Women Physicists and Nazi Rule

This post is a review of Sisters in Science by Olivia Campbell.

It is a book about 4 women physicists who were able to escape the Nazi regime in Germany and (re)build successful careers in other countries. These were Hedwig Kohn (a spectroscopist), Lise Meitner (nuclear pioneer), Hildegard Stucklen (spectroscopist) and Hertha Sponer (physical chemist). The first two had to flee because they were Jewish and all of them had to flee because they were women (Nazi rule opposed academic jobs for women).

I'm glad somebody has written this book, though some separate accounts have been published as parts of individual biographies, for example. This book consolidates a picture of how even before the Nazi regime came to power, women had to struggle mightily to secure academic positions (there were only 3 female professors in Germany by the time the 1930's arrived). This was virtually impossible without promoters and champions (e.g. David Hilbert for Emmy Noether, James Franck for Lise Meitner). Some of these mentors needed to be brought around first (e.g. Planck, who was an earlier mentor for Meitner). The reluctance of male physics professors to even admit female students was widespread in those days. The scientific contributions of all 4 women are mentioned in quite good detail in this context.

The book then describes how the Nazi regime systematically removed Jews and women from academic positions in Germany. The quite detailed politics and correspondences of the renowned Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, for example, are mentioned in this regard. But firings were also often public, with lists of those to be removed from their positions appearing in newspapers. The daring and timely escapes of the 4 women physicists from Germany are detailed in the book, along with the frantic appeals for help, and the opportune allies and benefactors. A section towards the end is dedicated to those who did not make it out.

Meitner escaped to Sweden; Sponer became the first woman physics professor at Duke; Kohn worked at many places outside of Germany, starting with UNC; the first place Stucklen taught at after escaping was Mount Holyoke. The book gives insight into the organizations formed in the United States for aiding refugee scientists, such as the US Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars and the German Scientists Relief Fund. Nonetheless, the absorption of female refugee scientists did not occur without opposition from within the United States. Millikan from CalTech wrote vehemently to the president of Duke against hiring them; faculty at several institutions were suspicious of these 'spies'.

Afterword

The book is written as a popular science/history, comprehensible to everyone age 10 and up. The style is engaging and lucid. At about 350 pages, I did not find it a taxing read.

The book is rich in historical details that might interest a scientist - many outrageous, most tragic, a few amusing, some romantic: a massive rally held against Einstein's theories at the Berlin Philharmonic; the editor of the famous journal Die Naturwissenschaften committing suicide so as not to fall into the hands of the Nazis; the chemist George de Hevesy dissolving Franck' Nobel medal in aqua regia and storing it in Bohr's Institute in Copenhagen when the Nazis banned awards and invaded Denmark (the medal was eventually recast and is now apparently on display in the UChicago library) ; Hertha finally marrying her mentor and friend Franck after they came to the States.

A necessary book, and essential reading.