For decades, Carl Gustav Carus has served as a figurehead for university medicine in Dresden. The Medical Academy, founded in 1954, was named after Carus, and in 1993, the name was passed on to the newly founded Medical Faculty and University Hospital. Both decisions were based on an image of Carus that had been widespread in Dresden since the 1930s, which was partly exaggerated and portrayed him primarily as a universal genius (natural scientist, physician, philosopher, and artist). Today, Carus is no longer uncontroversial as a namesake, as he developed a crude and abstruse racial theory and espoused it throughout his life as a researcher. In the GDR, this aspect was initially ignored and later strongly relativised.
The GDR’s historiography, which was geared towards legitimisation and the creation of traditions, did not contribute to an unbiased reception of Carus’ work. During the period of political transformation after 1989/90, the narrative of Carus as an exclusively positive figure was adopted and perpetuated. Drawing on the concept of memory studies, our contribution analyses how and why Carus became increasingly idealised in the second half of the 20th century. The long-overdue critical and differentiated examination of Carus continues to have an impact to this day.