When Gabriel Lado came to his director’s office in April 2021, and saw his gaze, he would probably prefer to make a change and leave. Lado worked as a new researcher at the renowned Max Planck Institute of Complex Natural Systems in Dresden. He recalls that his director, physicist Yan Michael Rostt, apparently had a very bad day. The situation took a bad turn.

Lado wanted to talk about a publication he was preparing, but accepted an “irrelevant” hybrid. Although Rostt had already implied that his article is on the right track, he suddenly criticized his postdoctoral collaborator, describing him as “autistic” and “f **** ng usless”. This is what Lado remembers today, who has long since left the Institute. He says that Rostt was “maneuvering”, that “he was hitting his hand on the table and screaming so much that I was watching his saliva …”.

In each conversation the manager could explode without any warning. Lado says he was always accepting voices and humiliation. Other former associates of the Institute also describe similar outbursts of the director.

Answering a question about what Lado said, Max Planck says that “Mr. Rostos cannot confirm that he has made the allegations (…) that are being disseminated”.

Fear and silence

For months, the team of Deutsche Welle and the news magazine Der Spiegel has been investigating any incorrect behaviors, abuse of power and mobbing at various Max Planck Institutes in Germany. Our research shows that the Dresden Institute is not an isolated incident. More than 30 researchers and researchers, who occasionally worked at different Max Planck institutes, talked to us about their experience. With the exception of Gabriel Lado, they want to remain anonymous, as they are afraid of any impact on their careers. About one -third of the respondents comes from Germany, while the rest from the countries of Europe, Asia, Northern and Latin America.

With nearly 25,000 employees, Max Planck (MPG) is considered a top employer for researchers from around the world. Anyone who manages to be hired in one of the 84 institutes is considered to be the world elite. MPG has made 31 researchers honored with Nobel Prize. The German state is funded by more than two billion euros a year.

Good reputation, tradition, rigorous hierarchy

Max Planck Institutes have been organized on the basis of strict hierarchical structures. The leaders have prominent scientific composition, have many freedoms and great power. They can organize the Institute in accordance with their own needs. This is that scientists can indulge in research with the highest possible efficiency and independence.

However, this model is now considered to be brutal. A report by the Federal Court of Auditors from 2024 recipients by the Ministry of Education and Research has been lacking the lack of supervision at Max Plank. As stated in the report, “essentially the president is supervising his own activity”.

Thomas Zatelberger, a former MP and Deputy Minister of Research, also criticizes the “omnipotence culture” in MPG. He believes that reforms should already have been implemented at Max Planck, which, he says, “needs a public supervisory body, which will also take responsibility for any deviation”.

Our interlocutors speak of an aggressive way of communicating, intimidation, insults and threats to at least five Max Planck Institutes. In particular, women feel discriminatory against male colleagues.

Dobe (not her real name) states, for example, that at a Max Planck Institute in East Germany she was under the supervision of male colleagues, who sometimes presented the results of her research as their own. She had been excluded from discussions about her own project. “There were discussions about projects, where no women were invited,” says the former doctoral researcher. “So often it was that it had become normal for us.” And other women tell similar experiences and say they had the feeling that they are being sidelined, isolated and obsolete.

The Institute, which was worked by Oblon, says that in the absence of detailed data, it cannot comment on individual incidents. He also says that in the last five years he has not come to his knowledge any complaint of sexist behavior at the director or department.

‘The worst is hope’

Gabriel Lado was 20 years old when he came to Dresden in the summer of 2020. He had a doctorate in his home country, Brazil, and was happy to be accepted at such a renowned institute to work under the guidance of an international scientist. But already at their first meeting, Rostos raised his voice. Lado says this was the “prelude” for what followed in the coming months.

At times, Rost’s ideas praised his ideas in a “good day” to make them a thousand pieces in their next meeting. Every so often he was motivated by his few encouraging words, but the fall was much greater. “Every time someone began to hope, he crushed him,” he says.

