"It is not our duty to remember. Our only duty is to teach and pass on knowledge."
- Simone Veil
The University of Strasbourg actively explores its past through in-depth and independent research, conducted with transparency and objectivity. Its mission is to teach the lessons of history and pass this knowledge on to future generations.
Go to the 500 years of history web page
Go to the A Resistant University web page
A Historical Commission to shed light on the history of the Reichsuniversität Straßburg and its victims
From 1940 to 1945, Alsace was occupied by Nazi Germany. The University of Strasbourg relocated to Clermont-Ferrand in 1939 and the Nazi authorities created the Reichsuniversität Straßburg (Reich University of Strasbourg) on the Strasbourg premises. In 2016, after the discovery of anatomical collections dating from this period, and as part of ongoing research and remembrance efforts, the University of Strasbourg set up an independent international commission to investigate the history of the Reichsuniversität and its victims.
From 2017 to 2022, the Historical Commission for the History of the Reichsuniversität Straßburg (Commission historique pour l’histoire de la Reichsuniversität Straßburg) conducted research into the Faculty of Medicine within the Reichsuniversität under the Nazi regime. The Commission published its findings in a report on 3 May 2022. Alongside this report, a MediaWiki database entitled Rus~Med lists the bibliographic records of doctors, assistants and professors, as well as patients and victims connected with the Reichsuniversität Straßburg's Faculty of Medicine.
- Read the Historical Commission's report on the History of the Faculty of Medicine of the Reichsuniversität Straßburg
- Go to the Rus~Med database, a curated wiki documenting the history of the Medizinische Fakultät of the Reichsuniversität Straßburg
A Scientific Council to document and return African human remains from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität
From 1871 to 1918, Alsace was part of the German Empire. In 1872, Germany established a German university in Strasbourg: the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität. During this period, Germany was an imperial power, occupying territories from 1884 in what is now Namibia and from 1885 in what is now Tanzania. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität incorporated human remains from these colonies into its anatomical collections.
In 2020, the Moshi District Council of the United Republic of Tanzania asked the University of Strasbourg for a precise inventory of human remains from the Wachagga populations of the Kilimanjaro region to support a restitution request. In 2023, the Ovambanderu and Ovaherero Genocide Foundation of Namibia requested a precise inventory of human remains from the Herero people, who were victims of the 1904-1908 genocide.
In 2023, the University of Strasbourg set up a Scientific Council to catalogue the collections of African human remains, provide scientific information to respond to requests, and review the relevant legal considerations. The Scientific Council submitted its report on 12 June 2024 and the university is in dialogue with Tanzania regarding the handling of the human remains.
For more information
- Dossier "Lumière sur les activités de la Faculté de médecine sous occupation nazie" in Savoir(s), the University of Strasbourg's official magazine
- Biographies of the Faculty of Medicine at the Reichsuniversität Straßburg, 1941–1944
- "Un partenariat signé entre l'Université de Strasbourg et le Centre européen du résistant déporté" in Savoir(s), the University of Strasbourg's official magazine
- Restes humains africains : Ne pas gommer l'histoire, mais continuer à l’écrire" in Savoir(s), the University of Strasbourg's official magazine
- "Restes humains de Namibie et de Tanzanie, le conseil scientifique rend son rapport" in Savoir(s), the University of Strasbourg's official magazine