Academy of Sciences of the GDR

Academy of Sciences of the GDR. The Academy of Sciences of the GDR was the central scientific institution of the German Democratic Republic, founded in 1946 on the basis of the former Prussian Academy of Sciences. It served as the primary research organization for the SED regime, coordinating fundamental research across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Following German reunification, it was dissolved in 1990, with its institutes integrated into the Leibniz Association or other research bodies, and its core re-established as the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

History

The academy was formally established on 1 July 1946 in the Soviet occupation zone by order of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, building upon the remnants of the historic Prussian Academy of Sciences. Its early years under founding president Johannes Stroux were marked by the ideological and physical reconstruction of German science after World War II, heavily influenced by the emerging Cold War division. By the 1950s, it was fully transformed into a state-controlled institution, a process solidified by the "Third University Reform" of 1968 which formally subordinated it to the Council of Ministers of the GDR. Throughout its existence, it was a key instrument of the SED's science policy, though it maintained international contacts with institutions like the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and various bodies within the Eastern Bloc.

Structure and organization

The academy was a vast, hierarchical organization headquartered primarily at the historic site on Unter den Linden in East Berlin. Its core consisted of several classes (*Klassen*), most notably for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and for Social Sciences. The operational heart was its numerous research institutes, which at their peak numbered over 50, covering fields from nuclear physics to classical archaeology. Major facilities included the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, the Institute for High Energy Physics in Zeuthen, and the Institute for Solid State Physics and Materials Research in Dresden. It also governed important external research centers like the Wilhelm Pieck University's observatory and the Müritz biological station, and published numerous journals through its publishing house, Akademie-Verlag.

Research and achievements

The academy directed fundamental research across a broad spectrum, often with strategic applications for the GDR economy. In the natural sciences, significant work was conducted in areas such as optics (associated with figures like Hansgeorg Schönherr), materials science, biotechnology, and computer technology, including early developments at the Robotron combine. Notable projects included the construction of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility beamline and contributions to Interkosmos space missions. In the humanities and social sciences, research was more ideologically circumscribed, focusing on Marxism-Leninism, the history of the German labor movement, and editions of works by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Despite political constraints, scholars like Ernst Bloch and Robert Havemann were initially members, and editions such as the *Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum* continued its venerable academic traditions.

Dissolution and legacy

The political upheaval of the Peaceful Revolution and the impending German reunification led to the academy's rapid dissolution. A Science Council (*Wissenschaftsrat*) evaluation in 1990 recommended its closure, and it was officially disbanded on 31 December 1990 by the Unification Treaty. Most of its roughly 24,000 employees were dismissed, and its 68 institutes underwent a rigorous review. The majority were either closed or integrated into the Leibniz Association, the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, or regional universities like the Humboldt University of Berlin. Its historic buildings and core scholarly functions were transferred to the newly founded Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The process remains controversial, often criticized in eastern Germany as a unilateral dismantling of research capacity, while defenders cite the institution's deep entanglement with the SED dictatorship.

Presidents of the Academy

* 1946–1951: Johannes Stroux * 1951–1974: Werner Hartke * 1974–1979: Hermann Klare * 1979–1990: Werner Scheler

Category:Scientific organizations based in Germany Category:Defunct academies of sciences Category:Organizations disestablished in 1990