The emigration of mathematicians from Europe during the Nazi era signaled an irrevocable and important historical shift for the international mathematics world.Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany is the first thoroughly documented account of this exodus. In this greatly expanded translation of the 1998 German edition, Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze describes the flight of more than 140 mathematicians, their reasons for leaving, the political and economic issues involved, the reception of these emigrants by various countries, and the emigrants' continuing contributions to mathematics. The influx of these brilliant thinkers to other nations profoundly reconfigured the mathematics world and vaulted the United States into a new leadership role in mathematics research.
Based on archival sources that have never been examined before, the book discusses the preeminent emigrant mathematicians of the period, including Emmy Noether, John von Neumann, Hermann Weyl, and many others. The author explores the mechanisms of the expulsion of mathematicians from Germany, the emigrants' acculturation to their new host countries, and the fates of those mathematicians forced to stay behind. The book reveals the alienation and solidarity of the emigrants, and investigates the global development of mathematics as a consequence of their radical migration.
An in-depth yet accessible look at mathematics both as a scientific enterprise and human endeavor,Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany provides a vivid picture of a critical chapter in the history of international science.
Arvustused
An in-depth yet accessible look at mathematics both as a scientific enterprise and human endeavour, Mathematicians Fleeing from Nazi Germany provides a vivid picture of a critical chapter in the history of international science. L'Enseignement Mathematique Siegmund-Schultze has a profound and deep understanding of the culture of mathematics and mathematicians. His book conveys very well how complicated and subtle the process of emigration was ... and how much the emigre's themselves had to overcome. -- Mark Walker Metascience
Muu info
The book is heavily based on primary archival sources that have not been analyzed before. Many people will profit from its illuminating discussions of the material. -- Leo Corry, Tel Aviv University This is an excellent book. -- Karen Parshall, University of Virginia
List of Figures and Tables xiii Preface xvii
Chapter 1: The Terms
"German-Speaking Mathematician," "Forced," and "Voluntary Emigration" 1
Chapter 2: The Notion of "Mathematician" Plus Quantitative Figures on
Persecution 13
Chapter 3: Early Emigration 30 3.1. The Push-Factor 32
3.2. The Pull-Factor 36 3.D. Documents 40 3.D.1. The Economic Troubles in
German Science as a Stimulus to Emigration 40 3.D.2. National Isolation,
Xenophobia, and Anti-Semitism as European Phenomena 42 3.D.3. Personal Risks
with Early Emigration 45 3.D.4. The Ambiguous Interconnection between Social
Hierarchies, Traditions at Home, and Internationalization in Mathematics 46
3.D.5. The American Interest in Immigration (Pull-Factor) 47 3.D.6. The
Start of Economic Problems in America around 1930 Foreshadowing Later
Problems Incurred during Forced Emigration 51 3.S. Case Studies 52 3.S.1.
The Failed Appointments of C. Carathodory and S. Bochner at Harvard 52
3.S.2. Early Emigration from Austria as Exemplified by Karl Menger 53 3.S.3.
The Problems of Early Emigration as Exemplified by Hermann Weyl 56
Chapter 4: Pretexts, Forms, and the Extent of Emigration and Persecution 59
4.1. The Nazi Policy of Expulsion 60 4.2. The Political Position of
Mathematicians, Affected and Unaffected by Persecution 66 4.D. Documents 72
4.D.1. The Pseudo-Legalism of the Methods of Expulsion 72 4.D.2. Student
Boycotts as a Means of Expelling Unwanted Docents 72 4.D.3. The Racist
"German Mathematics" (Deutsche Mathematik) of Ludwig Bieberbach as an
Ideology Supportive of the Expulsions 73 4.D.4. Personal Denunciations as
Instruments of Expulsion 73 4.D.5. Political Reasons for Emigration beyond
Anti-Semitism 77 4.D.6. Cheating Emigrants out of Their Pensions 79 4.D.7.
Increasing Restrictions Imposed upon "Non-Aryan" Students 80 4.D.8.
Political Position of Emigrants before 1933: German Nationalism, Illusions,
and General Lack of Prescience 80 4.D.9. First Reactions by the Victims:
Readiness to Compromise and to Justify, Adoption of the Martyr's Role 83
4.D.10. The Partial Identity of Interests between the Regime and the
"Unaffected" German Mathematicians 86 4.D.11. Reactions to the Expulsions
from Abroad 88
Chapter 5: Obstacles to Emigration out of Germany after
1933, Failed Escape, and Death 90 5.D. Documents 92 5.D.1. Obstacles to
Emigration from Germany 92 5.D.2. Unsuccessful Attempts at Emigration,
Mathematicians Murdered 94
Chapter 6: Alternative (Non-American) Host
Countries 102 6.D. Documents and Problems Pertaining to the Various--Often
Temporary--Host Countries outside of the United States 104
Chapter 7:
Diminishing Ties with Germany and Self-Image of the Refugees 149 7.D.
