["A research institute for psychiatry...". The development of the German Research Institution for Psychiatry in Munich between 1917 and 1945].

The "Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie" (DFA) in Munich, one of the most important research institutes in the field of theoretical and clinical psychiatry was founded in 1917 by Emil Kraepelin. Its financial existence between the World Wars was guaranteed by enormous donations from the jewish American James Loeb. The scientific work done by Walther Spielmeyer (neuropathology), Felix Plaut (serology), Kurt Schneider (clinical psychiatry) and Ernst Rüdin (psychiatric genetics) earned the DFA the reputation as an international center for psychiatry and neurology. During the "Third Reich", Ernst Rüdin cooperated with the national socialist health system. His genetic concepts supported eugenic laws such as compulsory sterilization of psychotic patients. These complex interrelations underscore the DFA's importance for the recent history of medical science in Germany.