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Nov 28, 2008
| The PLASTINARIUM in Guben will Close Temporarily for Refurbishment Beginning January 1, 2009 | Feb 18, 2008
| SPECIMENS IN BODY WORLDS EXHIBITIONS STEM FROM GERMAN BODY DONATION PROGRAM
| Feb 5, 2008
| ANATOMIST DR. GUNTHER VON HAGENS CLARIFIES: PLASTINATES NOT FOR SALE
| Jul 27, 2007
| Statement by Plastinator Gunther von Hagens, concerning his vindication in the charge of misuse of titles | | Feb 15, 2007 | Putting History in Its Place—Gunther von Hagens Visits Historic ‘Iron Curtain’ Jail | | Nov 29, 2006 | Anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens Reiterates His Mission of Public Health Education to Press Corps in Guben | | Oct 27, 2006 | Two Cold War Symbols in New Bond Film | | Oct 18, 2006 | The PLASTINARIUM in Guben—Behind the scenes of BODY WORLDS |
The PLASTINARIUM in Guben will Close Temporarily for Refurbishment Beginning January 1, 2009 Reopening in Spring 2010 Guben,
Germany, 28. November 2008—More than 100,000 people have visited the
Plastinarium ever since its opening in November 2006; these visitors
included many health professionals from 45 countries coming to study
the exhibition. This fact confirms the reputation that the Plastinarium
has established as a world-renowned facility. In order to further
extend its leading reputation as a unique institution the Plastinarium
is temporarily closing its doors to the public for refurbishment. This
will commence in January of 2009 and continue until May 2010. The
reopening will reveal the Plastinarium as fully modernized anatomical
facility. Previous themes such as the history of anatomy and techniques
of dissection will be presented interactively. A new showroom will be
set up to display anatomical preparations. Students, healthcare
professionals, doctors, and medical engineering companies will have the
opportunity to receive information, practical training and research
opportunities, displayed at various levels, such as training modules on
surgical techniques, or prosthesis development for patients. The assembly of plastinates for institutions in all parts of the world will still be a major role of the Plastinarium. BODY WORLDS in Heidelberg, Germany opening January 10, 2009. During
the restructuring period everyone interested in human anatomy is
welcome to visit a newly-conceived exhibition titled “KÖRPERWELTEN
& Der Zyklus des Lebens” which will be held in Heidelberg from
January 10 up to April 26, 2009. After this the exhibition will also be
hosted in several other German cities. Plastinarium Online In
2009 an image database displaying the best plastinates will be posted
on the internet, and can be viewed at the Gubener Plastinarium. This
image database will be developed step-by-step to eventually become an
anatomical online training module. In doing so, it is Gunther von
Hagens’ intention to further establish the reputation of Guben as a
“city of physical health”. Up to the end of this year the Plastinarium will be open every weekend from Friday to Sunday from 10a.m. – 6p.m.
28.11.08
Gubener Plastinate GmbH
Alte Poststraße 26
03171 Guben
www.plastinarium.de back
SPECIMENS IN BODY WORLDS EXHIBITIONS STEM FROM GERMAN BODY DONATION PROGRAM HEIDELBERG, Germany-The Institute for Plastination commends ABC's 20/20 for its investigation on the origin of bodies on display in public anatomical exhibitions. The program served to inform and educate the public about anatomical exhibitions in general, and the origins of bodies used in anatomicalexhibitions in particular. However, the Institute for Plastination wishes to clarify two vague statements made by anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens to 20/20, that may have confused Associated Press, other media, and the public about the origin of the bodies in BODY WORLDS exhibitions. In the interview conducted entirely in English (Dr. von Hagens' second language), he said that he had "stopped using bodies from China," and that "he had cremated some bodies that showed head injuries. "His incomplete statements-presented without context or chronology-led some to conclude that he hadonce used Chinese bodies in the BODY WORLDS exhibitions, and had since ceased to do so.
