Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Department of History

Press release

Massive cuts to Berlin's higher education funding affect the Institute for
Historical Studies

Berlin, January 7, 2026

The planned cuts to higher education funding by the state of Berlin represent a serious setback for the capital's universities. With these cuts, the Berlin Senate is depriving universities of urgently needed funds for research.

The Institute for Historical Studies will be forced to cut at least one professorship and one research assistant position. Last year, the institute already lost the professorship for "History of Western Europe and Transatlantic Relations." The austerity measures mean an increasing overload for the entire institution—not least for the degree programs—and a lasting weakening of research. They also drive up the proportion of temporary third-party funding in the institute's budget, thereby exacerbating the already precarious situation of young scientists and scholars, for whom there are fewer and fewer permanent positions available in the budget.

Historical research and teaching impart essential orientation knowledge and systematic methods for critiquing and evaluating information. This is a key qualification that is indispensable for society as a whole. The historical sciences make an indispensable contribution to a fact-based information culture, which clearly needs to be strengthened in times of disinformation, conspiracy narratives, and political polarization.

Responsibility of the Berlin Senate

It is incomprehensible why, of all times, cuts are being made to science during the phase of digital
media transformation. Today, historical orientation and the evaluation of information are more necessary than ever, as is the teaching of historical-critical methods in schools and to the public.

Those who cut professorships and student places today are cutting corners on the future of this city. In full solidarity with our colleagues and the students of the Friedrich Meinecke Institute at Freie Universität, we urge the Berlin state government to withdraw its plans for cuts. We ask the senators of Berlin to live up to their responsibility for historical orientation in our world.

Contact:
Humboldt University of Berlin
Department of History
Executive Director
Prof. Dr. Dorothea Weltecke
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin
Email: ifg-sekretariat@hu-berlin.de

The Institute of History (IfG) at Humboldt-Universität is one of the most diversified history programmes in Germany. Here, history in all epochs is pursued from a European perspective and with Europe in view from the outside. Twenty professors, 80 academic staff members, and 1,500 students are engaged in teaching and research on Europe as part of a heterogeneous but intertwined world.

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