The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg. Housed in three locations in and around Berlin, Germany, the BBAW is the largest non-university humanities research institute in the region.BBAW Introduction retrieved 06-21-2012.

The BBAW was constituted in 1992 by formal treaty between the governments of Berlin and Brandenburg on the basis of several older academies, including the historic Prussian Academy of Sciences from 1700 and East Germany's Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic from 1946. By this tradition, past members include the Brothers Grimm, Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, Lise Meitner, Theodor Mommsen, Albert Einstein, and Max Planck.History of the BBAW at the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities at www.akademienunion.de, retrieved 06-21-2012.

Today the BBAW operates as a public law corporation () in cooperation with the German National Academy of Sciences, and has over 300 fellows and 250 additional staff members.BBAW Membership Roster retrieved 06-22-2012. Its elected scientific membership has included 78 Nobel laureates.Goethe Institute profile of the BBWA retrieved 06-21-2012.berlin-sciences.com profile of the BBAW, retrieved 06-21-2012.

The BBAW operates several subsidiary research centers. Projects include compiling large dictionaries; editing texts from ancient, medieval, and modern history; and editing the classical literature from diverse fields. Notable examples include Inscriptiones Graecae, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, the German Dictionary (), the Ancient Egyptian Dictionary (), the bibliography of works by Alexander von Humboldt, and a scholarly edition of the works of Ludwig Feuerbach.BBAW Projects retrieved 06-21-2012.

History

Society of Sciences (1700–52) The roots of the BBAW can be traced to the Society of Sciences of the Elector of Brandenburg (), founded in 1700 by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz under the patronage of Frederick I of Prussia. The institution was created on the principle of uniting the natural sciences and the humanities, making it a prototype for other academies across Europe. The rise of the field of physics can be genealogically traced to this period of the Academy,Sheilla Jones: The Quantum Ten: A Story of Passion, Tragedy, Ambition and Science Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 35 as well as modern European mathematics.Eberhard Knobloch: "Mathematics at the Prussian Academy of Sciences 1700–1810" in: Mathematics in Berlin, from: Gordon Brebner, Roger Woods (eds): Field-Programmable Logic and Applications: 11th International Conference, Proceedings Volume 2147, Belfast: Springer 2001, . p. 1 online summary

Royal Academy (1752–1812) Under Frederick the Great, an enthusiastic patron, the Academy rose to even wider significance. In 1752 it merged with the Nouvelle Société Littéraire to form the Royal Academy of Sciences (). The new Academy attracted prominent scientists and philosophers, including Immanuel Kant, who were able publish writings which would have been censored elsewhere in Europe. While it was an important center in the Age of Enlightenment, due to its royal patronage the Academy did not enjoy complete freedom. Political writings in its Proceedings throughout the 18th century argued the merits of monarchies over republics, warned against the French Revolution, and defended Prussia against accusations that it was despotic.

Royal Prussian Academy (1812-1918) Around 1812 the academy was officially renamed Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences.Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 44. The von Humboldt brothers reorganized the Academy along more open lines. Prominent critical thinkers such as Theodor Mommsen, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Friedrich Schleiermacher were all active members for many decades.

Prussian Academy (1918–33)

With the collapse of the German monarchy in 1918, the Royal Academy was renamed the Prussian Academy of Sciences (). During this period it rose to international fameBBAW History retrieved 06-21-2012. and its members included top academics in their fields such as Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Hermann Diels, and Ernst Bloch.

Nazi Germany (1933–45) During the Nazi period, as with all institutions across Germany, the Academy became subject to the "Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service." As a result, Jewish employees and political opponents were expelled. Albert Einstein resigned in 1933 before he could be expelled and Max Planck, the Academy's president, was coerced to publicly support nationalist socialism. However, despite initial resistance, over time the Academy and many of its scientists became willing tools of the Nazis. New statutes in 1938 reorganized the Academy according to the Führer principle, causing Planck to resign his presidency in protest.Mark Walker: "The Surrender of the Prussian Academy of Sciences" in: Nazi Science, Basic Books, 2008 . Ch. 4 The mathematician Theodor Vahlen, proponent of the anti-Semitic Deutsche Mathematik movement, was appointed provisionally president by the Reich Ministry of Education. In 1939 Vahlen was reconfirmed by the Ministry as acting President, but not elected by the Plenum of the Academy. Vahlen resigned in 1943 and withdrew to Prague. A presidential election in accordance with the statutes had still not taken place by the end of the war. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 78 - 82.Klaus and Ann M. Hentschel (eds.): Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources (Birkhäuser, 1996) . Appendix F By war's end the Academy's reputation was damaged and many of its prominent scientists were stigmatized. Planck died in 1947.