In his interview, Dr. von Hagens neglected to mention that from 2003 to 2004, he was frequently asked by Chinese universities to complete plastination of anatomical specimens belonging to their medicalschools. The specimens were delivered by the universities to Dr. von Hagens for plastination, andreturned after the plastination process. In his interview, Dr. von Hagens failed to explain that he was referring to his secondary plastination work for medical schools, and not his primary work of donor plastination for BODY WORLDS exhibitions. In fact-with the exception of fetuses from historical anatomical collections pre-dating 1930, and some small organs from hospital anatomy and pathology programs -all of the specimens in BODY WORLDS (more than 180 out of 200 specimens per exhibit), originate from the Institute for Plastination's Body Donation Program, established in Heidelberg in 1982 and managed by the Institute for Plastination since 1993. As of January 2008, the Institute for Plastination's Body Donation roster includes 8244 living donors from around the world (7076 Germans and 659 Americans) and 546 deceased donors (538 Germans and 8 Americans). The Institute for Plastination apologizes for the confusion that arose from the vague statements made by Dr. von Hagens in his favored, but not first, language.
For more information please contact:
Gail Vida Hamburg
Director of Communications
Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS
& Institute for Plastination, Heidelberg.
e.mail: g.hamburg(at)plastination.com
back
ANATOMIST DR. GUNTHER VON HAGENS CLARIFIES: PLASTINATES NOT FOR SALE
Heidelberg,
Germany, February 5, 2008—Towards some journalists on February 4, 2008,
Dr. Gunther von Hagens explained his views on anatomy, the poor access
to medical knowledge by lay people, and his own professional evolution
from male nurse, to anesthesiologist, to Ivory Tower academic, to
public scientist.
Dr. von Hagens believes that to
differentiate between experts and laypersons points to an inherent bias
that could lead to the colonizing of knowledge by the medical and
scientific elite. Thus, he floated the idea that plastinates ought to
be distributed to qualified individuals including laypersons.
In
a moment of scientific bravado on behalf of lay people, Dr. von Hagens
claimed the enterprise as feasible and active, and went so far as to
venture how such a plan would operate. Dr. von Hagens regrets his
statements on the matter and retracts them in their entirety. He
apologizes to the body donors registered with the Institute for
Plastination, who have entrusted their post-mortal bodies to the
Institute for scientific study and the education of many. He reiterates
that the body donors are the ethical backbone of BODY WORLDS.
He thanks those who have participated in the BODY WORLDS exhibitions
including donors, visitors, museums, exhibition sponsors, and the
scientific and medical community for their understanding on this matter.
Institute for Plastination
hd(at)pressoffice@plastination.com back
Statement by Plastinator Gunther von Hagens, concerning his vindication in the charge of misuse of titles July
27, 2007 Heidelberg, Germany—I am happy and relieved that I have been
vindicated in the charge of misuse of titles. As the inventor of
plastination and creator of BODY WORLDS, who rarely meets the approval
of the conformists, the fair treatment by the judiciary was
particularly important to me. The Higher Regional Court has concluded
that the fact that I had been appointed "Visiting Professor" by the
Dalian Medical University and had tolerated this form of address is not
punishable under criminal law. I am not interested in decorations or
medals of honor, which is why nothing would be more alien to me than
illegally assuming a German professor title. The tribunal confirms
that I have never personally assumed this title. In light of the public
interest and documentation of this trial, this vindication restores my
reputation as a scientist. During this more than four year long trial,
I was represented by a team of experts of criminal and administrative
law from the firm Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz. They could prove that in
various state ministries, certain officials lacked the knowledge about
university laws, which led to the ruling that the charges against me
were unfounded. Institute for Plastination
hd(at)pressoffice@plastination.com back
Putting History in Its Place
Gunther von Hagens Visits Historic 'Iron Curtain' Jail
COTTBUS,
Germany (Feb. 15, 2007)—Thirty seven years after anatomist Gunther von
Hagens was jailed by state authorities for attempting to escape
communist East Germany, he returned to the scene of his incarceration
to take care of some unfinished business and to put old history to rest. On
February 10, Dr. von Hagens visited the cell, annexes, and compound of
the Cottbus penal colony where he was confined for two years from 1969
to 1971. Once run by the state's Ministerium fur Statessicherheit (or
Stasi)—an agency so ruthless that even the KGB was sometimes
appalled by its methods—the prison, one of the last embarrassing
vestiges of totalitarianism, is set to be demolished. Gunther von
Hagens was there, he told reporters, “to revisit the scene of my lost
years, to reconcile with my past, and to liberate myself literally.” Before
his imprisonment, von Hagens (who went by the surname Liebchen in those
years) was a third year medical student at the University of Jena. “I
was indoctrinated in party ideology though my critical mind was less
and less impressed with the ideas I was being fed,” he said. He
remembered beginning to question Communism and Socialism and gathering
information from Western news sources to augment his growing doubts
about the system. “I became disillusioned enough to participate in
student protests against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact
troops in 1968,” von Hagens said. “I became convinced soon after, that
the only path was to escape because the alternative was unthinkable to
me.” In January 1969, at the age of 23, von Hagens attempted to
cross the Czechoslovakia border into Austria and freedom. He failed and
was arrested, extradited to East Germany, and sat out nearly 900 days
in Cottbus.
