were met by Manuela Bauche. Bauche is a historian who since 2019 has headed a project at Freie Universität to develop elements for an exhibit on the history of the KWI-A in its historical location and to conduct research on the biographies of the victims.

The results of her work will be on display in 2024 in an exhibit on the site. She pointed out that in the future, people entering this building will not be able to avoid being confronted with its history. She said, “We are documenting the research done by Eugen Fischer and Otmar von Verschuer, but above all, we are giving their victims a face and a voice.”

For the members of the Lancet Commission, coming to terms with the history of the building is an important milestone. However, they raised the issue as to whether the Max Planck Society, as the successor to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, should not be taking on more responsibility for this process in cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin.

Rabbi Joseph Polak pointed out that general awareness of what took place during the Holocaust and the crimes committed by the Nazis is decreasing worldwide. He supports the university’s plans to open an informative exhibit in this location.

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This article originally appeared in German in the Tagesspiegel newspaper supplement published by Freie Universität Berlin.