Year: 2024
Type: book-review
Abstract: David C. Clary recounts the stories of 30 scientists who were "lost" or who "vanished" during World War II despite that "they all sought help from agencies to relocate to the UK."He portrays 17 scholars who became victims of the Shoah or committed suicide when facing deportation to the death camps in the East.He also includes a diverse group of 13 scientists who managed to survive under very different circumstances.During the war, their correspondence with relief organizations ceased.Afterward, efforts were made to discover their fate.Since April 1933, so-called non-Aryans, those with at least one Jewish-born grandparent regardless of their religious affiliation, were displaced from their positions in German scientific institutions due to new laws.There was significant solidarity from their colleagues abroad, which led to the creation of relief organizations that helped the affected scientists continue their research outside of Germany with temporary grants.This should have enabled them to re-establish themselves.One of the most important of these organizations was the "Academic Assistance Council" in London (AAC; renamed the "Society for the Protection of Science and Learning" in 1936) founded as early as May 22, 1933.The AAC conducted selection processes to support only those with a realistic chance of continuing their careers outside of Germany.Clary draws upon the files of the AAC, which provide crucial information about all the biographies in his book.Thanks to this support and the forced emigration that followed their early dismissal from their positions, the number of victims of the Shoah among scientists who counted as Jews in the sense of the infamous Nuremberg laws of 1935 was significantly lower than the average.
Source: Natural Sciences
Author: Stefan L. Wolff
Institution: Deutsches Museum
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,120
OpenAlex ID: W4405697662