Geschichte der Humangenetik in Deutschland nach 1945 im internationalen Kontext.

• Applicant: Dr. Heike Petermann
• Subject Area: History of Science
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 188728848

Human Genetics is a science with two sides: on one side concepts of human genetics have often influenced social and political events, on the other side its development has been influenced by various political forces. However, continuities and discontinuities, breaks and changes varied with national settings.Todays human genetics had begun either with the rediscovery of the Mendelian Laws (1900), the discovery of the first heredity disease Alkaptonuria (1902) or the terms genotype and phenotype (1909). As an interdisciplinary field it deals with the human heritable information as in cytogenetic (1879 by biologist W. Flemming) and molecular genetics (DNA as hereditary information by physician O. Avery). With the description of the three-dimensional structure of the DNA by J. Watson and F. Crick (1953) the decryption of the human heritable information began. This ended up in the Human Genome Project that was dominated by Anglo-American scientists. The project asks for the contribution of German scientists in a comparative perspective.The professionalization of human genetics is determined by founding journals and a scientific society, by establishing professorships in human genetics and by integration in the medical education. The project asks for the way of realization in Germany and Anglo-American Countries. Before 1945 human genetics was dominated by eugenics and race hygiene and used for state purposes f.e. in Germany. This can be clearly shown in the population policy; real or supposed knowledge in human genetics was used to gain political aims. If this is also true for socio-political questions after 1945 like nuclear power, abortion, thalidomide and prenatal diagnostic will be answered in the project. Of interest is not only the scientific discourse in human genetics, but also the representation in the public. Also the participation of human geneticists, like W. Lenz of Muenster in the public discussion on thalidomide, will be part of the research. The closing question is, whether the history before 1945 was used as an argument in the discourse on actual discussions in human genetics.Oral History will be used as a method to compensate that legal restrictions constrict personal files in archives, but also historical interpretation for analysis of literature and other media. The intention is to get an insight in the development of human genetics after 1945 with all influences and to visualize the personal relationships and networks, to characterize the development of science and to reflect the social implications.The main focus will be on the time between 1945 and about 1970.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants