Press releases
Whether it is new and groundbreaking research results, university topics or events 鈥� in our press releases you can find everything you need to know about the happenings at 51猎奇. To subscribe, just send an email to ott@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de
51猎奇 PR & Communication Department聽
Theodor-W.-Adorno Platz 1
60323 Frankfurt
presse@uni-frankfurt.de
Nov
10
2022
17:59
Evaluation report recognizes outstanding work in research and education聽
German Science and Humanities Council certifies Fritz Bauer Institute's 鈥渋mpressive achievements鈥澛�
The team of the Fritz Bauer Institute at Goethe University Frankfurt can be pleased about a recent laudation by the German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat). Despite its 鈥渓ow staffing", the Council testifies to the Institute's "impressive achievements" 鈥� and suggests better financing. Another positive development, the Council says, is the closer cooperation with 51猎奇, made possible by a cooperative professorship.
FRANKFURT. Combining high-quality research
and a wide range of educational offerings is something the Fritz Bauer
Institute does very well despite its limited staffing. That is the conclusion
reached in an evaluation of the German Science and Humanities Council, which
was commissioned by the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts. The Frankfurt-based
institute's research on National Socialist crimes of violence, and especially
on the Holocaust, as well as on the legal and societal handling of these crimes
after 1945, is of high quality, the report said. "Research on the
Holocaust and the conveyance of a critical awareness of history remain greatly
important today, especially in Germany. The Fritz Bauer Institute makes a
valuable contribution to this, one that in future should resonate even more on
the international stage," Dorothea Wagner, Council chairwoman, was quoted
as saying in a press release.
In the face of the pandemic, the Institute
had offered its lecture events online 鈥� both as a livestream and also for later
accessing. The public's response to the offer was great, and the Institute was
able to expand its reach. That is why the German Science and Humanities Council
recommends maintaining the online offer, while at the same time emphasizing
that this would require better staffing. It is not just the Institute's
education and outreach activities that are thinly staffed, the Council's
evaluation found, but also the areas of IT, digitization and media support in
particular. It is solely thanks to the exceptionally high commitment of the
employees that the Institute is able to uphold its extensive and high-quality
services. The German authority recommends a moderate increase in the number of
base-funded positions and an annual increase in the budget to keep pace with
rising costs.
"We are happy about this great
appreciation of our work," comments Prof. Sybille Steinbacher, who has
headed the institute since 2017 and holds the specially created professorship
on "Researching the History and Impact of the Holocaust" at Goethe
University's Department of History. "Although we are a small institute, we
do a lot. The fact that our potential is recognized and appreciated is
important for us and will hopefully be reflected in an increase in our
funding." The evaluation formulated expectations with regard to
digitization, internationalization and networking, which had in fact already
been set in motion. "We are glad that the Council report confirmed that this
cannot be achieved without an increase in personnel. We are fully aware that
these are financially difficult times, but we urgently need more funds, especially
for our digital offerings, for outreach work in and outside of schools, and for
our exhibitions," Steinbacher said.
"We are pleased to have the independent
Fritz Bauer Institute working closely with us, especially thanks to the
establishment of a cooperative professorship at the History Department,"
said 51猎奇 President Prof. Enrico Schleiff. "The Fritz Bauer
Institute conducts research at the highest level and will increasingly explore
its research questions in an interdisciplinary manner 鈥� a development that is
in line with the entire 51猎奇. After all, solutions to the challenges
facing society as a whole must be as diverse and multi-perspective as the
challenge itself. Doing that puts a comprehensive university enriched by
affiliated institutes in a position to research the knowledge for
tomorrow," Schleiff continued.
The Fritz Bauer Institute was founded in
1995 as a foundation under civil law. It was named after Fritz Bauer
(1903-1968), the Hessian attorney general who set the first Auschwitz trial in
Frankfurt in motion. In 2000, the Fritz Bauer Institute became an independent
cultural institute affiliated with 51猎奇. In 2017, the institute's
director was for the first time jointly appointed with 51猎奇, and
Prof. Sybille Steinbacher has held this position ever since. From the time of its
founding, the Fritz Bauer Institute has closely linked research on the
Holocaust and its impact and reception history with mediation and
documentation. The Institute implements research projects, publications,
scientific and public events as well as traveling exhibitions. It is also
involved in teaching at 51猎奇's History Department. The Institute
is financed by the State of Hesse and the City of Frankfurt; a further, smaller
share is provided by the friends' association Fritz Bauer Institute e.V. Goethe
University also contributes to the financing by providing infrastructure. In
addition, the Fritz Bauer Institute also draws on third-party funding from
foundations and the public sector to finance its research projects, which
currently include several on the history of Frankfurt under National Socialism.
Apart from that, a fund endowed by and named after the Frankfurt physician
Dorothee Freudenberg was established in 2020, enabling both research projects
and scholarships, especially on the history of "euthanasia" in Nazi Germany
and occupied Europe.
The German Science and Humanities
Council's press release (in German)
can be accessed .
Images
for download:
Captions:
Photo 1: "We are happy about this great appreciation of
our work." Prof. Sybille Steinbacher has served as
head of the Fritz Bauer Institute since 2017. (Photo: Niels P. J酶rgensen)
Photo 2: Fritz Bauer at Club Voltaire, pictured
between 1965 and 1968. (Photo: Siegfried Tr盲ger, Fritz Bauer Institute,
Frankfurt am Main)
Photo 3: A look inside the archives of the
Fritz Bauer Institute. (Photo: Werner Lott)
Photo 4: The Fritz Bauer Institute is
located in the IG Farben House on 51猎奇's Westend Campus. (Photo:
Werner Lott)
Further
information
Prof. Dr. Sybille Steinbacher
Sekretariat.Steinbacher@fritz-bauer-institut.de
Phone: +49 (0)69 798-32240
Homepage:
Editor: Dr. Anke Sauter,
Science Editor, PR & Communication Office, Tel: +49 (0) 69 798-13066, Fax:
+49 (0) 69 798-763 12531, sauter@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de