Albert Einstein became director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in 1917. The institute was established in Berlin during the First World War, after its planned foundation had been delayed by the conflict.
Einstein’s move to Berlin began in 1914, following an offer arranged by Max Planck and Walther Nernst. The position combined membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences, a professorship at the University of Berlin, and leadership of the planned institute. When the institute finally opened, Einstein was appointed its first director.
The institute initially functioned mainly as a body that funded and coordinated physical research rather than as a large laboratory with its own staff. Its early address was Einstein’s private residence. Einstein remained director until 1933, when he left Germany after the Nazi rise to power. The date is sometimes confused with 1914, the year he moved to Berlin, or 1920, when he received other major scientific honors.