Die Neurowissenschaften in Straßburg zwischen 1872 und 1945

Abstract

The emergence of early brain research activities at the University of Strasburg constitutes a prominent interdisciplinary research field, which combines investigative approaches from anatomy, pathology, radiology, medicine, and surgery. This process happened during three consecutive political breaks: the Wilhelminian Empire’s restitution of the German-speaking university (1872-1918), the liberal Interwar Period (1918-1939), as well as the Nazi occupation and creation of the German Reichs-University (1940/41-1944). Between 1872 and 1918, after the end of the Franco-German War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine into the German Empire, the newly inaugurated Kaiser-Wilhelms-University not only constituted the first foundation of a German university after the creation of the Rhenish Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn in 1818. It became also established as a premier research university that showcased the excellence of German science and post-secondary education in Strasburg. During the first two decades of its existence, leading academics were hired as professors for the Medical Faculty, such as anatomist Wilhelm von Waldeyer (development of the neuron concept), pathologist Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen (exploration of neurofibromatosis), psychiatrist Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (pioneering studies in sexual psychopathology), who pushed the research envelope in contemporary neuroscience. The international standing of the university came to decline at the end of the nineteenth century, however, since several of its founding faculty were hired away to major research universities in Prussia; and lessened academic productivity of the remaining faculty subsequently became the rule before the outbreak of the First World War. During the interwar period, between 1918 and 1939, the Medical Faculty in Strasburg emerged as a liberal institution under the leadership of French-Alsatian dean Georges Gross, who came to advertise faculty positions to both French and German professors in the same way. Following to the second annexation of Alsace-Lorraine with the occupation of France in 1940, the new Nazi government - represented by Gauleiter Rudolf Wagner - came to marginalize the French influence and aligned many research activities with NS ideologies and horrific anthropological, euthanasia, and military programs. Nikolaus Jensch (~ anthropological determinants of homosexuality), August Hirt (~ racial foundations of scull and brain development), or Hans Lullies (~ sympathetic lesions following to freezing traumas) became prime movers at the Strasburg Medical Faculty during “the Third Reich”. In November 1944, the Reichs-University ended abruptly when allied French and American forces advanced into Alsace-Lorraine and brought the historical Nazi period to its final end.

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