Freie University

Freie Universität Berlin

Seal of the Freie Universität Berlin
Latin: Universitas Libera Berolinensis
Motto	Veritas, Iustitia, Libertas (Latin)
Motto in English	Truth, Justice, Liberty
Type	Public University
Established	1948
Budget	€422.5M (2013, excl. the Charité) State: €298.5M External: €124M
Chancellor	Temporarily vacant
President	Peter-André Alt since 2010
Academic staff	459 professors (incl. 110 junior professorships)
Administrative staff	> 4,200 with 2,200 scientific assistants (excluding those from Charité)
Students	34,518 (WS 2013/14)
Undergraduates	20,030
Postgraduates	10,078
Doctoral students	4,410
Address	Freie Universität Berlin Kaiserswerther Straße 16–18 14195 Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Campus	Suburban and urban 1.8 km2 (180 ha)
Colors	Green      Blue
Nickname	FU, sometimes "FUB"
Affiliations	UNICA, EUA, German Excellence Universities, DFG, U15, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Website	www.fu-berlin.de

The Freie Universität Berlin (English translation: Free University of Berlin, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a research university located in Berlin and one of the most prominent universities in Germany. It is internationally known for its research in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in the field of natural and life sciences.

Founded in West Berlin during the early Cold War period, its name refers to city's status as part of the free western world.

Freie Universität Berlin is one of eleven German elite universities in the German Universities Excellence Initiative, a national competition for institutions of higher education. Winning a distinction for five doctoral programs, three interdisciplinary research clusters and its overall institutional strategy as an "International Network University".

Freie Universität Berlin was established by students and scholars on 4 December 1948. The foundation is strongly connected to the beginning of the Cold War period. The University of Berlin was located in the former Soviet sector of Berlin and was granted permission to continue teaching by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAD) in January 1946. The universities were increasingly influenced by communism as they were ground for the political disputes of the postwar period. This led to protests by students critical of the prevailing system. Between 1945 and 1948, more than 18 students were arrested or persecuted, some even executed by the soviet secret police (NKVD).

At the end of 1947, first students demanded a university free from political influence. The climax of the protests was reached on 23 April 1948: after three students were expelled from the university without a trial, about 2,000 students protested at the Hotel Esplanade. By the end of April, the governor of the United States Army Lucius D. Clay gave the order to legally check for the formation of a new university in the western sectors. On 19 June 1948 the "preparatory committee for establishing a free university" consisting of politicians, professors, administrative staff members and students, met. With a manifesto titled "Request for establishing a free university in Berlin" the committee appealed to the public for support. The municipal authorities of Berlin granted the foundation of a free university and requested the opening for the coming winter semester 1948/49. Meanwhile, the students committee in the German Democratic Republic protested against the formation, the GDR described the new university as the "so-called free university" in official documents until the fall of the Berlin Wall.