Documents 152 7.D.1. Concern for the Fate of Relatives Left Behind 152
7.D.2. The Emotional Ties to Germany and to German Mathematics on the Part of
the Emigrants 153 7.D.3. Maintenance and Gradual Restriction of the
Emigrants' Personal and Scientific Relations to Germany 156 7.D.4.
Conflicting Opinions on Mathematicians Remaining in Germany and on Those Who
Returned in Spite of Chances Abroad 157 7.D.5. Political Information,
Caution, and Self-Censorship in the Contact between Emigrants and
Mathematicians Remaining in Germany 160 7.D.6. Condemnation of Former
Colleagues' Commitment to the Nazis by Emigrants 162 7.D.7. Self-Selection
by Emigrants 165 7.S. Case Studies 167 7.S.1. Richard Courant's Gradual
Estrangement from Germany 167 7.S.2. Concern for the Future of German
Applied Mathematics and the Young Generation: Richard von Mises and Theodor
von Krmn Supporting Walter Tollmien's Return to Germany 171 7.S.3.
Controversial Judgments about the Return of an Established Mathematician to
Germany: Eberhard Hopf 175 7.S.4. The Lack of Demarcation toward
Mathematicians Remaining in Germany: The Example of Gumbel's Only Partially
Successful Book Free Science (1938) 176 7.S.5. The Aftereffects of Previous
Political Conflicts in Emigration: The Case Rudolf Lneburg 180
Chapter
8: The American Reaction to Immigration: Help and Xenophobia 186 8.1.
General Trends in American Immigration Policies 186 8.2. Consequences for
the Immigration of Scholars 189 8.3. The Relief Organizations, Particularly
in the United States 192 8.D. Documents 204 8.D.1. Competition on the
American Job Market and Attempts to Keep the Immigrants away from America 204
8.D.2. "Selection" of Immigrants to Be Promoted and Bureaucratic Obstacles
on the Part of the Americans 205 8.D.3. Special Problems for Female
Immigrants 207 8.D.4. Political Mistrust on the American Side 207 8.D.5.
The Priority of Private Foundations and Pure Research Institutions in Helping
the Immigrants 208 8.D.6. The Restricted Scope and Possibilities Available
to the German Mathematicians' Relief Fund 209 8.D.7. Further Motives for
Xenophobia: Mental Borders, Anti-Semitism, Differences in the Science
Systems, Professional Jealousy 210 8.D.8. Decline of Xenophobia in
Connection with Political Events on the Eve of World War II 213 8.S. Case
Studies 214 8.S.1. The Case of the Female Emigrant Emmy Noether 214 8.S.2.
A Case of the Exploitation of Immigrants by an Engineer at Cornell (M. G.
Malti) 217 8.S.3 Five Case Studies about Academic Anti-Semitism in the USA
218 8.S.3.1. Consideration of anti-Semitism in the policies of the relief
organizations 218 8.S.3.2. Examples of American nationalist and racist
propaganda aimed at immigrants 219 8.S.3.3. Problems in relationships
between assimilated (in particular baptized) and Orthodox Jews in America 219
8.S.3.4. The anti-Semitism of George David Birkhoff 223 8.S.3.5. Declining
academic anti-Semitism in the USA after 1945 228
Chapter 9:
Acculturation, Political Adaptation, and the American Entrance into the War
230 9.1. General Problems of Acculturation 231 9.2. Political Adaptation
233 9.3. Problems of Adaptation in Teaching and Research 235 9.4.
Age-Related Problems and Pensions 236 9.5. The Influence of War Conditions
236 9.D. Documents 237 9.D.1. The General Requirement of "Adaptability" 237
9.D.2. Problems Arising from the Loss of Status Due to Emigration and from
the Widespread Principle of Seniority in Academic Promotions 240 9.D.3.
Different Traditions in Teaching and Unfamiliar Teaching Loads 242 9.D.4.
Extraordinary Solutions for Outstanding Immigrants 243 9.D.5.
