Standing Together in Troubled Times by M PDF

June 19, 2018 16:15 WSPC/Trim Size: 9in x 6in for Proceedings Correction˙Standing˙To˙6˙19˙2018
STANDING TOGETHER IN TROUBLED TIMES
M. SHIFMAN
William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN 55455, USA
shifman@umn.edu
World Scientific, Singapore, 2017: Corrections and Addenda
? Comments by Karl von Meyenn
Professor Karl von Meyenn

Neuburg a.D.
Germany
January 10, 2017
Dear Prof. Shifman,
With great pleasure I see from your letter and your book that
you are a great admirer of Wolfgang Pauli, as a physicist and
as a personality with a clear character. As I have worked more
than 30 years editing Pauli’s correspondence (more than 3500
scientific letters to and from 350 correspondents!) I could also
appreciate that Pauli never violated his high moral and scien-
tific standards. This is seldom and very difficult to find!”From
your comments and explanations to Pauli’s behavior I see that
you also value these aspects in the otherwise also excellent sci-
entist, and I am very happy about finding a person of the same
interests.
Specifically interesting was for me your discovery of the Pauli-
Houtermans correspondence. The letters edited until now in
the existing 8 volumes of Pauli’s correspondence mostly concern
scientific matters. Before Pauli left Switzerland during the war,
1
2 M. Shifman
many letters to and from his friends were destroyed, as Mrs.

Franca Pauli told me during my work, because of Pauli’s fear
that the content about persecuted persons could be used by the
Germans in case of occupation of Switzerland. For this reason
the letters to Charlotte Houtermans show us now a new aspect
of Pauli’s the aspect different from the view we could obtain
from his other letters. So far, the private letters of Pauli to
friends and family members are absent from the eight published
volumes of his epistolary heritage.
I found very interesting and well written the manuscript of
your new book “Standing together.” Especially, reading the let-
ters from Pauli was fascinating to me. You mention (on p. xv)
the joint paper by Heisenberg and Pauli. As explained in our
volume IV/4, p. 819, the first draft of this paper was written
by Pauli after Heisenberg paid him a visit in Zurich. So, this
publication has a more complicated history!
Perhaps, in Pauli’s biography it is worth mentioning also that
after his thesis defense in summer of 1921 Pauli first went for
one semester (Fall 1921/22) to Max Born in Göttingen. This
visit was very important for Pauli to become involved with the
deep problems of the “old” quantum mechanics. As the meth-
ods of the old theory did not work for many-electron problems,
and also in the case of the anomalous Zeeman effect (because of
aspects later related to spin), Pauli was deeply depressed until
Heisenberg’s matrix mechanics and his exclusion principle (lead-
ing to the Fermi-Dirac statistics, etc.) solved the crisis.
But your book is related to much later developments, so these
early problems are only for the introduction.
On page 7 of your book you mention V. Weisskopf as Pauli’s
new assistant – Casimir had to return to the Netherlands be-
cause of Ehrenfeld’s suicide. As Pauli was a very good friend
of Ehrenfeld, and Ehrenfeld had helped a lot his colleagues in
Russia, I think you could describe these events in more detail,
in view of their importance for the later development with the
Houtermans. There exist interesting materials in the Boerhaave
Preface 3
Museum in Linden.
Karl von Meyenn
Member of the Pauli Committee at CERN
? Page x, the last paragraph
“... in early 1935 he fled to the Soviet Union in an attempt
to save his life from Hitler’s Gestapo.”
In fact, the Houtermas family left Germany in 1933. They
stayed in England for a year.
? Page 11, the last paragraph
“In 1941, when all of Europe (except Switzerland) was en-
gulfed...”
Sweden, Ireland, and Portugal were neutral too.
? Pages 11 (paragraph 3) and 12 (paragraph 1)
Charles Enz’s report describing behind-the-scene actions of
P. Scherrer against his friend W. Pauli is based on archival doc-
uments. I think one should be careful in making conclusions.
Enz’s report may be confronted with live reminiscences by Vic-
tor Weisskopf:
In spite of their differences about the value of easily un-
derstandable problems, Pauli and Scherrer were very fond
of one another. When the Nazis took over Austria, Pauli
was not yet a Swiss citizen, and according to Swiss law,
his Austrian passport turned him into a German national.
Staying in Switzerland would have been dangerous for
him. (The Swiss granted Pauli citizenship only after his
Nobel Prize in 1945.) When Pauli left Zurich for the
United States in 1940, Scherrer accompanied him to the
train station. Pauli returned the institute keys to Scher-
rer, who, with tears in his eyes, threw them onto the roof
of the railroad car.
Victor Weissopf, The Joy Of Insight:
Passions Of A Physicist,
4 M. Shifman
(Basic Books, 1992), page 89.

