From the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Beginnings: 1920 to 1933 in the Weimar Republic
| Year | Description |
|---|
| 30 October 1920 | Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft founded in Berlin on the initiative of Fritz Haber, "Father of the Notgemeinschaft", and Friedrich Schmidt-Ott, who became its first president |
| 1920 | Creation of a Donors' Association, Stifterverband der Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft e.V., for the purpose of acquiring additional funding in the form of private donations |
| 1929 | Consolidation and internal expansion results in the organisation being renamed: Deutsche Gemeinschaft zur Erhaltung und Förderung der Forschung, in short: "Forschungsgemeinschaft" |
The Nazi Period: 1933 to 1945
| Year | Description |
|---|
| 1934 | Schmidt-Ott and the Executive Committee of the Forschungsgemeinschaft resign |
| From 1934 | The Nazis enforce political conformity with Nazi ideology on the Forschungsgemeinschaft, initially under the presidency of physicist Johannes Stark (1934-36), then under "military chemist" Rudolf Mentzel (1936-45), who implemented the Nazi leadership principle. |
From 1949: New Beginning and Creation of the DFG in the Federal Republic of Germany
| Year | Description |
|---|
| 1949 | Re-establishment in Bonn of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft on the initiative of universities, the Donors' Association and the State (Länder) Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs |
| 1949 | On the initiative of Werner Heisenberg, constitution of a science and research policy focused Deutscher Forschungsrat with the support of the Max Planck Society and the Academies of Sciences and Humanities in Göttingen, Heidelberg and Munich |
| 2 August 1951 | Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft and Deutscher Forschungsrat merge to form the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) |
| Since 1951 | DFG Head Office in Bonn-Bad Godesberg |
| Since 1990 | Funding activities of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft extend to include the territory of the unified Germany |
