Free University of Berlin - History

History

The Freie Universität Berlin was founded by students and scholars on December 4, 1948, with the support of the American Allies and Berlin politicians as a response to the persecution of students critical of the system at Humboldt University in the Soviet sector of the divided city of Berlin. These students and scholars wanted to study and carry out research at the Freie Universität, free of political influence. Thanks to generous donations from the United States, the Freie Universität was able to construct several new central building complexes including the Benjamin Franklin university clinic complex and the Henry Ford Building, the central lecture building. Based on its founding tradition, the Freie Universität’s seal to this day bears the Latin terms for Truth, Justice, and Liberty. In 2007, the Freie Universität dedicated a monument to the founding students who were murdered by the Soviet secret service. The university presents its Freedom Award to personalities who have made a special contribution toward the cause of freedom.

The years 1968, 1990 and 2007 mark turning points in the history of the Freie Universität. During the 1960s, the university was the scene of student protests that provided the impulse for more openness, equality, and democracy. After German unification in 1990 and increasingly since 2000, the Freie Universität Berlin has revamped itself. The university’s research performance increased markedly with regard to the number of graduates, Ph.D.s granted, and publications. Underlying this successful trend were fundamental reforms such as the introduction of modern management systems in the administration, a reorganization of the departments, and an efficient utilization of resources. Prognos, the renowned economic institute in Basel, Switzerland, presented the Freie Universität with an award for its good entrepreneurial principles. Since 2003, the Freie Universität has been regrouping its research capacities into transdisciplinary research focus areas called clusters. The year 2007 was another crucial year for the Freie Universität: It was the university with the most approved funding applications in the German Universities Excellence Initiative, and it is now one of nine elite German universities to receive funding for its future development strategy.

The Freie Universität is located in the residential garden district of Dahlem in southwestern Berlin. Around the beginning of the 20th century, Dahlem was established as a centre for research of the highest calibre. Academic activity in Dahlem was supported by Friedrich Althoff, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Culture, who initially proposed the foundation of "a German Oxford." The first new buildings housed government science agencies and new research institutes of the University of Berlin. The Kaiser Wilhelm Society – forerunner of the present-day Max Planck Society – was founded in 1911 and established several institutes in Dahlem. A dynamic group of researchers carried out pioneering research resulting in numerous Nobel Prizes. Since its foundation, The Freie Universität Berlin has been using buildings formerly belonging to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and, in addition, has added numerous architecturally innovative buildings. The Freie Universität’s central campus consists of building ensembles within walking distance of each other. The planners oriented themselves along the type of campus found in the United States – a novelty in post-war Germany.