News

Here you will find the latest research and innovation news out of Germany and from our partners in the US.

News from the German Historical Institute Washington (GHI)
Voting Authoritarians into Power – Panel Discussion on June 6, 2024

“The big joke on democracy is that it gave its mortal enemies the tools to its own destruction.”* This statement from Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s Minister of Propaganda, calls attention to one of the central conundrums of democracy: that democracy and the rights it guarantees can also benefit those who seek to abolish them. Not all dictatorships are established by coup d’état; some come to power through democratic processes including elections.
© GHI

News from the GHI Washington
GHI hosts Symposium “Trust in Museums: Potential, Challenges, and Societal Importance”

As a part of the BMBF’s “German Science Year 2024 – Freedom,” the German Historical Institute (GHI) Washington hosted a symposium together with the German Embassy focusing on public trust in museums with a particular focus on research museums and how this relates to a broader trust in science.
© Regina Sablotny / FUB

News from Freie Universität Berlin
Citizens of the World – Celebrating the 60th anniversary of JFK’s programmatic speech at FU Berlin

In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin. To commemorate this event, the university hosted the event “Citizens of the World. The Historical Roots and Future of Academic Freedom”.
© Oliver Barge, CNRS

News from the University of Freiburg
Oldest architectural plans detail mysterious desert mega structures

An international team of researchers including the University of Freiburg identifies engravings in Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the oldest known scaled building plans in human history.
© GHI

News from the GHI Washington
German Historical Institute Launches New Edition of Its Award-Winning Website GHDI

The GHI is pleased to announce the relaunch of its website German History in Documents and Images (GHDI), a collection of primary sources and supplementary essays presenting the history of Germany and the German-speaking lands from the early modern era to the present day offered in both German and English.