In a review article in the diamond jubilee issue of the journal “Radiochimica Acta”, researchers from GSI/FAIR, the Helmholtz Institute Mainz, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz report on highlights of the research on superheavy elements (SHE) carried out at GSI over the past five decades. The article focuses on the discovery of the “superheavies” and on chemical studies addressing the placement of the new, heaviest elements in the periodic table of elements.