
The Institute of Medical History introduces itself
- founded in 1930
- two medical history institutes in east and west
- located in Dahlem, the science campus in the south of Berlin
- one chair for the history of medicine, one chair for ethics in medicine
- research assistants, postdocs and numerous research projects
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The Institute for the History of Medicine and Ethics in Medicine at a glance
The Institute used to deal with the history of natural sciences, medicine in antiquity and Islam, and dentistry, among others. Under the direction of Prof. Rolf Winau (from 1976), it made an international name for itself through research on the history of racial hygiene, social medicine and medicine under National Socialism.
Prof. Volker Hess has been director of the institute since 2004. Under his leadership, the interdisciplinary orientation has been further strengthened, for example, by the projects "Kulturen des Wahnsinns" ("Cultures of Madness") or "Ways of writing: how Physicians know".
In addition to the history of medicine in Berlin, the history of patients in the 19th and 20th centuries, the history of psychiatry and the health care system in the GDR and the FRG, the institute also focuses on the history of the Charité and the university.
The institute was involved in the 300-year anniversary of the Charité with the exhibition „Charité zwischen Ost und West (1945 bis 1992)" ("Charité between East and West (1945 to 1992)") and the commemorative publication "Charité. Geschichte(n) eines Krankenhauses" (edited by Johanna Bleker and Volker Hess).
The project "GeDenkOrt.Charité - Wissenschaft in Verantwortung" (Memorial.Charité - Science in Responsibility) has been supervised by researchers of the Institute since 2013.
The Institute is closely associated with the Berlin Society for the History of Medicine.