Persecuted Students at LMU and TUM During the Nazi Era

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As part of the “Denk mal am Ort” initiative—which has been taking place in various German cities for the past ten years and commemorates, at authentic residential and living sites, the fates of people who were marginalized, persecuted, deported, and murdered under National Socialism—the exhibition “Persecuted Students at LMU and TUM During the Nazi Era,” which will be on view at the Historicum through June 7, 2026.

Background

Universities came under the Nazi regime’s scrutiny early on. As early as April 25, 1933, the regime enacted the “Law Against Overcrowding in German Schools and Universities,” which regulated the admission of students with Jewish family backgrounds. Only 1.5 percent of newly enrolled students were allowed to be “non-Aryan”; the quota for the entire student body of a university was 5 percent.

Exhibition

In a joint exhibition at the Historicum, the archives of LMU and TUM present the life stories of several Munich students, including Konrad Bloch, Rita Galewski, and Hans Lamm: Konrad Bloch, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1964, had to abandon his plans to earn a doctorate at the THM 30 years earlier due to Nazi persecution and emigrate. Rita Galewski, the daughter of the director of the Baghdad Railway who was dismissed in 1933, was able to complete her studies at the THM under adverse conditions by 1938 and flee to Australia. Hans Lamm, who later became president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, studied law at LMU in 1932–33. In 1938, he left Germany and managed to escape to the United States, where he became a U.S. citizen six years later.

Exhibition Dates and Location

• Exhibition Dates: May 2, 2026 – June 7, 2026
• Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 AM – 10 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 8 PM
• Location: Historicum, foyer in front of the subject library, Schellingstraße 12, 80799 Munich

Contact Persons

Dr. Susanne Wanninger
University Library of LMU Munich
Head of the University Archives
Department of Historical Collections
Email: susanne.wanninger@ub.uni-muenchen.de

Dr. Katrin Bäumler
Technical University of Munich
Head of the University Archives
Email: baeumler@zv.tum.de