Personal autonomy and collective freedom, which were
so urgent to him then, are, he says, the impulse and inspiration for
his career in science. The democratization of anatomy through
Plastination, his BODY WORLDS exhibitions—the mesmerizing public
anatomical presentations that bear his name—and the Plastinarium,
his plastination laboratory in Guben, all address the rights of lay
people to access knowledge previously available only to the medical
elite, he said. After touring the cell which he had shared with
twenty-two fellow political prisoners, as well as the “tiger cage,” a
13' by 8' solitary confinement box with grates, in which the outspoken
von Hagens spent two weeks for mouthing off and rejecting the regime,
he staged a belated protest and liberation of his own. He and four
former inhabitants of Cottbus unhinged the doors of the prison cells
and carted them away. “The prison door separated me from freedom. Now
that I can take this prison door with me, I am truly free,” said
Gunther von Hagens. Gunther
von Hagens' BODY WORLDS exhibitions
are currently showing in science museums in Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix,
and Montreal. For more information, visit www.bodyworlds.com. back
Anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens Reiterates His Mission of Public Health Education to Press Corps in Guben, Germany.
GUBEN,
Germany (Nov 29, 2006)—Anatomist, Dr. Gunther von Hagens told a small
gathering of reporters today that the PLASTINARIUM, the Plastination
laboratory he recently established in Guben, Germany, and the
presentation of the BODY WORLDS anatomical exhibition in Casino Royale,
the latest James Bond film, are natural and inevitable extensions of
his thirty year career as an anatomist and advocate of public health
and public anatomy. Beyond its role as a powerful public health
education program, BODY WORLDS is a cultural phenomena that has been
seen by nearly 20 million people around the world. Plastination has
allowed the admission of the post-mortal body into public consciousness
for the first time,” Dr. von Hagens said. In answer to reporters
questions about the controversial nature of the PLASTINARIUM, Dr. von
Hagens said: “Bringing the post-mortal body into the public domain is
viewed as a transgressive act only because death itself is
controversial.” Responding to a question about his reasons for
making BODY WORLDS and the PLASTINARIUM accessible to the public, he
said, “Throughout my career, I have promoted the democratization of
anatomy, of demythologizing the body interior not just for the medical
and scientific world, but for the general public.” When queried
about his intentions beyond his stated mission of health education, Dr.
von Hagens replied: “I wish to show that death is completely normal and
that life is the exception. I want people to judge for themselves, what
the body is, where we come from, and where we are going. Death is an
absence of the soul, and I believe that we must understand and know
death in order to embrace life. It is my hope that when death is no
longer hidden and its reality is embraced, people will ponder their
individual actions.” Gunther von Hagens' BODY WORLDS, a series of
three traveling public anatomical exhibitions, are collaboration
between donor, anatomist, and visitor. Using Plastination, Dr. von
Hagens’ groundbreaking invention of anatomical specimen preservation,
deceased bodies bequeathed during their lifetime by donors registered
with the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg, are prepared for the
BODY WORLDS exhibitions and the education of many. BODY WORLDS
exhibitions, already seen by nearly 20 million people in 35 cities
across Europe, Asia and North America, are currently showing at science
museums in Boston and St. Paul in the United States, and in Vancouver,
Canada. A selection from the exhibitions appears in Casino Royale, the
21st film in the James Bond series. Dr. von Hagens recently
established, PLASTINARIUM, a plastination laboratory in Guben, Germany. Media Contacts
Gail Vida Hamburg
312-602-5369 or g.hamburg(at)plastination.com Georgina Gomez
213-291-9572 or g.gomez(at)plastination.com back
Two Cold War Symbols in New Bond Film HEIDELBERG,
Germany (Oct 27, 2006)—This November, anatomist, Gunther von Hagens—one
of the most well known defectors from former East Germany—marks the
17th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with the most
celebrated of all Cold War era icons, James Bond. Dr. von Hagens
and the mesmerizing BODY WORLDS anatomical exhibition appear in cameo
roles in “Casino Royale,” the 21st James Bond film, based on Ian
Fleming’s 1953 novel of the same name. BODY WORLDS is the setting
for an archetypal battle of good and evil, between Agent 007 and one of
the villains of the film. For Dr. von Hagens, who was imprisoned in
1969 for two years after a failed attempt to escape, James Bond films
are more than innocuous spy thrillers. While Bond spent the Cold
War fighting Communists, the younger generation behind the Iron Curtain
at that time, including Dr. von Hagens, were inspired by him. “He stood
for the power of the individual against communism and was
anti-authoritarian and unconventional, which I don’t think the film
censors realized at the time,” said von Hagens. “The leadership did not
understand the thirst of our generation to break boundaries, to be free
to travel like James Bond to Jamaica and Cape Canaveral and Fort Knox
and Monte Carlo. He was for us the embodiment of freedom and
possibilities.” The technology and wizardry in the early films
also made an impression on the future anatomist and polymer chemist.
