© Mutesouvenir (Kai Bienert)
Weekend Tips: What to Do This Weekend in Berlin
July 31 to August 2, 2026: Events, festivals, exhibitions and more things to do for your perfect weekend in Berlin. more
Long Night of the Museums
Maden, Larven, Aaskäfer
© Christoph Weber
Exhibition: ""
Pathology vs. Forensic Medicine
For the Long Night of Museums, in addition to wet and dry pathological specimens, we’re also presenting a selection of forensic exhibits that were part of actual criminal investigations. Discover impressive specimens, detailed moulages, and original crime tools, and gain fascinating insights into the work of our Berlin forensic scientists.
Starting at 6:00 p.m.
Continuously
Specimen Hall – 3rd Level
No registration required
Guided Tour
Tracing Life – Family Tour of the Permanent Exhibition
When was the first surgery performed under anesthesia? Who was Lydia Rabinowitsch Kempner? How did the discovery of X-rays change medicine? And what does an operating table for mice look like? Find the answers on our family tour of the permanent exhibition at the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine.
6:30 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
10:30 p.m.
12:00 a.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In German
Registration in the lobby
Max. 25 participants.
Guided tour
On Perpetrators, Crimes, and Victims—Dealing with Nazi Medical Crimes after 1945
In this tour, we will explore which acts were classified as medical crimes after 1945, who was considered a (medical) perpetrator, and who was recognized as a victim. We will also examine how the approach to Nazi medical crimes has changed over time and what differences existed in their assessment between East and West.
The tour is presented in cooperation with GeDenkOrt.Charité – Science with Responsibility.
6:30 p.m.
Duration: 60 min
Registration: Foyer
Lecture
Crime – The Object as Perpetrator?!
What do objects from medical history reveal about crime? In this short presentation, selected objects from the museum’s collection will be examined as “witnesses to the crime”: What signs of use do they bear? What clues do they provide about medical practices, violence, or social norms? And can an object itself be part of a crime? Using historical instruments and specimens, the talk will explore questions of evidence, responsibility, and the often complex relationship between medicine and crime.
7:00 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
11:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In German
Registration in the lobby
Max. 25 participants.
’s Lecture
Anarchists, Assassins, and Revolutionaries—On the Psychopathologization of “Political Criminals” Between 1880 and 1920
Based on the observation that, among “political criminals” of the years 1917 and 1919, the psychiatric diagnosis of “psychopathy” was associated with conflicting moral judgments, this lecture examines the historical development of psychiatric-criminological, security-policy, and cultural-aesthetic concepts, traditions, and lines of argumentation in dealing with political criminals (anarchists, assassins, revolutionaries) in German-speaking regions from 1880 onward.
6:15 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Lecture
Between Criminalization and Medicalization: How Trans* Medicine Developed
Access to medical transition, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures, has been strictly regulated since the beginning of the 20th century. Trans* people often found themselves caught between state control and the pathologizing power of medicine. However, the history of trans* medicine is also a history of activism and of how the trans* community used the media to create its own public image of itself—and thus also a history of its images and media.
A look at book covers, newspaper articles, and educational films reveals how hormonal and surgical transition became conceivable—and legitimized—in the first place.
7:00 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Lecture
The Psychiatrist as a Criminal? Patients and Criticism of Psychiatry around 1900
Around 1900, numerous articles appeared in the press accusing psychiatrists of “malicious intent” or “deprivation of liberty.” This criticism was a reaction to the growing power of psychiatry, which was reflected, for example, in increasing admissions to “insane asylums.” Those affected also sought justice in court cases against psychiatrists and, during World War I,
World War I, they resisted the use of electroconvulsive therapy on psychologically traumatized soldiers. These conflicts reveal the upheavals that, in modernizing societies, lead to shifts in power between traditional and new social elites.
7:45 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Guided Tour
Horizontal: The Hospital Bed and the World from a Lying Position (in English)
Few things are as closely associated with illness as the recumbent position. During this English-language guided tour of the exhibition, Monika Ankele, director of the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine, offers new perspectives on the recumbent position and the micro-space of the hospital bed. Objects from the history of medicine enter into a dialogue with contemporary art and activist perspectives.
8:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 45 min
In English
Registration in the foyer
Max. 25 participants.
Guided tour:
Crime and Biology – Highlights from the History of Medicine
This tour explores the criminal anthropological theories of the Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) and their reception in Germany at the time (including by Rudolf Virchow). His theories on the supposed physical characteristics of offenders had a wide-reaching impact and were adopted by the Nazis.
In addition, we will examine the influences of criminal biology on the “Habitual Offender Act” and on the practice of “preventive crime control” during the Nazi era.