End of war and new beginning (1945) During the war academy members had still continued their monthly meetings despite bombing of Berlin. However, many members, especially those of the natural sciences, had left Berlin and moved to the western parts of Germany. The remaining 16 members met in June 1945, elected a new president, talked about a new statute, performed denazification by excluding members tightly connected to the old regime, and started negotiations with the Berlin Magistrat, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) and the SMAD's German counterpart DZVV (Deutsche Zentralverwaltung für Volksbildung), which was responsible for the eastern part of Berlin (belonging to the Soviet Zone of Occupation), where the building of the PAW was located.Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 85 - 88. (19,6 MB) retrieved 06-02-2026).

Modern history (1946–present) Negotiations of the Academy with the SMAD were successful. It was re-established upon the SMAD Order No. 187 of July 1, 1946, Leibniz's 300th birthday under a new name with a new structure and role: the Academy was to become the most eminent scientific institution in Germany and for all parts of Germany. Institutes were added to the Academy and new ones founded. Re-opened by the Russians in 1946 with the new name German Academy of Sciences at Berlin (), in 1949 it moved to the former Prussian Maritime Trade Company building on the Gendarmenmarkt. The number of members in additional more applied classes was increased from 70 to 120 and the number of staff members from 130 (1946) to 1,500 (1951).Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 86 - 96. (19,6 MB) retrieved 06-02-2026).

In 1972 the Academy was renamed the Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic () or AdW, by which time it had over 400 members and 24,000 employees. The society of scholars with about 130 ordinary members and the research institutes existed side by side. The about 93 institutes of the academy were merged into 43 central and other institutes. 1969 the function "as a bridge to West-Germany" was ended and all members not being citizens of the GDR became non-voting external members.Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 98. (19,6 MB) retrieved 06-02-2026).

After German reunification the AdW was dissolved in December 1991 as part of the German Unification Treaty of October 3, 1991 due to its controversial role in support of the East German regime.Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (publishers): A History of more than 300 Years. The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, formerly the Prussian Academy of Sciences. second, revised edition. Berlin 2020. ISBN 978-3-939818-82-3. p. 97 - 99. (19,6 MB) retrieved 06-02-2026).

In August 1992, the BBAW was constituted by an interstate treaty between the landtags of Berlin and Brandenburg using the original model of the old Prussian Academy. According to the treaty the society of the members of the AdW was separated from the rest of the academy. Institutes of the Academy were evaluated and in part taken over by other institutions, in part dissolved. Buildings, traditional projects, archives and libraries were continued by the BBAW. Today its headquarters are located at the former AdW building, with special projects conducted at the old Prussian Academy on the Unter den Linden. It also has a third office in Potsdam.

Research

Research projects The academy sponsors a variety of interdisciplinary, long-term and externally funded projects. These include large German and foreign-language dictionaries; historical-critical publications of ancient, medieval, and modern texts; and editing and interpreting the classical literature by scholars from diverse academic fields. In 2012 the BBAW was home to 47 major projects, the most notable include:

Alexander von Humboldt Research Project (): a research initiative is focused on Alexander von Humboldt's correspondence and diaries written during his famous journey to America (1799–1804). Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian (): A 3000-year corpus publicly available online and continuously updated.Altägyptisches Wörterbuch retrieved 06-21-2012. The German Dictionary (), begun by the Brothers GrimmChristian Fellbaum (ed.): Idioms and collocations: Corpus-based linguistic and lexicographic studies, London: Continuum, 2007, 224 p. The Goethe Dictionary (): A conceptual history project that interprets the works of Goethe, containing 3.2 million quotations and 93,000 headwords Inscriptiones Graecae: collects and edits all of Europe's ancient Greek inscriptions The Complete Works of Marx and Engels () Monumenta Germaniae Historica: publishes source materials for the constitutional history of the Holy Roman Empire from the 14th century Schleiermacher: Critical Edition of the Complete Works (): The official edition of Friedrich Schleiermacher's correspondence has been edited by the BBAW since 1979

Research centers