DW and Der Spiegel spoke with 20 people who worked, at different intervals, at the Max Planck Institute of Complex natural systems in Dresden. Most said that they had either experienced similar experiences themselves with Rost or witnessed similar behaviors. A former doctoral student, for example, describes “horrible meetings” in which he saw himself “losing a sense of self -esteem”. Rostos was still more powerful against doctoral and post-doctoral researchers from outside EU countries, another. Their residence permit was linked to their contract and he “abused this power and threatened to renew their contract”.

All of us reported that Rostos raised the voice only in individual meetings in his office. But he often shouted so loudly that he was heard by some witnesses in the hallway. But as soon as a third person appeared in his office, he changed his behavior and became extremely charming.

Max Planck did not want to comment on these anonymous categories and did not provide further information on the Rost. Many of the respondents said that during their stay at the Institute they had symptoms of depression and were forced to seek help from experts.

Passion 1 in 5

However, the problem of mobbing is not unknown to MPG. In 2019, internal research was carried out in its research centers, with 1 in 5 claiming that it has experienced the experience of mobbing.

Officially MPG follows a strategy of “zero tolerance” against such phenomena. “We behave with respect to each other” refers to the Code of Conduct for Associates, who has been posted online.

MPG refers to a number of competent bodies set up in recent years to avoid incorrect behaviors: each institute has, among other things, its own staff address, a person responsible for equality issues, and an employee’s lawyer. For the executives, post -training and seminars are partly compulsory. There is also personal coaching. MPG also has two headquarters for reporting and complaints: a law firm outside the Agency and the so -called “Internal Research Service”, which was established after the Mobbing objections.

Many associates, however, told us that they were discouraged in their attempt to protest. MPG rejects this category. However, our research indicates a systemic failure of the Compliance mechanisms. Nine of the former doctoral and postdoctoral students we talked about reported that they had attempted to seek help in one of the above -mentioned services, with no result.

References with no results

DW and Der Spiegel had access to various e-mails, which prove that the sufferers were discouraged or expelled by both those responsible at various institutes and by the headquarters and complaints. Gabriel Lado had appealed to the law firm appointed by MPG. He wanted to report the behavior of his manager and explicitly begged them to maintain his anonymity. But the lawyers replied: “To be honest, at some point the persons involved in the conflict should be mentioned so that the investigation can begin.” He did not even want to discuss this.

Felix Horn, a former doctoral researcher at a Max Planck Institute in Bavaria (“Felix Horn”, is not his real name, and he wishes to remain anonymous). In a 40 -page report he describes in detail the systematic mobbing he had suffered by the competent official. The document has come to the knowledge of DW and Spiegel. It contains an accurate description of mobbing, screenshots, e-mails, as well as sensitive information on witnesses and possibly other victims.

Horn failed to proceed with the law firm and in the summer of 2022 sent his report to the “Internal Research Service”. She replied that he would have to send the report to his Institute. He also suggested that the report herself elaborate, but Horn says he is unable to describe his objections without revealing sensitive information about victims or witnesses.

When Horn asked the “Internal Research Service” not to further forward the file, she closed the case. “It shocks me that they are resorting to such tricks, I feel like they are misleading me,” says Horn, who no longer works in the scientific field. Max Planck points out to us that any objections should be investigated locally at the competent Institute and that there was no intention of further forwarding a complaint without the complaint and consent of the complainant.

In addition, MPG denies that it is trying to discourage scientists from submitting complaints and adds: “Anonymity does not exclude a control in order to determine the basilicity of the complaint. And after the process, the identity of the complainants is confidentially treated and we give a special weight to it. “

Losses for science

Two of three of the researchers and researchers we asked have “turned their backs” in science. But not Gabriel Lado, who is currently working at an institute in South Korea. He says he has worked with “aggressive” researchers during his career, which he appreciates. “An environment in which people are fighting for their ideas can become very productive,” he says. “But Rostt was not fighting for his ideas, he was fighting against specific people. He humiliated me. “

For a year Lado was in Dresden. He then left the Institute. At that moment, he says, he felt “like a stray that trembles …”.

Curated by: Yiannis Papadimitriou