The tour is held in cooperation with GeDenkOrt.Charité – Science with Responsibility.
8:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 60 min
In German
Registration in the foyer
Max. 40 participants.
Guided tour: “”
Horizontal: The Hospital Bed and the World from a Lying Position
Hardly anything is as closely associated with being sick as the supine position. During this guided tour of the exhibition, Monika Ankele, director of the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine, offers new perspectives on the recumbent position and the micro-space of the hospital bed. Objects from the history of medicine enter into a dialogue with contemporary art and activist perspectives.
10:00 p.m.
Duration: approx. 45 min
In German
Registration in the foyer
Max. 25 participants
Late-Night Special
Bodies in Motion – Dorky Park – Constanza Macras
Bodies are archives of experiences, memories, and emotions. In a site-specific performance, Constanza Macras / Dorky Park develops choreographic encounters that explore the body as a malleable, contradictory, and living system. Between closeness and distance, control and loss of control, individuality and community, images of bodies emerge that connect, repel, support, and transform one another.
The performers move through the space, continuously creating new constellations—sometimes fragile and intimate, sometimes powerful and explosive.Constanza Macras / Dorky Park combines contemporary dance with physical intensity, humor, and an immediate presence. The audience experiences the dancers up close and becomes part of a constantly shifting choreographic organism.
11:00 p.m.
12:30 a.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In English
Meeting point: Hörsaalruine
Max. 100 people per performance
Translated with DeepL
Pathology vs. Forensic Medicine
For the Long Night of Museums, in addition to wet and dry pathological specimens, we’re also presenting a selection of forensic exhibits that were part of actual criminal investigations. Discover impressive specimens, detailed moulages, and original crime tools, and gain fascinating insights into the work of our Berlin forensic scientists.
Starting at 6:00 p.m.
Continuously
Specimen Hall – 3rd Level
No registration required
Guided Tour
Tracing Life – Family Tour of the Permanent Exhibition
When was the first surgery performed under anesthesia? Who was Lydia Rabinowitsch Kempner? How did the discovery of X-rays change medicine? And what does an operating table for mice look like? Find the answers on our family tour of the permanent exhibition at the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine.
6:30 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
10:30 p.m.
12:00 a.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In German
Registration in the lobby
Max. 25 participants.
Guided tour
On Perpetrators, Crimes, and Victims—Dealing with Nazi Medical Crimes after 1945
In this tour, we will explore which acts were classified as medical crimes after 1945, who was considered a (medical) perpetrator, and who was recognized as a victim. We will also examine how the approach to Nazi medical crimes has changed over time and what differences existed in their assessment between East and West.
The tour is presented in cooperation with GeDenkOrt.Charité – Science with Responsibility.
6:30 p.m.
Duration: 60 min
Registration: Foyer
Lecture
Crime – The Object as Perpetrator?!
What do objects from medical history reveal about crime? In this short presentation, selected objects from the museum’s collection will be examined as “witnesses to the crime”: What signs of use do they bear? What clues do they provide about medical practices, violence, or social norms? And can an object itself be part of a crime? Using historical instruments and specimens, the talk will explore questions of evidence, responsibility, and the often complex relationship between medicine and crime.
7:00 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
11:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In German
Registration in the lobby
Max. 25 participants.
’s Lecture
Anarchists, Assassins, and Revolutionaries—On the Psychopathologization of “Political Criminals” Between 1880 and 1920
Based on the observation that, among “political criminals” of the years 1917 and 1919, the psychiatric diagnosis of “psychopathy” was associated with conflicting moral judgments, this lecture examines the historical development of psychiatric-criminological, security-policy, and cultural-aesthetic concepts, traditions, and lines of argumentation in dealing with political criminals (anarchists, assassins, revolutionaries) in German-speaking regions from 1880 onward.
6:15 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Lecture
Between Criminalization and Medicalization: How Trans* Medicine Developed
Access to medical transition, such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures, has been strictly regulated since the beginning of the 20th century. Trans* people often found themselves caught between state control and the pathologizing power of medicine. However, the history of trans* medicine is also a history of activism and of how the trans* community used the media to create its own public image of itself—and thus also a history of its images and media.
A look at book covers, newspaper articles, and educational films reveals how hormonal and surgical transition became conceivable—and legitimized—in the first place.
7:00 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Lecture
The Psychiatrist as a Criminal? Patients and Criticism of Psychiatry around 1900
Around 1900, numerous articles appeared in the press accusing psychiatrists of “malicious intent” or “deprivation of liberty.” This criticism was a reaction to the growing power of psychiatry, which was reflected, for example, in increasing admissions to “insane asylums.” Those affected also sought justice in court cases against psychiatrists and, during World War I,
World War I, they resisted the use of electroconvulsive therapy on psychologically traumatized soldiers. These conflicts reveal the upheavals that, in modernizing societies, lead to shifts in power between traditional and new social elites.
