1945 - 1994

In the post-war period, many Max Planck Society (MPG) scientists had vivid memories of Harnack House. Many still felt an association with its predecessor organization, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), and the Statutes of the MPG founded in 1948 stated that the “Max Planck Society was continuing the tradition of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society”. more

In mid-July 1945, US troops confiscated Harnack House which had initially been occupied by the Red Army at the end of the war. The Americans found an intact building that lent itself to use as a hotel and set up their officers’ club there. more

Otto Hahn (1879 – 1968) was the first President of the Max Planck Society, which was founded in 1948 from the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and whose principal site was in Berlin-Dahlem. more