Frankly speaking, I do not know whom to believe.
? Page 12, quotation from Res Jost
It is instructive to compare this quotation with Pauli’s letter
to Victor Weisskopf of January 13, 1938,1 written shortly after
Weisskopf arrival to the US:
You and your wife are, of course, quite right in the general
criticism of American life. But in such a good country
one finally finds people of all types. I have a very good
understanding, for example, with Carlsson; he drinks in
a European way, and one can talk to him informally. He
is very inhibited, though, and does not go out of himself
at first. If you see him at a conference, please pass on
my warmest greetings to him. Maybe he can also intro-
duce you to the musician Ritter and his wife, who live in
New York and with whom he is very friendly. They are
extraordinarily cultured people.
I always liked Rabi and his circle as well.
When traveling to California, a lot of nice things await
you, and through these things you will get a real impres-
sion of the country. (You have to decide yourself, how-
ever, whether it was a good idea to invite Placzek with
you.) - In Pasadena there are also very nice people, such
as Tolman and his wife, especially among astronomers
and mathematicians.
People are more open-minded in the West, and the
inferiority complex to Europeans is much weaker, and one
is also more accessible, less closed. There, Oppenheimer
will introduce you to many.
1 Wissenschaftlicher
Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg u.a. Band II: 1930-1939,
Ed. Karl von Meyenn (Springer, 1985).
Preface 5
? Page 26, First paragraph

Shortly after his return from Moscow, Pauli wrote a letter
to Epstein.2 dated December 19, 1937.3 A quotation from this
letter is in order here:
Again, thank you very much for the nice book. Surely
many more details of it will delight me and be useful to
me over time.
In September I was at a nuclear congress in Moscow
and have got terrible impressions from this country. I
have never seen so much terror. Nobody dares to talk
openly and the young people feared to visit me in the
hotel alone because they could be charged with acting as
accessories to spying (and any foreigner is essentially con-
sidered a spy a priori). A number of physicists have been
arrested (without a reason) – like, for example, Frederics,
Bursian and Krutkow. (This was extremely difficult to
find out, only two people dared to tell me so, but their
statements match).
Others have lost their positions, like Leipunsky, Man-
delstam and Landsberg. – I have heard that Du-Mond
from Pasadena was in Russia after me and I would be
very interested to know whether he has heard about the
arrests as well, especially in the context of the Kharkov
Institute. Once a person has been arrested, no Russian
will dare to cite his works any longer. Besides, all non-
Russians who had jobs there (I mean, all physicists) are
dismissed and expelled.
Best regards to you and all the friends, especially the
2 Paul Sophus Epstein, born in Russia, worked in Munich under Sommerfeld and ex-
plained the Stark effect, independently of Karl Schwarzschild, in the framework of the
old quantum formalism of Bohr-Sommerfeld. After the war he worked in Zurich and
in the Netherlands before going to Caltech. He was, according to Weisskopf, the first
quantum theorist in the USA. Pauli’s speciality was, to imitate him, as he once explained
to Telegdi. -Karl von Meyenn
3 Wissenschaftlicher Briefwechsel mit Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg u.a. Band II: 1930-1939,
Ed. Karl von Meyenn (Springer, 1985).

6 M. Shifman
Tolmanns and the Wardts, as well as to your wife (from

my wife as well).
Always yours,
W. Pauli
? Page 27, 13th line

Germany in April 1940 −→ Germany in May 1940
? Page 27, the last paragraph should read:
Fritz Houtermans, alias Fisl, after his liberation in Germany
in July 1940, divorced Charlotte, alias Schnax in 1943, and mar-
ried Ilse Bartz, a young scientist in Berlin, with whom he also
had children. But in Bern in 1952, he got divorced again and in
August 1953 remarried Schnax who...
? Page 39, the 1st line of the last paragraph
Fisl worked at that time on the 2537 ångström Mercury line
−→ Fisl worked at that time on the 2537 Ångström Mercury
line...
? Page 43, 3d paragraph
“We settled in a modest apartment in Kurfürsten Alee...”
−→ We settled in a modest apartment in Kurfürstendamm
Allee
Preface 7
Figure 1. Second from the left is Margot Einstein, then Dimitri Marianoff and
Albert Einstein.
? Page 46, the last three lines should read:

