The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin, , in 1972 renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (''Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (AdW)''), was the most eminent

research institution A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(German Democratic Republic, GDR). The academy was established in 1946 in an attempt to continue the tradition of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and the Brandenburg Society of Sciences, founded in 1700 by

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

. The academy was a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

(scholarship society), in which awarded membership via election constituted scientific recognition. Unlike other academies of science, the DAW was also the host organization of a scientific community of non-academic research institutes. Upon

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the Academy's learned society was dissociated from its research institutes and any other affiliates and eventually dissolved in 1992. Since 1993, activities of the AdW's members and college have been continued by the newly established Leibniz Scientific Society (Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften). The AdW's pending and unfinished research projects and holdings were forwarded to and are carried out by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, established in 1992. The academy's numerous institutes were dissolved on December 31, 1991, and partially reorganized into other organizations such as the Leibniz Association, the

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...

, the Max Planck Society and the

Fraunhofer Society The Fraunhofer Society () is a German publicly-owned research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max Planck Society, which works primarily on Basic re ...

. A number of minor institutes and associated projects have been preserved and were transferred to other institutions such as the German Archaeological Institute.

DAW (1946–1972)

The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin was the successor to the Brandenburg Society of Sciences, which had been founded by

in the year 1700. After the end of World War II, it was re-established upon the SMAD Order No. 187 of July 1, 1946, Leibniz's 300th birthday. The Academy was to become the most eminent scientific institution in Germany. Reorganisation was greatly influenced by the ideas of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. To facilitate publishing, the Akademie Verlag was founded in 1946. The 250th anniversary in 1950 was boycotted by West Germany in protest of the overwhelming influence of the East German authorities. The Socialist Unity Party of East Germany had embraced the ''two-nation'' doctrine and increasingly enforced its will upon the electorate to have mostly East Germans elected to the academy in the following decades.

AdW (1972–1989)

The institution became the most eminent

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, and was accordingly renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR – AdW) in 1972, once the division of Germany was accepted as the state of affairs. In the 1980s, the AdW itself had grown to accommodate over 200 members, including around two dozen West German scientists. The academy coordinated research of 59 institutes that employed 22,000 persons.

Unwinding and Re-establishments (1989–1993)

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, academy members called for a reform of the academy, rejecting the leading role of the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

. On 27 June 1990, the new GDR government reorganized the academy, turning it into a public institution. Until late 1991, the former AdW institutes were separated from the academy, evaluated, and either dissolved or assigned to different organisations, mainly the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community. As the states of Berlin and Brandenburg considered a continuation of the academy as improper due to its role in the GDR, the academy, which had then about 400 members, was disbanded and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities was established in 1992. On 15 April 1993, 60 of the former academy members created the private organisation ''Leibniz-Sozietät'' which claims to represent 300 years of continuous academic tradition. After being renamed to Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin it has now over 300 members, of which most were elected since 1994.

References

External links

*http://leibnizsozietaet.de/ {{DEFAULTSORT:German Academy Of Sciences Berlin Universities and colleges established in 1946 National academies of sciences Government organisations in East Germany 1946 establishments in Germany Scientific organizations established in 1946 Scientific organisations based in East Germany Universities and colleges in Berlin