Foreword: Memories of Hermann Staudinger by
one of his grandchildren
I am delighted to contribute to this special issue of Advances in Polymer Science a
few memories of my grandfather Hermann Staudinger, whom I knew for almost
20 years until his death in 1965.
With his first wife, Dorothea Staudinger-Fo ¨rster, he had four children: Eva, born
1907 in Strasbourg; my mother Hilde, born 1910 in Karlsruhe; Hansju ¨rgen, born
1914 in Zu ¨rich; and Klara, born 1916 in Zu ¨rich. His daughters and his son married
and had ten children that I still regularly see.
Because my father, Theodore Ru ¨egg, died soon after my birth in 1946, and since
I was his only child, my mother arranged that I would often see her father and her
brother Hansju ¨rgen, who became my godfather. I thus had the unique opportunity
of often seeing and talking to both of them and of being partly educated by them.
These get-togethers started right after the end of World War II and took place
either in Zu ¨rich, where we lived, in Basel, or in nearby Freiburg (Germany). During
that time, my mother often travelled north loaded with precious food such as butter,
bread, sugar, meat, and coffee beans, the essential ingredient for preparing the
preferred morning drink of my grandfather. He would also visit us in Zurich several
times a year. As a result of the hard times he had endured during the Nazi regime, he
had aged considerably and lost weight (Fig. 1).
In the early 1950s, Hermann Staudinger visited his three daughters and their
children in the Zu ¨rich area at least twice a year, which would often be the occasion
for a family reunion. On his 70
th birthday, most family members travelled to
Freiburg, as can be seen in Fig. 2. The get-togethers with him, his second wife
Magda, and her parents Irmgard and Oskar Woit took place in their house in
Freiburg. These visits impressed and influenced me greatly. My mother and
I were picked up at the Freiburg train station by a chauffeur-driven Borgward car,
which brought us to the impressive house at Lugostrasse 14, where the Staudingers
welcomed us (Fig. 3).
My grandfather often took me on walks through their large garden surrounding
the house to show me the unique collection of plants and flowers. I have been told
that he knew all of the more than 250 plants growing there, as well as their Latin
names. He checked them daily and took care of them with the help of a gardener.
v
one of his grandchildren
I am delighted to contribute to this special issue of Advances in Polymer Science a
few memories of my grandfather Hermann Staudinger, whom I knew for almost
20 years until his death in 1965.
With his first wife, Dorothea Staudinger-Fo ¨rster, he had four children: Eva, born
1907 in Strasbourg; my mother Hilde, born 1910 in Karlsruhe; Hansju ¨rgen, born
1914 in Zu ¨rich; and Klara, born 1916 in Zu ¨rich. His daughters and his son married
and had ten children that I still regularly see.
Because my father, Theodore Ru ¨egg, died soon after my birth in 1946, and since
I was his only child, my mother arranged that I would often see her father and her
brother Hansju ¨rgen, who became my godfather. I thus had the unique opportunity
of often seeing and talking to both of them and of being partly educated by them.
These get-togethers started right after the end of World War II and took place
either in Zu ¨rich, where we lived, in Basel, or in nearby Freiburg (Germany). During
that time, my mother often travelled north loaded with precious food such as butter,
bread, sugar, meat, and coffee beans, the essential ingredient for preparing the
preferred morning drink of my grandfather. He would also visit us in Zurich several
times a year. As a result of the hard times he had endured during the Nazi regime, he
had aged considerably and lost weight (Fig. 1).
In the early 1950s, Hermann Staudinger visited his three daughters and their
children in the Zu ¨rich area at least twice a year, which would often be the occasion
for a family reunion. On his 70
th birthday, most family members travelled to
Freiburg, as can be seen in Fig. 2. The get-togethers with him, his second wife
Magda, and her parents Irmgard and Oskar Woit took place in their house in
Freiburg. These visits impressed and influenced me greatly. My mother and
I were picked up at the Freiburg train station by a chauffeur-driven Borgward car,
which brought us to the impressive house at Lugostrasse 14, where the Staudingers
welcomed us (Fig. 3).
My grandfather often took me on walks through their large garden surrounding
the house to show me the unique collection of plants and flowers. I have been told
that he knew all of the more than 250 plants growing there, as well as their Latin
names. He checked them daily and took care of them with the help of a gardener.
v