Presseportal

At the Berlin Academic Freedom Week 2025 at Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, President Julia von Blumenthal announced?the?keynote?speaker Prof. Nazan Maksudyan in the?Senatssaal on April 2, 2025 in her welcoming address:

Dear Prof. Maksudyan, (Keynote?speaker)

Distinguished?guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the final event of the third Academic Freedom Week at Humboldt-Universit?t. When we started this series of events, we were worried by the situation of scholars in authoritarian regimes orin the situation of war and violent conflict. We did not envision what we are seeing today, that Academic Freedom is under threat worldwide. The latest Academic Freedom Index sheds light on the fact that even democracies are not immune against threats to academic freedom. We look at the events unfolding in the United States with deepest concern, where students are arrested under dubious accusations, where world leading universites are struggling with a situation they arenot prepared for.

The Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin is founded on a deep conviction: the pursuit of knowledge shapes and enriches all human capacities. It is one of the most powerful forces driving the humanization of our societies. Excellence can only thrive with academic freedom.

At the same time, with our long history of research and academic excellence, as Humboldt Universit?t we are founded on values: we oppose all kinds of discrimination, we oppose antisemitism, authoritarianism, and fanaticism — a lesson from our past that resonates strongly today. These values create individual responsibility for our scholars to reflecton the consequences of their research. In this regard they form a limit for academic freedom that is otherwise without borders.

Our university stands for both, academic / scientific freedom, fundamental values and societal responsibility. At Humboldt-Universit?t, we are deeply committed to solidarity and support for at risk scholars and students. This commitment is reflected in our active efforts to assist those who face persecution and violence because of their academic work.

Thanks to the outstanding support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative and the Einstein Foundation Berlin’s Academic Freedom Fellowship, Humboldt Universit?t has been able to support more than 60 scholars from 12 countries, including Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Afghanistan, and Gaza. These researchers, from diverse fields such as philosophy, literature, biology, chemistry, geography, and law, have found a safe environment to continue their work.

Our commitment also extends to at-risk students. Programs like the Refugee Law Clinic and the Welcome Centre for Ukrainian refugee students reflect our dedication to providing support and opportunities. In challenging times like these, collective action is essential. I am delighted that we have brought together such a diverse group of actors at Humboldt-Universit?t – all working for and with at-risk researchers and artists.

This year’s Academic Freedom Week bridges regional and international perspectives. It brings together at-risk scholars from Berlin and Brandenburg with colleagues and mentors from local universities. None of this would have been possible without the invaluable contributions of our at-risk Fellows from HU, Europa-Universit?t Viadrina, and Kunsthochschule Weissensee. We also extend our gratitude to our colleagues and partners from the Berlin Centre for Global Engagement, Universit?t der Künste, and the Einstein Foundation Berlin.

We are also honored to welcome our international guests: the New University in Exile Consortium. This initiative continues the legacy of theNew School, founded in 1933 by Alvin Johnson to offer a safe intellectual home to scholars fleeing the rise of Nazism in Europe.

In coming days, we will host the Philipp Schwartz Initiative Forum, that has been turning Berlin into a stage for academic freedom from March 31st until April 4th. Together, we will explore what academic solidarity looks like in a world where even global solidarity itself is under threat. The gathering of local and international actors during this Academic Freedom Week offers one possible answer. I am confident that the Forum will provide many more.?

Let me conclude: the fact, that even in established democracies academic freedom is not unchallenged remind us of the need for vigilance and solidarity in protecting the principles that underpin our academic communities. We need academic freedom, we need a deep understanding in the political sphere how important academic freedom is for the development of science, education and our societies as a whole. We as universites bear responsibility for the defense of academic freedom and for the defense of thefundamental values we stand for. For today’s challenges it is good to look back in history. To see, what we can learn.

Dear Prof Maksudyan, you will now talk about the experiences of German-Jewish refugee scholars in Turkey during the 1930s and 40s.

I am very much looking foward to this keynote and thank everyone involved in the 2025 Academic Freedom Week.

Prof. Maksudyan, the floor is yours.