# Harnack House > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Harnack_House > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Harnack_House.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harnack_House > Source revision: 1304389524 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Building in Berlin, Germany}} {{no footnotes|date=February 2013}} right|thumb|350px|Front view of the Harnack House in 1929 right|thumb|350px|Rear view of the Harnack House, from its garden The '''Harnack House''' (German: ''Harnack-Haus'') in the [Dahlem](/source/Dahlem_(Berlin)) district of [Berlin](/source/Berlin), [Germany](/source/Germany), was opened in 1929 as a centre for German scientific and intellectual life. Located in the intellectual colony of Dahlem, seat of the [Free University Berlin](/source/Free_University_Berlin), it was founded by the [Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft](/source/Kaiser_Wilhelm_Gesellschaft) (KWG) on the initiative of its first president, the [theologian](/source/theology) [Adolf von Harnack](/source/Adolf_von_Harnack), and of its then chairman, [Friedrich Glum](/source/Friedrich_Glum). The project was supported politically by the [Weimar Republic](/source/Weimar_Republic) [Chancellor](/source/Chancellor_of_Germany_(German_Reich)) [Wilhelm Marx](/source/Wilhelm_Marx) and Foreign Minister [Gustav Stresemann](/source/Gustav_Stresemann), and an influential Centre Party deputy [Georg Schreiber](/source/Georg_Schreiber). The land for its construction was donated by the state of [Prussia](/source/Free_State_of_Prussia), and the costs of building and furnishing the house were defrayed partly by the government (which contributed 1.5 million marks), and partly by public subscription (which raised about 1.3 million marks). The original purpose of the Harnack House was to provide a conference centre and visitor accommodation for major events designed to promote German science and overcome the isolation that German academics suffered after the [First World War](/source/First_World_War). Many notable German scientists resided or worked there, including [Nobel Prize](/source/Nobel_Prize) winners [Fritz Haber](/source/Fritz_Haber), [Otto Hahn](/source/Otto_Hahn) and [Albert Einstein](/source/Albert_Einstein). After the [Nazi](/source/Nazi)s' seizure of power in 1933 the House fell under their influence, for example becoming the seat of the [Reichsfilmarchiv](/source/Reichsfilmarchiv). However prominent members of the KWG did not always comply with the Nazi agenda; for example in 1935 the Harnack House was the scene of a major commemoration of the life of Fritz Haber, led by [Max Planck](/source/Max_Planck), despite the fact that Haber had been exiled by the Nazis because of his Jewish origins. In 1941 Planck in a public lecture at the House warned of the consequences for humanity of attempts to split the atom, despite the ongoing [German nuclear energy project](/source/German_nuclear_energy_project), sponsored by the German government, led by [Werner Heisenberg](/source/Werner_Heisenberg) and based at one of the KWG institutes. The House was not significantly damaged in the fall of Berlin in 1945 at the end of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), and after a short period in Soviet hands it became an officers' mess for the occupying [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army), though because of its historical prestige it was also used for cultural and diplomatic events. In 1994 it was returned to German control and reverted to its original use in the hands of the [Max Planck Gesellschaft](/source/Max_Planck_Gesellschaft), the post-war successor organisation to the KWG. It now offers facilities for conferences, and also accommodation for visitors to the various [Max Planck Institute](/source/Max_Planck_Institute)s in Berlin; the architecture and furniture remain in the original style. To provide additional accommodation, the House operates a guest house on the opposite side of the Ihnestrasse from the main building. ==External links== {{Commonscat|Harnack-Haus|Harnack House}} *[http://www.harnackhaus-berlin.mpg.de/10971/Welcome Harnack House official website]; most of the information in this article can be found in more detail on this site. *[http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&hl=de&q=Ihnestra%C3%9Fe+16,+14195+Berlin&sll=52.449955,13.27885&sspn=0.009298,0.011265&ie=UTF8&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1 Google map showing the location of the house] *[http://www.harnack-house.us-berlin.com/ Veterans' site about US forces' use of the house] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916174218/http://www.harnack-house.us-berlin.com/ |date=2008-09-16 }} center|thumb|500px|Gardens of the Harnack House {{coord|52|26|58|N|13|16|46|E|region:DE-BE_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}} {{Authority control}} Category:Max Planck Society Category:Former installations of the United States Army Category:Buildings and structures in Steglitz-Zehlendorf Category:Military installations closed in 1994 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harnack House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harnack_House) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harnack_House?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.