After the War The New University

Although the whole university was reopened in early 1946, the main building of Ruperto Carola was out of bounds for academic purposes for a long time. This was because Americans continued to run various activities there, including a theater. In June 1948 a fire broke out, spreading to the roof of the building and causing substantial damage. Not until 1952 was the university able to fully use the building again. Gradually the New University regained the facade decoration that it had had before the Nazis took over. The Nazi eagle with the swastika that had hung over the door until 1945 was replaced by the original figure of Pallas Athene (her bronze image created by Karl Albiker had been relegated to the back of the building in 1935), and after the Americans had vacated the New University the old inscription was reinstated: “To the living spirit” (instead of the Nazi version until 1945, “To the German spirit”). To mark the 625th anniversary of Ruperto Carola, the New University underwent extensive refurbishment and modernization from 2008 to 2011.