Returning to the story of the Staudinger House: It was the task given to G.W.
to gain the consent and approval of Magda Staudinger for the name-giving act.
G.W. had met her first in 1973 on occasion of a meeting on macromolecular science
in Switzerland organized by Hans Batzer, who introduced him to her in a very kind
manner. After this first encounter many others followed, initially on occasions of
conferences and meetings and later by private invitations to her mansion in
Lugostrasse, Freiburg. She seemed to develop very friendly feelings toward
G.W. and considered him openly as the “scientific grandson” of her late husband
(and, of course, hers as well).
Based on her affection, G.W. was able to convince her to make a first-in-herlifetime visit to the Institute building at Stefan-Meier-Strasse, Freiburg in 1978. In
1980, G.W. tried to convince her to agree to confer the name of Hermann
Staudinger on the building. Of course, it would have been correct to attach the
names of both H.S. and Elfriede Husemann to the building; however, that would
have never found the approval of Magda Staudinger.
Eventually, she approved for the good reason that the naming would reinforce
her continuing efforts to defend the priority of H.S. in the field of macromolecular
science. In the context of gaining her approval, she suggested very strongly that
G.W. should embark on writing a textbook on the history of macromolecular
chemistry. G.W. suggested that he was too young and inexperienced for such a
challenge and instead proposed the name of Herbert Morawetz (born 1915 in
Praque, Professor at Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York, USA) as potential author. He also agreed that he would try to convince Herbert Morawetz to
undertake such a work and would invite him for a longer stay at Freiburg so that
Magda Staudinger could have ample time and opportunity to expose her thoughts
and experiences.
That proposal helped greatly and Morawetz came indeed to Freiburg in 1983 for
a long stay. His book, a true landmark in scientific writing on the origins and
contexts of the evolution of polymer science, appeared finally in 1985 [1]. At that
time, G.W. had moved to Mainz in Germany as one of the founders of the newly
created Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (together with E.W. Fischer).
But this is another story.
The name “Hermann-Staudinger-Haus” for the Institute building in Freiburg,
Stefan-Meier-Street 31, was eventually formally presented and announced in
March 1981 in the presence of Magda Staudinger. As planned, this event was
also linked to the commemoration of the 100th birthday of H.S.
Incidentally, and not unrelated, Magda Staudinger gave a thoughtful and moving
speech as an honorary guest on occasion of the formal opening ceremony of the
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz on March 10, 1986. She spoke
about the longings of H.S. (and herself) for recognition of their priority in macromolecular science and their unsuccessful attempts to convince the Kaiser-Wilhelm
Gesellschaft (KWI), the predecessor of the Max Planck Society, to create an
institute in Freiburg. However, now and because the Max Planck Society had
decided to have such an institute in Mainz, she was pleased to see that the visions
of her late husband would further be developed, if not in Freiburg at least in Mainz.
Hermann Staudinger: Aspects of Fame and Memory, Motivation and Impact
43
to gain the consent and approval of Magda Staudinger for the name-giving act.
G.W. had met her first in 1973 on occasion of a meeting on macromolecular science
in Switzerland organized by Hans Batzer, who introduced him to her in a very kind
manner. After this first encounter many others followed, initially on occasions of
conferences and meetings and later by private invitations to her mansion in
Lugostrasse, Freiburg. She seemed to develop very friendly feelings toward
G.W. and considered him openly as the “scientific grandson” of her late husband
(and, of course, hers as well).
Based on her affection, G.W. was able to convince her to make a first-in-herlifetime visit to the Institute building at Stefan-Meier-Strasse, Freiburg in 1978. In
1980, G.W. tried to convince her to agree to confer the name of Hermann
Staudinger on the building. Of course, it would have been correct to attach the
names of both H.S. and Elfriede Husemann to the building; however, that would
have never found the approval of Magda Staudinger.
Eventually, she approved for the good reason that the naming would reinforce
her continuing efforts to defend the priority of H.S. in the field of macromolecular
science. In the context of gaining her approval, she suggested very strongly that
G.W. should embark on writing a textbook on the history of macromolecular
chemistry. G.W. suggested that he was too young and inexperienced for such a
challenge and instead proposed the name of Herbert Morawetz (born 1915 in
Praque, Professor at Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York, USA) as potential author. He also agreed that he would try to convince Herbert Morawetz to
undertake such a work and would invite him for a longer stay at Freiburg so that
Magda Staudinger could have ample time and opportunity to expose her thoughts
and experiences.
That proposal helped greatly and Morawetz came indeed to Freiburg in 1983 for
a long stay. His book, a true landmark in scientific writing on the origins and
contexts of the evolution of polymer science, appeared finally in 1985 [1]. At that
time, G.W. had moved to Mainz in Germany as one of the founders of the newly
created Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (together with E.W. Fischer).
But this is another story.
The name “Hermann-Staudinger-Haus” for the Institute building in Freiburg,
Stefan-Meier-Street 31, was eventually formally presented and announced in
March 1981 in the presence of Magda Staudinger. As planned, this event was
also linked to the commemoration of the 100th birthday of H.S.
Incidentally, and not unrelated, Magda Staudinger gave a thoughtful and moving
speech as an honorary guest on occasion of the formal opening ceremony of the
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz on March 10, 1986. She spoke
about the longings of H.S. (and herself) for recognition of their priority in macromolecular science and their unsuccessful attempts to convince the Kaiser-Wilhelm
Gesellschaft (KWI), the predecessor of the Max Planck Society, to create an
institute in Freiburg. However, now and because the Max Planck Society had
decided to have such an institute in Mainz, she was pleased to see that the visions
of her late husband would further be developed, if not in Freiburg at least in Mainz.
Hermann Staudinger: Aspects of Fame and Memory, Motivation and Impact
43