A HISTORY
OF SCIENCE
AND INJUSTICE

For nearly 100 years, this building at Ihnestraße 22 has been a site for scientific research. Between 1927 and 1945, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics was located here.

The Ihnestraße Memorial investigates the racist and dehumanising research conducted here during those years. Visitors will find exhibition displays across the four floors of the building, as well as the outdoor space, documenting the stories of both the scientists who worked here and those subjected to their research.

Contested Memory

What do we remember? What stories do we tell? Such questions remain in constant negotiation. The Ihnestraße Memorial is the result of decades of research and long-expressed demands for greater transparency concerning the history of this site.

In the 1980s, the efforts of young scholars culminated in the creation of a memorial plaque, but their demands extended to the creation of a more permanent exhibition.

In 2014, a student initiative entitled “Manufacturing Race” examined the Institute’s entanglements with colonial history.

In 2017, the student working group “KWI-A-AG” pressed for further accountability regarding the history of the Institute.

The current Ihnestraße Memorial is not intended to conclude investigations, but rather to draw attention to ongoing conversations and developments.

Memorial plaque, 1987/88
Memorial plaque, 1987/88Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Abt. VI., Rep. 1, KWI Anthrop I/16
Black and white photo. View of the main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics from Ihnestraße.
The main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, after 1936 Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Abt. VI. Rep. 1, Nr. KWI-Anthrop I/4b

Outdoor areaThe Institue

Photograph of three individuals in an examination room. One person wearing a dress or a long white lab coat is taking a picture from the side of a person sitting on a chair. The twin sister of the person being photographed is standing to one side.
A pair of twins being photographed at the Institute, around 1930 ullstein bild

BasementResearch

A photograph of the inner courtyard of Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. There are many people in the courtyard. Eugen Fischer is standing on the balcony, giving a speech. A large banner with a swastika is hanging from the parapet.
Eugen Fischer at a speech at the Friedrich Wilhelm University Berlin, 1933 Süddeutsche Zeitung Photo/Scherl

Ground floorPolitics

Black and white photo. View of the main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics from Ihnestraße around 1933/34, with a swastika flag flying on a flagpole.
The main building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, around 1933/34 Archive of Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem, Abt. VI. Rep. 1, Nr. KWI-Anthrop I/4a

Upper floorCrimes

The second image is a photograph of a woman with dark skin, doctoral candidate Irawati Karvé. She is standing next to a table with a row of skulls.
Irawati Karvé with human skulls in the Institute’s “unpacking room”, date unknown Private Archive of Irawati Karvé/Urmilla Deshpande

AtticDehumanisation



IHNESTR. 22
14195 BERLIN

IHNESTR. 22
14195 BERLIN