A look back at 1922: Benito Mussolini takes power in Italy, Walther Rathenau is murdered in Berlin, and the Soviet Union is formed. In Oberammergau – similar to this year – the postponed Passion Play will be made up for and Bertolt Brecht has his breakthrough as a playwright with “Drums in the Night” at the Kammerspiele.
The year 1922 was turbulent and marked by inflation, which caused many people’s wealth to shrink. “This inflation was one of the reasons why the Munich University Society (MUG) was founded at the LMU,” explains 100 years later its first chairman, Peter Höppe. The primary purpose of the society was to give the LMU a financial cushion in these economically catastrophic times and thus to ensure research and teaching. The anniversary now falls in a year marked by the consequences of a pandemic and war in Europe. Inflation is also an issue again.
When members of the MUG began planning a program for the celebration a year and a half ago, some developments were not yet foreseeable, but dangers were nevertheless recognizable. Scientists will explain what these are in ten lectures at the kick-off event this Saturday. The title of the “Science Day” is formulated as a question: “What are the greatest risks of our time?”
For the virologist Melanie Brinkmann, it’s pandemics, for Antje Boetius, professor at the Alfred Wegener Institute, climate change and biodiversity loss, for Peter R. Neumann from London’s King’s College, terrorism is one of them. Christian Hesse from the University of Stuttgart will open the day with his mathematical reflections on the “measurement of risk”. LMU professor Hans-Werner Sinn will speak about the “causes, dangers and political implications” of inflation, and Harald Lesch, also at the LMU, about asteroids and meteorites. Other aspects are solar storms, resource shortages and migration. Finally, Koko Warner will examine their global impact.
“We are not a closed society.”
The “Science Day” marks the start of seven events in the MUG’s anniversary year. Although it is already a century old, only a few Munich residents are familiar with it. Today, the concern of the non-profit association is the promotion of projects at the LMU, but also the support of talented students and the networking of alumni. They help to finance excursions, award prizes and support an endowed chair at the eye clinic.
The MUG has around 1,600 members, which is not a particularly high number considering that there are more than 52,000 students. In order to secure the future of the club, he is now deliberately going public. “We want to network science with society,” says Höppe when presenting the program and emphasizes: “We are not a closed society.” We welcome everyone who feels connected to the university and wants to get involved. You don’t even need an academic degree – with an annual fee of 60 euros, 20 euros for students, you can be there.
The “Science Day” on April 23 is free of charge and takes place from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. only in presence in the Audimax in the main building of the LMU. According to the organizers, the lectures will not be streamed because this prevents the audience from being spontaneous and critical. More information is available online at www.100yearsmug.de.