Trends in Genetics
ForumHow did East German genetics avoid Lysenkoism?
Section snippets
The penetration of Lysenkoism into the GDR (East Germany)
It has to be remembered that during the Stalin era, the policies in the Eastern Bloc were dictated from Moscow, and so the 1948 Moscow conference and Lysenko's approval by Stalin signalled the transfer of these concepts into all other communist countries. The influence of Lysenko's ‘Michurinist Biology’ was strong in Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia – in both schools and universities. In these countries, the damage done by Lysenkoism to teaching and research in genetics and biology
Opposition of Lysenkoism by German geneticists
Opponents of Lysenkoism whose institutes were in West Berlin (American, British, French sectors) could express their opinion without any risk (e.g. Hans Kappert, Hans Nachtsheim, Elisabeth Schiemann and co-workers) 9., 10., 11.. The situation was different in the Soviet sector of Berlin. Several scientists who had initially been working in research institutes at Berlin-Buch or at the Humboldt University in East Berlin moved to West Berlin after the foundation of the ‘Free University’ in West
The decline of Lysenkoism
The GDR government and the communist party, led by Walter Ulbricht, were somewhat hesitant about promoting Lysenkoism. They were aware that scientists like Stubbe, Becker and Mothes had a great scientific reputation both in the country and internationally. Also, they watched the development of Lysenkoism in the USSR (after Stalin's death in 1953) and the reactions of the international scientific community. Furthermore, the government was well aware of the open border to West Berlin and could
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