Search

Créée en 1925 comme un programme de bourses financées par le ministère allemand des Affaires étrangères, la Fondation Alexander von Humboldt a profondément évolué jusqu’en 1945. Holger Impekoven dévoile comment son parcours s’inscrit dans l’histoire de la politique culturelle extérieure de l’Allemagne, et permet dans le même temps d’éclairer l’histoire politique des étudiants étrangers accueillis dans ce pays au cours de cette période. Created in 1925 as a scholarship program funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation changed profoundly until 1945. Holger Impekoven reveals how its evolutions are inscribed in the history of the foreign cultural policy of Germany, and at the same time shed light on the political history of foreign students hosted in this country during this period.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953, with the aim of demonstrating that Germany continued to be a great cultural power and of marking its place on the international arena. It awarded very prestigious fellowships to researchers from abroad, based on the criteria of academic excellence and lack of quotas. Even if sporadically at the beginning, the Foundation’s relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe started to develop in the late 1960s, despite the opposite political systems of the two blocs. This happened in the context of the FRG’s East-centered foreign policy (Ostpolitik), and was also due to the opening of socialist countries to the West. The relationship, however, was marked in many cases by tensions, as political interests, as opposed to the cultural or academic dimension, prevailed. The article tackles the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, focusing, from a comparative perspective, on the quantitative aspect, as well as on the political dynamics which determined their presence in West Germany.

La Fondation Alexander von Humboldt, l’une des principales institutions scientifiques allemandes, joue un rôle crucial dans les échanges scientifiques en favorisant le séjour de chercheurs et en particulier de chercheurs étrangers d’excellence dans les laboratoires allemands, ainsi que le séjour de scientifiques allemands dans des équipes à l’étranger. Corine Defrance présente quelques-unes de ses caractéristiques en introduction de deux articles consacrés à son histoire. One of the main German scientific institutions, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation plays a leading role in scientific exchanges by promoting research fellowships of scientists and in particular of foreign highly-qualified scientists in German laboratories, as well as fellowships of German scientists in teams abroad. Introducing two articles devoted to its history, Corine Defrance presents some of its current characteristics.

Après avoir rappelé les principales étapes de l’histoire de la Fondation Humboldt depuis sa recréation en 1953, sous la présidence du physicien Werner Heisenberg, Christian Jansen développe les grands principes de son fonctionnement, avec entre autres la promotion de l’excellence scientifique des boursiers, le soutien personnalisé et l’indépendance vis-à-vis de l’État fédéral. Fixés pour la plupart dès les années 1950, ces orientations continuent de marquer aujourd’hui encore la politique de l’institution. After recalling the stages in the history of the Humboldt Foundation since its re-creation in 1953, under the chairmanship of physicist Werner Heisenberg, Christian Jansen develops its main principles – among others, the promotion of the scientific excellence of scholars, personalized support and independence from the federal state. Most of these orientations were set in the 1950s, but continue to mark the foundation’s policy today.