“My mother now has a permanent address in Essen.”
Two New Streets at Thurmfeld
- 19.10.2026
In a ceremony on October 2, 2026, Essen’s Mayor Thomas Kufen named two streets at the Thurmfeld Research and Innovation Campus after female scientists: Prof. Dr. Alice Shalvi, professor of English literature, and Prof. Dr. Selma Meyer, professor of pediatrics. Both were born in Essen, were pioneers in their academic disciplines, and were forced to leave Germany during the Nazi era. Descendants of Alice Shalvi traveled to the ceremony.
Two large university research buildings are currently under construction at Thurmfeld: ACTIVE SITES and FutureWaterCampus. Two new streets provide access to the new campus of the University of Duisburg-Essen. The UDE was invited to submit naming suggestions, and District Council I made the final decision on the names. Along with Rector Prof. Barbara Albert, numerous participants from the university and the city were delighted that Mayor Thomas Kufen presided over the ceremonial naming exactly on the 100th birthday of one of the honorees, Alice Shalvi, and that descendants of the honorees had traveled from Israel for the occasion.
Mayor Kufen emphasized that both scholars were also strong advocates for women’s rights. “Two streets now honor two extraordinary women from Essen: Alice Shalvi, a professor of literature, and Selma Meyer, a professor of pediatrics. Both Jewish women were persecuted by the Nazis and were forced to flee Germany. The fact that their names are being honored right here is fitting for this location: in the immediate vicinity of the University of Duisburg-Essen and right next to the Research and Innovation Campus on the Thurmfeld site. At the same time, the street names serve as a reminder of the injustices both women suffered as Jewish women. “Especially in light of the resurgence of antisemitism, we must protect Jewish life and keep alive the memory of the crimes of National Socialism.”
“We are extremely pleased that our university, the city of Essen, and these two remarkable women of science are now visibly connected. In addition, we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,” said Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert.
Who are these two female scientists?
Prof. Dr. Selma Meyer (1881–1958) was born in Essen. She began studying medicine in Berlin in 1910, earned her doctorate in 1916, and received her medical license in 1917. In 1922, she became the first woman to earn a habilitation in pediatrics and the second woman ever to do so at a German medical school. In 1927, she was appointed Germany’s first adjunct professor of pediatrics. Her research focused on infectious diseases, hematology, and social pediatrics. In 1933, as a Jew, she was stripped of her teaching license by the Nazis; in 1938, she lost her medical license. She was stripped of her citizenship and had her property confiscated. In 1939, she emigrated to England and in 1940 to the United States, where she practiced as a pediatrician in New York until her death in 1958.
Prof. Dr. Alice Shalvi (1926–2023) was also born in Essen. Her family emigrated to England in 1934 to escape Nazi persecution. Shalvi studied English literature and moved to Israel in 1949. There, she became a prominent scholar, educator, and women’s rights activist. She taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and founded the Department of English at what is now Ben-Gurion University. She was a feminist. In 1984, she was one of the founders of the Israel Women’s Network and served as its first chairwoman. In 2007, she received the Israel Prize, Israel’s highest state honor, for her life’s work.
Pictured: University President Prof. Barbara Albert (left) and Mayor Thomas Kufen (6th from the right) with the descendants of Prof. Alice Shalvi, who traveled to Essen specifically for the occasion, at Thurmfeld in Essen.
Further information:
Information of the city of Essen