Individualistic European versus Cooperative American Working Style 245
9.D.6. Problems of Moral Prudishness in the United States: The Extreme Case
of Carl Ludwig Siegel 247 9.D.7. Language Problems 248 9.D.8. The Need for
Publications in the Language of the Host Country 248 9.D.9. Support by
Immigrants for Economic and Social Reform, in Particular for New Deal
Positions 249 9.D.10. Pressure to Adapt Politically and Political Mistrust
against Immigrants on the Part of the Americans 250 9.D.11. Waning Political
Restraint on Immigrants after Obtaining American Citizenship and the Impact
of the American Entrance into the War 252 9.D.12. Personal Failure of
Immigrants in the United States, Due to Age- and Pension-Related Problems 257
9.S. Case Studies 259 9.S.1. The Tragic Fate of a Political Emigrant: Emil
Julius Gumbel 259 9.S.2. A Case of Failed Accommodation by an Older
Immigrant: Felix Bernstein 262
Chapter 10: The Impact of Immigration on
American Mathematics 267 10.1. The "Impact of Immigration" Viewed from
Various Global, Biographical, National, or Nonmathematical Perspectives 270
10.2. The Institutional and Organizational Impact 276 10.3. The Impact of
German-Speaking Immigration in Applied Mathematics 278 10.4. The
Inner-Mathematical Impact of German-Speaking Immigration on the United States
284 10.5. The Impact of the "Noether School" and of German Algebra in
General 285 10.6. Differences in Mentality, the History and Foundations of
Mathematics 294 10.D. Documents 296 10.D.1. The Heterogeneity of the
"German-Speaking" Emigration, in Particular Differences between German and
Austrian Traditions in Mathematics 296 10.D.2. Losses for Germany 297
10.D.3. The Profits of Emigration for International Communication 297
10.D.4. Impact of the Institutional Side of German Mathematics (Educational
System, Libraries) 298 10.D.5. The Development of New Mathematical Centers
in the United States 298 10.D.6. Inner-Mathematical Impact on Individual
Disciplines 300 10.S. Case Studies 310 10.S.1. The Failure of Richard
Brauer's Book on Algebra in 1935, or the Paradoxical Victory of "Talmudic
Mathematics" Due to Nazi Rule 310 10.S.2. Late American Criticism of "German
Algebra," a Controversy between Garrett Birkhoff and B. L. van der Waerden in
the 1970s and Commentary by G.-C. Rota in 1989 315
Chapter 11: Epilogue:
The Postwar Relationship of German and American Mathematicians 319 11.D.
Documents 327 11.D.1. The New Wave of Emigration after the War 327 11.D.2.
Remigration and Obstacles to It 327 11.D.3. Resumption of Scientific
Communication 328 11.D.4. Compensation for the Emigrants 329 11.D.5.
Political "Coping with the Past" ("Vergangenheitsbewltigung") 331 11.S. Case
Study 337 11.S.1. A Case of Failed Compensation: Max Dehn 337 Appendix
1: Lists of Emigrated (after 1933), Murdered, and Otherwise Persecuted
German-Speaking Mathematicians (as of 2008) 341 1.1. List of
German-Speaking Mathematicians Who Emigrated during the Nazi Period (First
Generation) 343 1.2. List of German-Speaking Mathematicians Who Were
Murdered or Driven to Suicide by the Nazis 358 1.3. List of German-Speaking
Mathematicians Persecuted in Other Manners (Includes Teachers of Mathematics
and Is Probably Incomplete) 360 Appendix 2: Excerpt from a Letter by
George David Birkhoff rom Paris (1928) to His Colleague-Mathematicians at
Harvard Concerning the Possibility of or Desirability to Hire Foreigners 366
Appendix 3.1: Report Compiled by Harald Bohr "Together with Different
German Friends" in May 1933 Concerning the Present Conditions in German
Universities, in Particular with Regard to Mathematics and Theoretical
Physics 368 Appendix 3.2: Translation of a Letter from Professor Karl Lowner
of the University of Prague to Professor Louis L. Silverman (Dartmouth
College) Dated August 2, 1933 372 Appendix 3.3: Richard von Mises's
"Position toward the Events of Our Time" in November 1933 374 Appendix 3.4:
Report by Artur Rosenthal (Heidelberg) from June 1935 on the Boycott of His
and Heinrich Liebmann's Mathematical Courses 376 Appendix 3.5: Max
Pinl--Later the Author of Pioneering Reports (1969-72) on Mathematical
Refugees--in a Letter to Hermann Weyl on the Situation in Czechoslovakia
Immediately after the Munich Dictate of September 29, 1938 378 Appendix
4.1: A Letter by Emmy Noether of January 1935 to the Emergency Committee in
New York Regarding Her Scientific and Political Interests during Emigration
380 Appendix 4.2: Richard Courant's Resignation from the German
Mathematicians'Association DMV in 1935 381 Appendix 4.3: Von Mises in His
Diary about His Second Emigration, from Turkey to the USA, in 1939 383
Appendix 4.4: Hermann Weyl to Harlow Shapley on June 5, 1943, Concerning the
Problems of the Immigrant from Gottingen, Felix Bernstein 388 Appendix
5.1: Richard Courant in October 1945 to the American Authorities Who Were
Responsible for German Scientific Reparation 390 Appendix 5.2: Max Dehn's
Refusal to Rejoin the German Mathematicians' Association DMV in 1948 393
Appendix 6: Memoirs for My Children (1933/1988) by Peter Thullen 394
Archives, Unprinted Sources, and Their Abbreviations 415 References 421
Photographs Index and Credits 445 Subject Index 449 Name Index 461
Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze is professor of the history of mathematics at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, in Norway.
