Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, Research institute in Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany
The Institute for Sexual Science was a research facility in Berlin that combined examination rooms, consultation areas, and an extensive specialist library under one roof. The building in Tiergarten functioned simultaneously as a clinic, archive, and meeting place for professionals from medicine and psychology.
Magnus Hirschfeld founded the facility in 1919 as the first academic body to systematically study human sexuality and gender diversity. The National Socialists raided the building in 1933, looted the collection, and ended the work of the center.
The facility introduced the term transvestite into medical language and offered gender-affirming support at a time when such work was virtually unknown elsewhere. Its staff provided letters of identification to people whose outward appearance differed from official documents, helping them navigate public spaces more safely.
The site no longer exists as a physical facility, but visitors can orient themselves near the former location and learn more about this pioneering work. Information panels in the area help to form a picture of the significance the place once held.
The collection contained photographs and personal testimonies from people who openly documented their gender identity, an extraordinary rarity for that time. Hirschfeld himself lived for periods in rooms of the facility, combining research with personal commitment.
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