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What is Caus­al AI – and how did de­nazi­fic­a­tion policies shape post-war Ger­many?

GRANT: Two CBS re­search­ers re­ceive pres­ti­gi­ous Sapere Aude grants to lead ground­break­ing re­search pro­jects

The Independent Research Fund Denmark has just awarded 39 new Sapere Aude: DFF-Research Leader grants. This prestigious grant supports talented research leaders with funding of up to DKK 6.2 million, giving them the opportunity to lead a research group.

The grant is awarded to younger researchers who have already demonstrated research at the highest level in their field.

This year, Jan Stuckatz, Assistant Professor at the Department of International Economics, Government and Business, and Paul Hünermund, Assistant Professor at the Department of Strategy and Innovation, have been awarded Sapere Aude grants.

Both research projects lie at the intersection between society, politics and technology.

How did denazification policies shape post-war Germany? 

Jan Stuckatz will lead a project that revisits an essential chapter in post-war history: the denazification of Germany.

“ While de­nazi­fic­a­tion was a corner­stone of Europe’s re­con­struc­tion, we still lack a com­pre­hens­ive, sys­tem­at­ic study that com­pares the pro­cesses across the dif­fer­ent al­lied zones ” - Jan Stuck­at, As­sist­ant Pro­fess­or

His project, ‘Who was Denazified?’, explores how denazification policies implemented across the different occupation zones shaped individuals and society in post-war Germany.

“While denazification was a cornerstone of Europe’s reconstruction, we still lack a comprehensive, systematic study that compares the processes across the different allied zones,” says Jan Stuckatz.

The project aims to fill that gap by collecting extensive individual data from the denazification forms used in Germany between 1945 and 1949. These documents provide detailed information on Nazi affiliation, voting behaviour, employment history, education and personal demographics.

“I am very pleased to receive the prestigious Sapere Aude grant. The project seeks to answer long-standing questions about how regime change and transitional justice shape individuals, politics and the economy. The findings may help us better understand Europe’s post-war development as well as similar cases in other parts of the world,” says Jan Stuckatz.

The project will also result in a new database containing millions of denazification forms from 1945 to 1949 –  an unprecedented resource for researchers, journalists and the public alike.

The future of artificial intelligence with Causal AI

Paul Hünermund will explore the future of artificial intelligence through his project on Causal AI.

Unlike traditional AI, which often lacks transparency, Causal AI integrates human expertise to produce more reliable and fair decisions. Paul Hünermund’s research will focus on how experts interact with these systems and how their input shapes outcomes. The goal is to develop practical and applicable guidelines that improve the collaboration between human and machine and unlock the potential of this next-generation technology.

“In the long term, this research has the potential to make a meaningful difference – not only in Denmark but globally. It strengthens CBS’ position as a frontrunner in human-centred AI and supports Denmark’s role as an emerging hub in this rapidly evolving field. Most importantly, our aim is to create value beyond academia by sharing our insights with the business community, researchers and students,” says Paul Hünermund.