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Nature 403, 474-475 (3 February 2000) | doi:10.1038/35000735

German science begins to cure its historical amnesia

Alison Abbott

Documents relating to the Nazi era from the files of Adolf Butenhandt, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biochemistry in Berlin during that time, and later head of the Max Planck Society (MPS), will this week be opened for the first time for examination by historians of science.The decision to open up the archives reflects a new determination by top MPS officials to come to terms with the wartime activities of scientists who worked for its predecessor, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWS).