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On 11th January 1995, fifty years after the National Socialist concentration and extermination camps were liberated, the first German interdisciplinary center for the study and documentation of both the history and the impact of the Holocaust was founded by three sponsors, the State of Hessen, the City of Frankfurt am Main and the Friends of the Fritz Bauer Institute. The center was called Fritz Bauer Institute and is located in Frankfurt am Main.
The institute is named after the former Hessian State Attorney General Fritz Bauer who was a democratic reformer in penal law and initiated the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials. The institute is supported by a non-profit organization operating nationwide. The Friends of the Fritz Bauer Institute comprise about 1,300 members in Germany and abroad (in April 2006), including numerous celebrities, institutions, companies, associations, cities, local authorities and municipalities. The Fritz Bauer Institute owes both its foundation and funding of future work as an independent cultural institution to this broad basis and to the dedication of its members and sponsors.
In autumn 2000 the Fritz Bauer Institute opened up a new chapter in its history. While maintaining its independence it became an affiliated institute of Frankfurt University. Frankfurt University became the fourth member of the council governing this non profit-making organization.
The Fritz Bauer Institute researches the history and the impact of large-scale crime national-socialist crime on an interdisciplinary basis. It focuses on the Holocaust and submits its results to a wide public. The institute perceives itself as the interface between the development of scientific theories and cultural practice. It carries out research projects, supports scientific and societal discourses, develops educational programs for schools and other educational institutions. It organizes exhibitions, conferences and various events as well as publishing research results and reflections of different scientific disciplines, pedagogical materials, artistic discussions and historic sources.
The Fritz Bauer Institute is the only institution in Germany to focus exclusively on this subject. The interdisciplinary scientific advisory board supports and counsels the institute’s project work. The advisory board is also represented in the commission to appoint the guest professorship for interdisciplinary Holocaust research at Frankfurt University.
The Fritz Bauer Institute maintains close contact to the survivors of the Holocaust. The Council of the Survivors discusses and critically follows the institute’s work at regular meetings.
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