In Moscow, in hotel Metropol, we bumped onto Einstein’s
stepdaughter Margot who was there with her husband Dimitri
Marianoff. Marianoff was (for a short while) Einstein’s secretary
in Berlin and a Russian freelance journalist.4
4 More detailed information about Marianoff can be found in Siegfried Grundmann, The
Einstein Dossiers: Science and Politics – Einstein’s Berlin Period. On page 347 the
author writes:
Einstein’s stepdaughter Margot married the Russian Dimitri Marianoff on
November 29, 1930. He was an important person among the many hundreds
of employees of the Soviet Chamber of Commerce in Berlin. A report by the
Berlin chief of police, designated as “strictly confidential,” entitled “Report on
the activities of the Berlin center of the O.G.P.U.” and dated August 18 1932,
states: “Dimitry Marianoff and a woman Asja (Susanne) Ari are the ‘closest
8 M. Shifman
? Page 56, 6th line from the bottom

Vararlberg −→ Vorarlberg
? Page 61, 5th line and below
Please, replace
“In 1949 he was a part of the Kravchenko team in the ground-
breaking trial Kravchenko vs. the French Communist ...”
by −→
In 1950 he was a key witness in David Rousset’s team in a
sensational trial Les Lettres Françaises vs. Rousset, see e.g.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-
david-rousset-1290359.html
Les Lettres Françaises was the communist weekly published
in Paris (till the 1960s). David Rousset was a writer, political ac-
tivist, French Resistance fighter, and prisoner of the Buchenwald
Nazi concentration camp from October 1943 till April 1945.
In 1949, Rousset published an article in Le Figaro which pre-
sented a harrowing account of the Soviet Gulag. He was the first
to introduce the word “Gulag” in the French language. That
same year he organized the “International Committee Against
Concentration Camps.”
assistants’ of Arthur Normann, the head of Soviet spies in Germany. Mari-

anoff was, it continues, constantly socializing in the consulate and embassy”
and thus belonged among such people who for precisely that reason are “not
conspicuous and arouse no suspicion.”
Marianoff is also mentioned in connection with Sergei Eisenstein visit to Berlin in
1926:
In March 1926, Eisenstein came to Berlin to attend the premiere of The Battle-
ship Potemkin. The film had difficulties with censorship; the German premiere
was postponed and the director found himself in Berlin with much time on his
hands. Dimitri Marianoff, Albert Einstein’s son-in-law and an employee of the
Soviet trade mission, put Eisenstein in contact with Berlin’s artistic circles and
introduced him to film celebrities.
(see http://www.rouge.com.au/7/eisenstein.html ). Margot Einstein and Dimitri Mari-
anoff were separated since 1934 and divorced in 1937.
I am grateful to Prof. Ernest Kopp who draw my attention to the fact that the last
paragraph on page 46 of my book was not quite correct.
Preface 9
In response, Pierre Daix aggressively attacked Rousset in Les

Lettres Françaises accusing him of slandering the Soviet Union,
and spreading malicious misinformation. Les Lettres Françaises,
an ardent supporter of the hard-core communism, brought Rous-
set to court for defamation in 1950.
The court case, which lasted from November 1950 to July
1951, was the occasion for a succession of witnesses (A. Weiss-
berg among them) to testify to the horrors of the Gulag – against
the French communists and their Soviet associates. Rousset won
the court case but was forced to leave the country by the pres-
sure from the French intellectual Left. For a few years he settled
in Coventry.
In the 1950s Michael Polanyi enlisted Weissberg as a par-
ticipant in the work of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an
anti-communist advocacy group founded in 1950.
? Page 78, 6th line
In October 1939 they... −→ On September 30, 1939, they...
(courtesy of Prof. Ernest Kopp).
? Page 89, 2nd paragraph
“We moved to to Bronxville in...”
−→ We moved to Bronxville in...
? Page 89, 3d paragraph

“In 1948 I translated ...”
−→ In 1947 I translated ...
10 M. Shifman
? Page 95, paragraph 1
Figure 2. Wolfgang Pauli lecturing at Les Houches, circa 1953. Courtesy of Chris
DeWitt. Pauli joke from Murray Gell-Mann: “After Pauli’s death he receives
an audience with God, at the end of which God offers him to grant any wish.
Pauli says: “I just want to know why the fine structure constant is 1/137.” Of
course, God says, it’s very simple, my archangel will explain it to you scientifically.
Archangel shows to Pauli a golden board with a couple of equations. Pauli, after
blink of an eye, says: “falsch!”.
Preface 11

... history of the WAr method of geochronology ... −→
... history of the K/Ar (Potassium-Argon) method of geo-
chronology (based on production of A40 from decays of potas-
sium)...
Courtesy of Prof. Ernest Kopp.
... we were very worried because of [illegible]... −→ .. we
were very worried because of you...
? Page 111, line 5 in the first paragraph of the letter

“...long since if I did), but I will try whether I...”
−→ “...long since if I did); now I will try whether I...”
? Page 111, line 5 in the second paragraph

... wrote a letter [two words illegible] to Franck... −→
... wrote a letter of an informative nature to Franck...
Courtesy of Dr. L. J. Reinders
? Page 111, line 4 in the 4th paragraph of the letter
“...in Zur [illegible]...”
−→ “... in Zürs...”
? Page 111, line 8 in the 4th paragraph of the letter

