Liberty meets Libertas. In the early years of Freie Universität, funding for numerous new buildings came from the United States: The University Library, the Henry Ford Building, the Benjamin Franklin University Hospital, and the dormitory complex Studentendorf Schlachtensee. The aim was to educate young people about democracy as well as to strengthen their ties to the West.
Sources and additional information
The construction of the Schlachtensee student village is an example of the implementation of the United States’ reeducation program in postwar Germany. The dormitory complex was built between 1957 and 1959 in the southwestern part of West Berlin. It was built to resemble a democratic state: in the student village, the students at Freie Universität were supposed to practice democracy on a small scale. A participation model set the rules: the residents are supposed to form small households, which send representatives to the “village council,” a type of parliament. The council appoints a student mayor and forms various committees that decide, for example, on admitting new residents or setting up a cultural program.
Source:
- Article in campus.leben about the Studentendorf after refubishment, posted October 15, 2015 (in German)
- Article in the Tagesspiegel newspaper supplement about the Studentendorf at its 60th Anniversary, posted December 2, 2019 (in German)