The differences between the medical faculties in the East and West are now blurring. In Leipzig, however, current and former university lecturers from old and new federal states still remember the time of transition well. The GDR is for him as medical student in Munich it was always far, far away. Nevertheless, he is sometimes referred to as model Wessi, reports Prof. Dr. med. Michael Stumvoll. I only followed German reunification in England while playing billiards and then faded out again, Stumvoll confessed at the festival symposium of the University Medicine Leipzig last summer on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolution. In the meantime, Stumvoll, who originally wanted to work in the USA, ended up not in the West, but in the East. When I applied here in Leipzig in 2004, the endocrinology department was simply perfectly positioned, explains the current director of the clinic and polyclinic for endocrinology and nephrology at the Leipzig University Hospital, explaining his decision to go to East Germany. At the University of Leipzig, which celebrated its 600th birthday last year, and at its medical faculty, lot has changed in the years after the political change in 1989, both in terms of personnel, structure and construction. The University Medical Center Leipzig used the fortune of returning to the global scientific community as unique opportunity 20 years ago, confirms Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Thiery, acting Dean of the Medical Faculty Leipzig. The clinic, faculty and networked research institutions in Leipzig have now become visible and attractive scientific location, also internationally. Also received structurally after the fall of the Wall new face: the medicine campus Liebigstrasse. The surgical clinic, which opened in 1900, was replaced by the operational center, which opened in 2003. Photos: Universität Leipzig
Renewal was necessary Around 20 years ago, however, completely different wind was blowing at the Leipzig faculty. I got to know the shortage economy in research, recalls Prof. Dr. med. Torsten Schneberg, who first came into contact with science as student in Leipzig and studied medicine in Greifswald from 1986 to 1992. You had to come to terms, find solutions, he says. But I don't want to miss this experience either. What was missing, especially in the GDR, was the driving force: the appreciation of performance and international exchange. After the fall of the Wall, Schneberg went to the USA as postdoc (there they know how to mobilize the driving forces). The differences between the medical faculties in the East and West are now blurring. In Leipzig, however, current and former university lecturers from old and new federal states still remember the time of transition well. The GDR is for him as medical student in Munich it was always far, far away. Nevertheless, he is sometimes referred to as model Wessi, reports Prof. Dr. med. Michael Stumvoll. I only followed German reunification in England while playing billiards and then faded out again, Stumvoll confessed at the festival symposium of the University Medicine Leipzig last summer on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolution. In the meantime, Stumvoll, who originally wanted to work in the USA, ended up not in the West, but in the East. When I applied here in Leipzig in 2004, the endocrinology department was simply perfectly positioned, explains the current director of the clinic and polyclinic for endocrinology and nephrology at the Leipzig University Hospital, explaining his decision to go to East Germany. At the University of Leipzig, which celebrated its 600th birthday last year, and at its medical faculty, lot has changed in the years after the political change in 1989, both in terms of personnel, structure and construction. The University Medical Center Leipzig used the fortune of returning to the global scientific community as unique opportunity 20 years ago, confirms Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Thiery, acting Dean of the Medical Faculty Leipzig. The clinic, faculty and networked research institutions in Leipzig have now become visible and attractive scientific location, also internationally. Also received structurally after the fall of the Wall new face: the medicine campus Liebigstrasse. The surgical clinic, which opened in 1900, was replaced by the operational center, which opened in 2003. Photos: Universität Leipzig
Renewal was necessary Around 20 years ago, however, completely different wind was blowing at the Leipzig faculty. I got to know the shortage economy in research, recalls Prof. Dr. med. Torsten Schneberg, who first came into contact with science as student in Leipzig and studied medicine in Greifswald from 1986 to 1992. You had to come to terms, find solutions, he says. But I don't want to miss this experience either. What was missing, especially in the GDR, was the driving force: the appreciation of performance and international exchange. After the fall of the Wall, Schneberg went to the USA as postdoc (there they know how to mobilize the driving forces).After his return, he decided to stay in his old homeland and finally applied for C-4 professorship in molecular biochemistry at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig in 2003. Leipzig has meanwhile become scientific boomtown and scientific appreciation is great asset in the faculty, says the current deputy director of the Institute for Biochemistry at the Leipzig Medical Faculty. This driving force must not be allowed to die. "In the GDR, party membership often took precedence over professional competence." med. Gottfried Geiler, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig in the post-reunification years. Photo: Archive