“Bond worked with high technology, very unusual work at that time for a
film character. In Goldfinger he was trying to prevent the radioactive
contamination of gold reserves. As someone who was deeply interested in
chemistry and physics, I knew that unlike the world of James Bond which
celebrated such innovations, the authoritarian regime I lived under
killed invention,” he said. Impossible as it seems, a cinematic
hero with a complex psychological dossier strengthened the ego and
shaped the thinking of a generation of East German scientists. “He was
very hardworking. He was always on duty, lived only for his mission,
and used all his abilities to realize his mission. Those of us who
escaped East Germany at that time defined ourselves by our work in
science and technology and our drive to succeed at any cost,” said Dr.
von Hagens. BODY WORLDS exhibitions are currently showing at the
Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, the Museum of Science in
Boston, Massachussets and Telus World of Science in Vancouver, Canada. back
The PLASTINARIUM in Guben—Behind the scenes of BODY WORLDS GUBEN,
Germany (Oct 18, 2006)—Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS (KÖRPERWELTEN)
exhibitions have fascinated more than 20 million visitors worldwide.
Now, for the first time Gunther von Hagens will give the general public
an inside look at the laboratories, at his new center of activities in
Guben – the PLASTINARIUM. The PLASTINARIUM will be the only institute
in the world that will allow the public to watch the preparation of
permanently preserved, anatomical human and animal specimens, through
Plastination. While touring the 2500 sqm of the, renovated site of the
former Guben cloth factory, visitors will gain comprehensive insights
into the Plastination processes and techniques. The process includes
the anatomical preparation and dissection of bodies and their
subsequent conservation via Plastination, skeletal assembly, and
vascular casting. Teaching specimens and anatomical full body
plastinates to train physicians and non-experts are prepared with
state-of-the-art technology. A brief outline of the history of
anatomy and the development of Plastination at the beginning of the
tour and a display of selected teaching specimens near the
demonstration labs round off the exciting and instructive tour.
Visitors will be able to see bone preparations, vascular casts, body
slices, individual organ plastinates as well as whole-body plastinates.
Early and historical plastinates will be on display as well as new,
whole-body plastinates, showing advancements in the technology. The
highlight of the showroom is a recreation of the area in the BODY
WORLDS exhibition where the decisive scene of the current James Bond
film “Casino Royale” was shot. Gunther von Hagens: “The
PLASTINARIUM is the anatomical cabinet of modern time. It is the
culmination of a long European scientific and democratic tradition. In
1543 the surgeon Andreas Vesal established modern anatomy. He published
authentic anatomical drawings in his anatomical atlas and staged public
dissections, thus popularizing anatomy. In the same year the astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus published an essay on cosmology where he proved
that the earth orbited around the sun and not the other way round.
Since then planetariums have been revealing insights about the creation
and structure of cosmic worlds. The PLASTINARIUM in Guben, in turn,
reveals insights about the creation and structure of both the body and
BODY WORLDS. Opening times
For the time being the
PLASTINARIUM will be open from November 17 on Fridays, Saturdays, and
Sundays between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm (last admission). Groups can book
a specific date and time outside regular opening times. Additional
opening times will be announced on this website: www.plastinarium.de. Address
PLASTINARIUM - Gubener Plastinate GmbH - Uferstraße - 03172 Guben, Brandenburg, Germany
Phone: +40 3561-5 4748 60, Fax: +49 3561-5 47 48 61
info(at)plastinarium.de Press office
Institute für Plastination
E-mail: hd.pressoffice(at)plastination.com back
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