leader of Freiburg’s lecturers (Eduard, editor’s note) Steinke (1899–1963, editor’s note) raised “concerns for political reasons” [16, p. 195]:
It is a well-known fact that Mohr obtained all of his education and training outside Germany
(in Switzerland; editor’s note). During the many years of his activities here (since 1933,
editor’s note), he has demonstrated no commitment to the Nazi state [. . .]. He only recently
joined a Nazi unit and has been in the armed forces since the spring of this year. Since the
lecturers’ leadership is of the opinion that Mohr is not a suitable candidate for an academic
career in view of his overall attitude and views, I do not consider it justified to appoint him
to the position of scientific assistant; instead of this, I would be grateful if he were allowed
to continue holding such a position on a provisional basis for the time being.
(Official party letter written by Steinke to the vice-chancellor’s office at Albert Ludwigs
University in Freiburg on 10 June 1941; quoted from [16, p. 196])
Vice-chancellor Wilhelm Su ¨ss (1895–1958) agreed with Steinke’s assessment:
Dr Rolf Mohr cannot be appointed to be a scientific assistant yet. Dr Mohr has been
evaluated unfavourably in political appraisals in the past. Since he only recently joined a
Nazi unit, a lengthy probationary period will be necessary before any change is made in the
current assessment of his political views. I would be grateful if Dr Mohr was to continue
holding a position as assistant on a provisional basis. (Letter written by the vice-chancellor
to Staudinger on 30 June 1941; quoted from [16, p. 196])
In response to this, Staudinger threatened the vice-chancellor on 5 July “to
inform Dr Mohr about the contents of your letter, since he has turned down
attractive technical positions in the hope of being able to qualify for a professorship
here” (quoted from [16], p. 197). Staudinger was not allowed to inform Mohr about
the arguments against his appointment as an assistant in writing; he “is instructed to
make contact with the lecturers’ leader before taking further action” [16, p. 198]. It
has been lost in the mists of time exactly how the Mohr issue was resolved in the
Third Reich. What is definite is that Mohr did not qualify for a professorship in
Freiburg until 1946 with a thesis “About the stabilisation of cellulose nitrates”.
• In June 1942, Staudinger’s “half-Jewish” student Gerhard Bier (1917–2003),
whose mother was a Jew, was prohibited from completing his chemistry degree,
after he had already been forced to discontinue studying medicine elsewhere in
1939. However, the Freiburg “vice-chancellor Su ¨ss and Professor Staudinger
make it possible for him to stay another few months to graduate” [19, p. 86]. Bier
remembers:
There were a number of other ‘half-Jews’ who studied chemistry apart from me. After the
final exams, Staudinger said to me: ‘If you want, I can find out whether you can work here.’
He phoned the military research authorities responsible and received approval to deploy me
as a scientific professional for work in the macromolecular research institute that was of
importance to the war effort. I was paid as an untrained scientific assistant, i.e. received
100 RM per month. (Quoted from [19], p. 86)
Bier managed to graduate in 1942 (cf. [19], p. 412), but then things got too
dangerous for him in Germany in 1944, so that he fled to Switzerland [19, p. 86],
where he completed a doctorate at Bern University in 1946.
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It is a well-known fact that Mohr obtained all of his education and training outside Germany
(in Switzerland; editor’s note). During the many years of his activities here (since 1933,
editor’s note), he has demonstrated no commitment to the Nazi state [. . .]. He only recently
joined a Nazi unit and has been in the armed forces since the spring of this year. Since the
lecturers’ leadership is of the opinion that Mohr is not a suitable candidate for an academic
career in view of his overall attitude and views, I do not consider it justified to appoint him
to the position of scientific assistant; instead of this, I would be grateful if he were allowed
to continue holding such a position on a provisional basis for the time being.
(Official party letter written by Steinke to the vice-chancellor’s office at Albert Ludwigs
University in Freiburg on 10 June 1941; quoted from [16, p. 196])
Vice-chancellor Wilhelm Su ¨ss (1895–1958) agreed with Steinke’s assessment:
Dr Rolf Mohr cannot be appointed to be a scientific assistant yet. Dr Mohr has been
evaluated unfavourably in political appraisals in the past. Since he only recently joined a
Nazi unit, a lengthy probationary period will be necessary before any change is made in the
current assessment of his political views. I would be grateful if Dr Mohr was to continue
holding a position as assistant on a provisional basis. (Letter written by the vice-chancellor
to Staudinger on 30 June 1941; quoted from [16, p. 196])
In response to this, Staudinger threatened the vice-chancellor on 5 July “to
inform Dr Mohr about the contents of your letter, since he has turned down
attractive technical positions in the hope of being able to qualify for a professorship
here” (quoted from [16], p. 197). Staudinger was not allowed to inform Mohr about
the arguments against his appointment as an assistant in writing; he “is instructed to
make contact with the lecturers’ leader before taking further action” [16, p. 198]. It
has been lost in the mists of time exactly how the Mohr issue was resolved in the
Third Reich. What is definite is that Mohr did not qualify for a professorship in
Freiburg until 1946 with a thesis “About the stabilisation of cellulose nitrates”.
• In June 1942, Staudinger’s “half-Jewish” student Gerhard Bier (1917–2003),
whose mother was a Jew, was prohibited from completing his chemistry degree,
after he had already been forced to discontinue studying medicine elsewhere in
1939. However, the Freiburg “vice-chancellor Su ¨ss and Professor Staudinger
make it possible for him to stay another few months to graduate” [19, p. 86]. Bier
remembers:
There were a number of other ‘half-Jews’ who studied chemistry apart from me. After the
final exams, Staudinger said to me: ‘If you want, I can find out whether you can work here.’
He phoned the military research authorities responsible and received approval to deploy me
as a scientific professional for work in the macromolecular research institute that was of
importance to the war effort. I was paid as an untrained scientific assistant, i.e. received
100 RM per month. (Quoted from [19], p. 86)
Bier managed to graduate in 1942 (cf. [19], p. 412), but then things got too
dangerous for him in Germany in 1944, so that he fled to Switzerland [19, p. 86],
where he completed a doctorate at Bern University in 1946.
120
M. Weber and G. Deussing