How Stumvoll and Schneberg are today shaping the face of the Leipzig Medical Faculty with many new university lecturers from East and West, North and South. Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Gottfried Geiler, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig from 1990 to 1995, is still convinced. A so-called socially acceptable change would have meant that one would have left large group of university professors who were clinging to the old ideology. However, this would not have brought about process of intellectual and moral renewal, explains the now 82-year-old in an interview with the German rzteblatt. A look at everyday life at the GDR universities makes this clear: Even if there were liberal niches at the medical faculties, no university lecturers were appointed in the GDR solely on the basis of technical and scientific competence. The appointments in the GDR were clearly SED-controlled, confirms Geiler. Particularly with the third university reform in 1968, the process of ideologizing the real socialism that existed in reality became more severe and caused severe damage to universities and medical faculties. The entire appointment policy was shaped by socialism, reports Geiler at the festival symposium on the anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig. There were no appointment committees or public advertisements. In addition, party membership took priority over professional competence. Deficits in research In 1989, around 1,000 university professors were teaching at the nine medical faculties of the GDR. After the fall of the Wall, they all had to undergo an internal evaluation at the universities and colleges, in which the personnel committees put the question of confidence, and later the external evaluation by the state government. Some also evaded thorough examination by leaving the university straight away in 1989 and opening their own practice or taking up position in West Germany or abroad. The fact is: not every professor in the GDR was heavily burdened.After his return, he decided to stay in his old homeland and finally applied for C-4 professorship in molecular biochemistry at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig in 2003. Leipzig has meanwhile become scientific boomtown and scientific appreciation is great asset in the faculty, says the current deputy director of the Institute for Biochemistry at the Leipzig Medical Faculty. This driving force must not be allowed to die. "In the GDR, party membership often took precedence over professional competence." med. Gottfried Geiler, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig in the post-reunification years. Photo: Archive
How Stumvoll and Schneberg are today shaping the face of the Leipzig Medical Faculty with many new university lecturers from East and West, North and South. Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Gottfried Geiler, Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig from 1990 to 1995, is still convinced. A so-called socially acceptable change would have meant that one would have left large group of university professors who were clinging to the old ideology. However, this would not have brought about process of intellectual and moral renewal, explains the now 82-year-old in an interview with the German rzteblatt. A look at everyday life at the GDR universities makes this clear: Even if there were liberal niches at the medical faculties, no university lecturers were appointed in the GDR solely on the basis of technical and scientific competence. The appointments in the GDR were clearly SED-controlled, confirms Geiler. Particularly with the third university reform in 1968, the process of ideologizing the real socialism that existed in reality became more severe and caused severe damage to universities and medical faculties. The entire appointment policy was shaped by socialism, reports Geiler at the festival symposium on the anniversary of the peaceful revolution in Leipzig. There were no appointment committees or public advertisements. In addition, party membership took priority over professional competence. Deficits in research In 1989, around 1,000 university professors were teaching at the nine medical faculties of the GDR. After the fall of the Wall, they all had to undergo an internal evaluation at the universities and colleges, in which the personnel committees put the question of confidence, and later the external evaluation by the state government. Some also evaded thorough examination by leaving the university straight away in 1989 and opening their own practice or taking up position in West Germany or abroad. The fact is: not every professor in the GDR was heavily burdened.But 40 years of SED rule had undeniably left their mark on the selection of university lecturers. The personnel restructuring required lot of strength, because there was great deal of uncertainty in the faculty, explains Geiler. During his tenure as dean he advertised 141 university teaching positions. He also initiated the appointment procedure for