A minister of education who knows nothing? A physicist who becomes a university planner? Long hair and bell bottoms in a baroque castle? And buildings that don't even stand on sand? The young Osnabrück University was full of contradictions and the early years were a great challenge for those involved - today the university is established and is a natural part of the city and the region. In 2024, Osnabrück University celebrated its 50th anniversary. As part of various projects (campus tours, traveling exhibition "Wissen_schafft: Leben!" ("Knowledge_creates: Life!"), lectures at the Department of History), a look was taken at aspects of the university's early history during the anniversary year.

The lecture by Dr. Thorsten Unger, historian and archivist of the University and Osnabrück University, brings together the findings of these projects and aims to contribute to an understanding of today's university. The aim is to show how many a reform approach failed and yet a foundation was laid for today's institution.