History

The "German Research Institute of Psychiatry", the predecessor of the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, was founded in 1917. Its broad, interdisciplinary approach set new standards in the fields of psychiatric and neurobiological research.

The more than 100-year history of the institute is currently under critical review, as it is not a pure success story. There were phases in which ethical boundaries were overstepped, psychiatry was politically and ideologically instrumentalized and the welfare of patients was disregarded. This applies in particular to the period of National Socialism.

Nazi past and victim research project

Numerous doctors and researchers at the Institute cooperated with the Nazi regime and shared its ideology. They were able to implement their ideas of "racial hygiene" as part of the National Socialists' "hereditary health policy". They supported and enabled the forced sterilization of people who were marginalized and persecuted by the Nazi state. They knew about the so-called "euthanasia", the murder of people with mental illnesses and mental disabilities, legitimized it scientifically and profited from it: thousands of brain specimens from those murdered ended up at the Institute and were misused there for research purposes - even after 1945. 

A critical reappraisal of the Nazi past has been long overdue, and was in some cases actively prevented.

To this day, numerous brain specimens of the victims of Nazi crimes remain in the Institute's historical archive. Only some of the specimens were buried in Munich's Waldfriedhof cemetery in 1990 - anonymously, without naming the victims. From 2017 to 2026, independent historians researched the identity of the victims on behalf of the MPG, attempting to research their biographies and make commemoration of the victims possible. Once the research project is complete, the remaining specimens will be buried with dignity in Munich's Waldfriedhof cemetery. The names of the victims will then also be inscribed on the gravesite.

“We are ashamed of the extent to which our Institute was involved in Nazi crimes. To this day, our archives contain specimens from over 400 individuals who were, with a high degree of probability, victims of Nazi crimes. Research conducted by the victim research project has confirmed this in many cases. We are also ashamed of the actions of those in positions of power after 1945, who contributed to covering up the crimes and preventing a thorough examination of the past. As the current directors of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, we acknowledge our historical responsibility and take responsibility for our predecessors’ lack of willingness to confront the past. A critical and ongoing engagement with history and historical responsibility is a central focus of our work.”

Elisabeth Binder, Nadine Gogolla, Peter Falkai

Directors of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry

Finalization of the research project

The historians involved in the research project “Brain Research at Institutes of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society in the Context of Nazi Atrocities” will present their findings at two events—one in Berlin on October 20 and another in Munich on November 16. Both events will take place in German. For more information, including registration details, please visit the website of the Max Planck Society. This project has resulted in four volumes: Two commemorative volumes containing biographies of the victims and two monographs on the findings, each in English and German. As part of the project, the names of the victims were already published in 2025 in the database “Victims of Biomedical Research under National Socialism” at the German National Academy of Sciences.

Historical Education and Remembrance at the MPIP

The victims of the Nazi medical crimes and unethical research are also commemorated at the Institute itself. A place of historical education and remembrance is being created: an exhibition will focus on the biographies of the victims and provide information about the perpetrators and the context of the crimes. However, this is only the beginning of the remembrance work. In the future, further historical research projects will be supported and made visible at the MPIP.