7:45 p.m.
Duration: 40 min
Lecture Hall Ruins
No registration required
Guided Tour
Horizontal: The Hospital Bed and the World from a Lying Position (in English)
Few things are as closely associated with illness as the recumbent position. During this English-language guided tour of the exhibition, Monika Ankele, director of the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine, offers new perspectives on the recumbent position and the micro-space of the hospital bed. Objects from the history of medicine enter into a dialogue with contemporary art and activist perspectives.
8:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 45 min
In English
Registration in the foyer
Max. 25 participants.
Guided tour:
Crime and Biology – Highlights from the History of Medicine
This tour explores the criminal anthropological theories of the Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) and their reception in Germany at the time (including by Rudolf Virchow). His theories on the supposed physical characteristics of offenders had a wide-reaching impact and were adopted by the Nazis.
In addition, we will examine the influences of criminal biology on the “Habitual Offender Act” and on the practice of “preventive crime control” during the Nazi era.
The tour is held in cooperation with GeDenkOrt.Charité – Science with Responsibility.
8:30 p.m.
Duration: approx. 60 min
In German
Registration in the foyer
Max. 40 participants.
Guided tour: “”
Horizontal: The Hospital Bed and the World from a Lying Position
Hardly anything is as closely associated with being sick as the supine position. During this guided tour of the exhibition, Monika Ankele, director of the Berlin Museum of the History of Medicine, offers new perspectives on the recumbent position and the micro-space of the hospital bed. Objects from the history of medicine enter into a dialogue with contemporary art and activist perspectives.
10:00 p.m.
Duration: approx. 45 min
In German
Registration in the foyer
Max. 25 participants
Late-Night Special
Bodies in Motion – Dorky Park – Constanza Macras
Bodies are archives of experiences, memories, and emotions. In a site-specific performance, Constanza Macras / Dorky Park develops choreographic encounters that explore the body as a malleable, contradictory, and living system. Between closeness and distance, control and loss of control, individuality and community, images of bodies emerge that connect, repel, support, and transform one another.
The performers move through the space, continuously creating new constellations—sometimes fragile and intimate, sometimes powerful and explosive.Constanza Macras / Dorky Park combines contemporary dance with physical intensity, humor, and an immediate presence. The audience experiences the dancers up close and becomes part of a constantly shifting choreographic organism.
11:00 p.m.
12:30 a.m.
Duration: approx. 30 min
In English
Meeting point: Hörsaalruine
Max. 100 people per performance
Translated with DeepL
Next date:
Public transportation
-
Train (S-Bahn)
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
- S3
- S5
- S7
- S75
- S9
- S15
-
S+U Friedrichstr. Bhf
- S1
- S2
- S25
- S26
- S3
- S5
- S7
- S75
- S9
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
-
Underground
-
Bus
-
Schumannstr.
- 147
- M41
- N5
-
Karlplatz
- 245
- M41
-
Charité - Campus Mitte
- 147
- M41
- N5
-
Futurium
- 245
-
Deutsches Theater
- 147
- 245
-
Philippstr.
- 142
- N40
-
S+U Hauptbahnhof/Washingtonplatz
- 245
-
Robert-Koch-Platz
- 142
- N40
-
Berlin, Invalidenpark
- 142
- 147
- M41
- N5
- N40
- N6
- 120
- N20
-
Friedrichstr./Reinhardtstr.
- 147
- 245
-
S+U Friedrichstr./Reichstagufer
- S7
- S7A
-
U Oranienburger Tor
- M1
- N6
-
Reichstag/Bundestag
- 100
- M41
-
Hannoversche Str.
- 142
- N40
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
- S7
- 120
- 142
- 147
- M41
- N5
- N20
- N40
- S7A
- S7B
- 123
- M85
-
S+U Friedrichstr. Bhf
- S7
- 147
- 245
- N6
- S7A
-
Katharina-Paulus-Str.
- 245
-
Habersaathstr.
- 120
- N20
-
S+U Brandenburger Tor
- 100
- N5
-
Schumannstr.
-
Tram
-
Berlin, Invalidenpark
- M8
- M10
- M5
-
U Oranienburger Tor
- 12
- M1
- M6
- M5
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
- M8
- M10
- M5
-
Hannoversche Str.
- 12
- M5
-
Berlin, Invalidenpark
-
Train
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
- RE3
- RE5
- RE4
- RE2
- FEX
- RB10
- RE8
- RE20
-
S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof
The help page for the event calendar answers common questions.. Information about coperations and imprint can be found on our page about partners and terms and conditions.