Several individuals are gathered in a well-lit room, attentively listening to a person pointing toward a wall of framed images, with a view of a garden outside.

Experiencing and exploring history on site

Exhibitions, guided tours, memorials

Some places preserve the history of the Max Planck Society in a unique way. But you can only see what you know. To make this history accessible and understandable on site, the Max Planck Society offers various programmes for learning and reflection at its historical locations. Its Archives in Berlin are also open as a repository of documentary heritage, not only to experts but also to the general public.

Berlin

The Max Planck Society’s long history in Berlin begins with the founding of its predecessor, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), in 1911. This led to the development of today’s Berlin-Dahlem campus and the establishment of the Berlin-Buch research centre. Many well-preserved historic scientific buildings, still in use for research, bear witness to this past. Both the successes and failures of research are visible in Berlin, alongside the historical development of the Max Planck Society/KWG amid the broader currents of German history. A memorial stone at the Waldfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin-Zehlendorf commemorates the victims of inhumane and racist research carried out at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics.

Black-and-white portrait of Lise Meitner holding a cigarette in the foreground, with Fritz Haber and Albert Einstein standing in the background before a historic Berlin building.

Explore the Berlin-Dahlem Campus

Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of science and go on a journey in time through “Germany’s Oxford”, now the Dahlem Campus in Berlin. This is where the history of the Max Planck Society began about 100 years ago, with the first research institutes of its predecessor organisation, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. more
A man in a blue jumper standing in the conservatory of the Harnack House in Berlin in front of the interactive portrait wall, which displays 156 notable guests from 1929 until its conversion into an officers’ club, including scientists, 35 Nobel Prize winners, politicians, artists, industrialists, and other influential figures of the era.

Harnack House – Exhibition on the history of the conference centre from 1929

The Max Planck Society’s conference venue has an exhibition on the history of the building, which was erected in 1929 as an academic club for the Dahlem Campus and was used as a US Army officers’ mess during the Cold War. It is open to the public whenever conference use permits, Mon–Fri 9:00 am–6:00 pm. more
On the left side of the image, a sign describes the Free University of Berlin’s exhibition in Berlin-Dahlem on the history of the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics from 1927 to 1945. In the background is part of the building, now owned by the Free University and used by the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science.

Ihnestrasse as a place of remembrance – ‘Science and Injustice’ exhibition

Exhibition by Freie Universität Berlin in Berlin-Dahlem on the history of the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics (KWI-A) from 1927–1945, whose research was characterised by racism and dehumanization. Mon–Fri 2:00 pm–6:00 pm. The outdoor exhibition is open 24 hours a day. more
A large house with a red tiled roof and green shutters, seen from the garden side. Since 1975, it has housed the Archive of the Max Planck Society.

Archives of the Max Planck Society

The archives of the Max Planck Society in Berlin-Dahlem preserve the records of the Max Planck Society and its predecessor, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (mainly files, photographs, sound recordings and films) and are open to the public. The main focus of the collection is on the donations and bequests of outstanding scientists more

Munich 

As the seat of the Administrative Headquarters and numerous Institutes, Munich is a key location for the Max Planck Society. Since 1990, a memorial stone at Munich’s Waldfriedhof Cemetery has commemorated the victims of unethical research. Brain specimens from victims of the Nazi ‘euthanasia’ killing programme are buried there. The specimens come from the scientific collections of the Max Planck Institutes. Plans are currently underway to transform the site into a contemporary memorial, combined with extensive research into the victims and their fates.

The Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich; a white building with many windows; in the foreground trees, shrubs, and a patch of lawn leading to the main entrance.

Archives of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
 

Collection on the development of modern academic psychiatry in German-speaking countries since the last third of the 19th century.  more

Frankfurt am Main

The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research has been based in Frankfurt since 1963 and has a long history. The Institute has confronted its past under National Socialism and commemorates the victims of unethical brain research in its new building, which it moved into in 2013.

‘Never Forget’ memorial at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. The installation features nine concrete children’s chairs arranged on a platform engraved with the names of 38 murdered children. Some of the chairs are toppled and lying facedown or on their side. These children were killed during experiments conducted with the support of the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research.

Never Forget – memorial at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research

At the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, the sculpture Never Forget, designed by Atelier Goldstein, serves as a reminder to visitors of the victims of brain research during the Nazi era. The memorial is open to the public more
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