associate professors for colleagues who, despite their professional competence, had not been appointed during the GDR era. Looking back, Geiler, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Leipzig Medical Faculty in 2007 for his scientific merits and his commitment to the democratic renewal process, is satisfied: It was difficult but necessary renewal process. The Leipzig Medical Faculty achieved one in the first years after the fall of the Wall Flood of applications, especially from the old federal states, Austria and Switzerland, but also from the new states. At the time, West German colleagues had better chances than East German colleagues in the appointment process, Geiler admits. But this is the result of the GDR policy and not the fault of the new system. Second or third class West Germans were not hired, he says. The reason for the high rate of appointments from West Germany was simply their mostly better academic performance. This is not surprising: In the area of research, the East German applicants simply had deficits, explains Geiler. They were excluded from international conferences and thus scientifically disadvantaged. In fact, the scientific careers of doctors in the GDR cannot be compared in any way with those in the West. Because it was almost impossible for the East Germans to scientifically achieve an international standard. Very few of them were so-called travel cadres and had the opportunity to attend international congresses and meetings. Placing publication in itself was not free from political regulations. As far as clinical and medical work is concerned, the East German applicants were at least as good as they were when it came to teaching, and in most cases even better, says Geiler. In Leipzig, in the first few years after the fall of the Wall, personal balance was finally established that was characterized by mutual respect, as the native of Leipzig describes. When he gave up his position as Dean of the Medical Faculty in Leipzig in 1995 to his successor, Prof. Dr. med. Volker Bigl, downhill, about half of the newly appointed professors came from the new federal states, the other half from the old. In Leipzig it no longer matters which state you come from. You can see in many places that the differences between East and West are disappearing, says Thiery, director of the Institute for Laboratory Medicine at the Medical Faculty in Leipzig.But 40 years of SED rule had undeniably left their mark on the selection of university lecturers. The personnel restructuring required lot of strength, because there was great deal of uncertainty in the faculty, explains Geiler. During his tenure as dean he advertised 141 university teaching positions. He also initiated the appointment procedure for associate professors for colleagues who, despite their professional competence, had not been appointed during the GDR era. Looking back, Geiler, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Leipzig Medical Faculty in 2007 for his scientific merits and his commitment to the democratic renewal process, is satisfied: It was difficult but necessary renewal process. The Leipzig Medical Faculty achieved one in the first years after the fall of the Wall Flood of applications, especially from the old federal states, Austria and Switzerland, but also from the new states. At the time, West German colleagues had better chances than East German colleagues in the appointment process, Geiler admits. But this is the result of the GDR policy and not the fault of the new system. Second or third class West Germans were not hired, he says. The reason for the high rate of appointments from West Germany was simply their mostly better academic performance. This is not surprising: In the area of research, the East German applicants simply had deficits, explains Geiler. They were excluded from international conferences and thus scientifically disadvantaged. In fact, the scientific careers of doctors in the GDR cannot be compared in any way with those in the West. Because it was almost impossible for the East Germans to scientifically achieve an international standard. Very few of them were so-called travel cadres and had the opportunity to attend international congresses and meetings. Placing publication in itself was not free from political regulations. As far as clinical and medical work is concerned, the East German applicants were at least as good as they were when it came to teaching, and in most cases even better, says Geiler. In Leipzig, in the first few years after the fall of the Wall, personal balance was finally established that was characterized by mutual respect, as the native of Leipzig describes. When he gave up his position as Dean of the Medical Faculty in Leipzig in 1995 to his successor, Prof. Dr. med. Volker Bigl, downhill, about half of the newly appointed professors came from the new federal states, the other half from the old. In Leipzig it no longer matters which state you come from. You can see in many places that the differences between East and West are disappearing, says Thiery, director of the Institute for Laboratory Medicine at the Medical Faculty in Leipzig.He, too, is originally Wessi, born in Saarland, only few kilometers away from Erich Honecker's birthplace. With grin he explains: That's my connection to the GDR. Dr. med. Eva Richter-Kuhlmann
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