The Kaiser Wilhelm Society is dismantled

1960

The Kaiser Wilhelm Society existed side by side with the Max Planck Society for twelve years. It was not until 21 June 1960 at the last extraordinary General Meeting of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society that Adolf Butenandt announced that the dissolution of the Society, announced back in 1951, had been completed. He underscored how much it pained the older members to see the final dismantling of their Society. The remaining assets were transferred to the Max Planck Society. At around the same time, a commission started to give the Statutes of the MPG a thorough overhaul. Introduced in 1964, the modified text contains the passage: “The Society carries on the tradition established by the former Kaiser Wilhelm Society”. At the same time, the MPG began to grow extensively under Butenandt, who became President that same year. Many new institutes were founded. And when the administrative headquarters moved to Munich in 1960, this heralded a new era for the administrative staff, too.