A few minutes later – the Institut fu ¨r Makromolekulare Chemie was close by – I
talked to Frau Hasel, Staudinger’s secretary, a warm-hearted, delicate lady. She did
not give me any hope, but went into his office and came back after quite some time:
“Sorry, sorry, Prof. Staudinger thanks for your interest in his macromolecules and
apologizes for your long trip”. Here one has to know that after one of his last Master
students had failed his exams, he had decided not to take students without their
Dipl. Chem. certificates. My brain was frozen, my heart reacted and I just followed
Else’s peculiar advice: “But, Mrs. Hasel, excuse me, my family and I are friends of
Prof. Vogt!” A smile appeared on her face! She went back and came out seconds
later: “I am glad for you; you have a meeting with Professor Staudinger tomorrow at
10:00 a.m. in his house.”
I stayed at the youth hostel in Freiburg overnight and went to Lugostraße early:
My heart was beating! After a few – for me exciting – minutes and talking with
H. Staudinger about my industrial macromolecular experience, about philosophy
and the end of the World War, I was accepted! On my way out it happened! With a
friendly smile on his face, Hermann Staudinger asked: “By the way, how is your
relation with my old friend Prof. Vogt?” What could I do? My only chance was to be
completely honest and I thus told Professor Staudinger my “Else-story”. Seriously
listening, his face looked like a theatre scene: colour changes, scene variations from
irritation to anger and fury – and back to laughter: “You are a lucky, successful boy
and I am looking forward to having you in my lab. My “Rotary Club colleague”, the
Weinbaudirektor, is a person I even dislike. But I have an old friend, Prof. Vogt, a
neurosurgeon. For him I would do everything. You see how lucky you are? See you
soon and have a nice trip back!” Thus, I became the very last student of Hermann
Staudinger.
2.2 Mornings at the Desk of Hermann Staudinger
(1956–1958)
After his retirement (spring 1956) Hermann Staudinger asked two of his last Dipl.
Chem. students to continue working with him: Gunter Welzel became involved in
Staudinger’s journal Die Makromolekulare Chemie, and I became engaged in his
Arbeitserinnerungen [1, 2], and his last talks (in Japan and the USA; by the way, the
slides of his last four talks are still in my office here in Mainz). In addition, both of us
were working for our Ph.D.s in the research group of Professor Elfriede Husemann
(successor of Staudinger). In those days, Hermann Staudinger was completely free of
any official duties, which was probably a very new and unexpected experience for
him. Our duty was to work with him for two mornings a week in the library of his
house in Freiburg (Lugostraße). What a time for two young Ph.D. students! Working
with him was only one part of the game; listening to his stories from yesterday, and
the day before yesterday was an unbelievable experience and a delight for us in
those days.
4
H. Ringsdorf
talked to Frau Hasel, Staudinger’s secretary, a warm-hearted, delicate lady. She did
not give me any hope, but went into his office and came back after quite some time:
“Sorry, sorry, Prof. Staudinger thanks for your interest in his macromolecules and
apologizes for your long trip”. Here one has to know that after one of his last Master
students had failed his exams, he had decided not to take students without their
Dipl. Chem. certificates. My brain was frozen, my heart reacted and I just followed
Else’s peculiar advice: “But, Mrs. Hasel, excuse me, my family and I are friends of
Prof. Vogt!” A smile appeared on her face! She went back and came out seconds
later: “I am glad for you; you have a meeting with Professor Staudinger tomorrow at
10:00 a.m. in his house.”
I stayed at the youth hostel in Freiburg overnight and went to Lugostraße early:
My heart was beating! After a few – for me exciting – minutes and talking with
H. Staudinger about my industrial macromolecular experience, about philosophy
and the end of the World War, I was accepted! On my way out it happened! With a
friendly smile on his face, Hermann Staudinger asked: “By the way, how is your
relation with my old friend Prof. Vogt?” What could I do? My only chance was to be
completely honest and I thus told Professor Staudinger my “Else-story”. Seriously
listening, his face looked like a theatre scene: colour changes, scene variations from
irritation to anger and fury – and back to laughter: “You are a lucky, successful boy
and I am looking forward to having you in my lab. My “Rotary Club colleague”, the
Weinbaudirektor, is a person I even dislike. But I have an old friend, Prof. Vogt, a
neurosurgeon. For him I would do everything. You see how lucky you are? See you
soon and have a nice trip back!” Thus, I became the very last student of Hermann
Staudinger.
2.2 Mornings at the Desk of Hermann Staudinger
(1956–1958)
After his retirement (spring 1956) Hermann Staudinger asked two of his last Dipl.
Chem. students to continue working with him: Gunter Welzel became involved in
Staudinger’s journal Die Makromolekulare Chemie, and I became engaged in his
Arbeitserinnerungen [1, 2], and his last talks (in Japan and the USA; by the way, the
slides of his last four talks are still in my office here in Mainz). In addition, both of us
were working for our Ph.D.s in the research group of Professor Elfriede Husemann
(successor of Staudinger). In those days, Hermann Staudinger was completely free of
any official duties, which was probably a very new and unexpected experience for
him. Our duty was to work with him for two mornings a week in the library of his
house in Freiburg (Lugostraße). What a time for two young Ph.D. students! Working
with him was only one part of the game; listening to his stories from yesterday, and
the day before yesterday was an unbelievable experience and a delight for us in
those days.
4
H. Ringsdorf