[The discussion about establishing a chair for the history of medicine at the University of Saarland (1948-1977)].

The Medical Faculty of the University of Saarland has never established an institute for the history of medicine, although it was founded in 1948 - just at the beginning of a period when many German medical faculties decided to establish institutes or departments for the history of medicine. The present article raises the question why Homburg/Saar assumed an exceptional position in this regard. The study is based on the records of the faculty and the university calendars from 1948 to 1977. The documents in question distinctly illustrate the peripheral status of the history of medicine at the University of Saarland, but they also point out its possible reasons.