# History and remembrance

**Source**: https://www.fau.eu/university/universitys-profile/history-and-remembrance/
**Parent**: https://www.fau.eu/university/universitys-profile/

FAU promotes an academic culture of remembrance reflecting the university’s responsibility for its actions in research, teaching and administration. When considering the history of our University, we take a self-critical stance towards our institutionalized academic culture and live up to society’s requirements for transparency.

## FAU’s history

## A look at 275 years of University history

The University of Erlangen was officially opened on November 4, 1743, the future “Dies academicus”. Established by Margrave Friedrich von Brandenburg-Bayreuth and expanded from 1769 by Margrave Alexander von Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität was the third university in the Franconian region. “Erlangen-Nürnberg” was added to the name in 1961 when the Nuremberg Commercial College for Business and Social Science was incorporated into the University.

The Historical Lexicon of Bavaria (*Historisches Lexicon Bayerns*) gives a detailed history of FAU including information on literature, sources and reference works and links to the founding charters.

[To the history of FAU in the Historical Lexicon of Bavaria (in German)](https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Friedrich-Alexander-Universit%C3%A4t_Erlangen-N%C3%BCrnberg)

[To the history of the Nuremberg Commercial College for Business and Social Science in the Historical Lexicon of Bavaria (in German)](https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Friedrich-Alexander-Universit%C3%A4t_Erlangen-N%C3%BCrnberg)

To the history of the former university in Altdorf

## Find out more

The following gives a list of all publications and events on the topic, with links to further information.

### Remembering the 90th anniversary of Nazi book burnings in Erlangen

In May 2023, FAU and the City of Erlangen held a series of events to remember the Nazi book burnings that took place in 1933.

[Information on the event remembering the 90th anniversary of Nazi book burnings in Erlangen](https://www.fau.eu/universitaet/universitaetsprofil/geschichte-und-erinnerungskultur/gedenkveranstaltungen-90-jahre-buecherverbrennung-in-erlangen/)

### Human anatomical specimens from the National Socialist era

The research project investigates the issue of the extent to which unethically acquired medical specimens are still part of FAU’s collections and how access to human remains developed during the first half of the 20th century.

[Research projects at the Institute of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics](https://www.igem.med.fau.de/medizingeschichte/forschung/forschungsprojekte/)

### National Socialist "Euthanasia" in Erlangen

The project comprehensively investigates National Socialist “euthanasia” in Erlangen for the first time by recording National Socialist health policy in a clinical, communal and regional context.

[Research projects at the Institute of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics](https://www.igem.med.fau.de/medizingeschichte/forschung/forschungsprojekte/)

### Publication: "Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen 1918-1945"

This collective volume about FAU during the Weimar Republic and the National Socialist era examines the history of faculties and people based on the findings of new archive research and current research questions.

[Information on the collective volume](https://www.fau.eu/erlangen-in-der-weimarer-republik-und-im-nationalsozialismus/)

### Lecture series "Controversial remembrance – the problems surrounding names given to streets and academic institutions"

During a series of 11 lectures, examples of names given to places in Erlangen and Nuremberg associated with FAU were discussed as well as ways of dealing with problematic names.

[Information on the lecture series](https://www.fau.eu/umstrittenes-gedenken-zur-problematik-der-benennung-von-strassen-und-akademischen-institutionen/)

### The private collection of Georg Dehn and the Erlangen Collection of Antiquities

This project from the field of provenance research investigates the case of the collector Georg Dehn who fled Nazi persecution, with ceramic fragments from his collection being purchased by FAU for the Antique and Classical Collection in 1939.

[Information on the website of the Institute for Classical Archeology](https://www.klassischearchaeologie.phil.fau.de/laufende_projekte/die-privatsammlung-georg-dehn-und-die-antikensammlung-erlangen/)

### Audiowalk: "Patient murders behind stone walls: Between demolition and remembrance."

The audiowalk follows the traces of Nazi medical crimes through the streets of Erlangen and its purpose is to keep alive the memory of the victims of these crimes in the Erlangen sanatorium.

[Information on the website of the Department of History](https://www.geschichte.phil.fau.de/2020/11/24/vorstellung-des-audiowalks-patientenmord-hinter-sandsteinmauern/)

### Revocation of doctoral degrees during the National Socialist period

The procedure in individual faculties, which was humiliating for several alumnae and alumni at FAU and caused them great difficulties and in some cases even meant the end of their academic careers, has been investigated in detail in several projects.

[Information and publications on the revocation of doctoral degrees](https://www.fau.eu/universitaet/universitaetsprofil/geschichte-und-erinnerungskultur/aberkennung-der-doktorwuerde-an-der-universitaet-erlangen-in-der-zeit-des-nationalsozialismus/)

- [## University Archive

  Central storage location for all of the archives from the history of the University

  Read more about University Archive](https://www.fau.eu/university/universitys-profile/history-and-remembrance/university-archive/)

## Further information

- [Working Group for Memory Culture](https://www.fau.de/fau/leitung-und-gremien/gremien-und-beauftragte/kommissionen/#erinnerungskultur)
- [Collections and museums](https://www.fau.eu/university/universitys-profile/history-and-remembrance/collections-and-museums/)
- [University Library’s website](https://ub.fau.de/sammlungen/historische-sammlungen/)