A stand against forgetting
Commemorative plaque recalls Nazi »racial doctrine« at the University of Jena
A commemorative plaque on the building at 1 Kahlaische Straße commemorates the racial research institutes that were based there during the Nazi era.
- Liberty
- Research
Published: | By: Katja B. Bär
This morning, 27 May 2026, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at Kahlaische Straße 1 in Jena, commemorating the role of the building and Friedrich Schiller University Jena in the context of Nazi »racial doctrine«.
The memorial plaque is the result of an initiative by UniverSaale as part of last year’s »Klang der Stolpersteine« (Sound of Stumbling Stones) and, in addition to promoting democracy education, aims to bring historical education into the public sphere. The plaque was designed by pupils from UniverSaale with academic support from Adjunct Prof. Dr Uwe Hoßfeld.
Key roles of pseudo-scientific racial research
The building had been owned by the Jewish merchant family Behrendt since 1912. During the Nazi era, it housed several institutes that played a central role in pseudo-scientific racial research and racial policy. These included the »Institut für menschliche Erbforschung und Rassenpolitik« (Institute for Human Heredity Research and Racial Policy) under Karl Astel and Lothar Stengel von Rutkowski, the »Institiut für allgemeine Biologie und Anthropogenie« (Institute for General Biology and Anthropogeny) under Gerhard Heberer, and the »Institut für Rasse und Recht« (Institute for Race and Law) under Falk Ruttke.
The academics named on the plaque, together with other members of the so-called »racial quadriga«, turned the University of Jena into a central hub for racial studies and racial hygiene during the Nazi era. The theories developed and disseminated there served to provide a pseudo-scientific justification for exclusion, the deprivation of rights and, ultimately, the Nazi mass crimes.
In support of a critical engagement with history
By installing the commemorative plaque, the pupils involved are taking a stand against forgetting and in favour of a critical engagement with the history of the University and its scientists during the Nazi era. At the same time, the plaque serves as a reminder of the responsibility of academia and society have towards ideologies that dehumanize people.