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.
Author(s): Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 504
Tags: Математика;История математики;
Contents
......Page 6
List of Figures and Tables
......Page 14
Preface
......Page 18
1. The Terms "German-Speaking Mathematician," "Forced," and "Voluntary Emigration"......Page 30
2. The Notion of "Mathematician" Plus Quantitative Figures on Persecution......Page 42
3. Early Emigration......Page 59
4. Pretexts, Forms, and the Extent of Emigration and Persecution
......Page 88
5. Obstacles to Emigration out of Germany after 1933, Failed Escape, and Death
......Page 119
6. Alternative (Non-American) Host Countries
......Page 131
7. Diminishing Ties with Germany and Self-Image of the Refugees
......Page 178
8. The American Reaction to Immigration: Help and Xenophobia......Page 215
9. Acculturation, Political Adaptation, and the American Entrance into the War
......Page 259
10. The Impact of Immigration on American Mathematics
......Page 296
11. Epilogue: The Postwar Relationship of German and American Mathematicians
......Page 348
Appendix 1......Page 370
Appendix 2
......Page 395
Appendix 3.1......Page 397
Appendix 3.2......Page 401
Appendix 3.3......Page 403
Appendix 3.4......Page 405
Appendix 3.5......Page 407
Appendix 4.1
......Page 409
Appendix 4.2
......Page 410
Appendix 4.3
......Page 412
Appendix 4.4
......Page 417
Appendix 5.1
......Page 419
Appendix 5.2
......Page 422
Appendix 6
......Page 423
Archives, Unprinted Sources, and Their Abbreviations
......Page 444
References
......Page 450
Photographs Index and Credits
......Page 474
Subject Index
......Page 478
Name Index
......Page 490