“... special opinions of national collectives...”
−→ “... collectives of special doctrines ...”
? Page 113, line 3

“... only received Volume 4. ...”
−→ “only received N o 4, and N o 5 has not yet arrived.”
? Page 113, line 13

Missing: “ How are the children?”
12 M. Shifman
? Page 115, line 3

“... As your letter arrived, Mr. Bhabha (the Jew) ...”
−→ “... As your letter arrived, Mr. Bhabha (Indian) ...”
? Page 134, paragraph 3 of the letter

“... a German ballad character ...”
−→ “... Gustav Schwab’s ballad character ...”
? Page 136, line 3
“... Of course, Krey’s signature ...”
−→ “... Of course, Urey’s signature ...”
? Page 139, date

“... November 11, 1940 ...”
−→ “... November 12, 1940 ...”
? Page 141, line 3 of the second paragraph

“... and we will hopefully have a [illegible].” −→ “... and we
will hopefully have a car.”
Courtesy of Dr. L. J. Reinders
? Pages 210, 224, and 228
On these pages three letters from the Academic Assistance
Council to Charlotte Houtermans are presented. All these let-
ters are from 1938 and signed as follows:
Esther Simpson, Assistant Secretary
Recently (August 14, 2017) I managed to find some data
about Ms. Simpson. In November 1984 Rudolf Peierls wrote in
his “Diary” (see the 1984 annual summary):
Another coming event is the conferment by the Univer-

sity of London of an honorary degree on Esther Simpson,
the charging person who “was” the Academic Assistance
council, later Society for the Protection of Science and
Learning, and a kind of godmother to all refugees.
Preface 13
? Pages 241-242
An important letter written by Charlotte Houtermans in Lon-
don to Eva Zeisel in the US was discovered in June 2018.5
From Charlotte Houtermans to Eva Zeisel
February 2, 1939
Dear Eva,
I was really very, very happy with the pictures and thank
you very much. I have hardly written any letters lately. I am
nervous because of Fisl and do not really know what still can
be done. Just in January two letters and one telegram were
accepted and one telegram sent back (between two letters).
Your mother said that you, and Hans 6 as well, have work.
That is all the same very satisfying, Eva. And that the beginning
would be difficult, was predictable. Bimbus 7 and my mother-
in-law 8 write that they have a job for me, if only I could soon
come.
I thank you very much for the money. At the moment I
am almost constantly broke and would like Sx.(?) to have less
scruples and at least lend me the money. Well, I cannot force
him.
Your mother sounded very happy on the phone the other day,
she really seems to be doing much better. Margaret got a little
girl and – already for that reason – I have almost never been
able to get away.
This is less a letter, Eva, than a confirmation of yours. We
may see each other soon!
Regards to Hans.
For the rest everything is fine. Bamsi and Jan both go to
5 Courtesy of Jean Richards, from Eva Zeisel’s personal archive. Translated from German
by L. J. Reinders, to whom I am deeply grateful.
6 Hans Zeisel, Eva’s husband.
7 Lotte Schlesinger.
8 Elsa Houtermans. In 1939 both were in the United States and had teaching jobs with
Foxhollow School, see pp. 72-73.

14 M. Shifman
school, respectively to Nursery Class and are visibly growing.

B.’s pictures hang in my room and are constantly admired.
So long, Schnax 9
? Page 266
At the time I was working on the book “Standing To-
gether...,” I was unaware of two very important letters 10 which
can be found in Samuel Goudsmit Archive of APS Niels Bohr
Library. Both were written in 1947.
First of all, they show that even after the end of the WWII
Charlotte Houtermans did not loose hope to bring Fritz Houter-
mans to the United States. Second, they show that at that time
many people feared that all of Austria will be occupied by the
Soviet army, through expansion of the Soviet Zone of occupa-
9 2.II.39
Liebe Eva,
Ich habe mich wirklich sehr sehr ber die Bilder gefreut gehabt u(nd) danke dir her-
zlichst. Ich habe fast gar keine Briefe geschrieben letztlich. Ich bin nervs Fisls wegen und
wei nicht recht, was man noch unternehmen sollte. Jetzt im Jan(uar) hat man 2 Briefe
u(nd) ein Telegramm angenommen und ein Tel(egramm) zurckgeschickt (zwischen zwei
Briefen).
Deine Mutter erzhlte Du, sowohl als Hans habest Arbeit. Das ist doch sehr befriedi-
gend, Eva. Und dass der Anfang schwierig ist, war ja vorauszusehen. Bimbus u(nd)
meine Sch(wiegermutter) schreiben, sie haben eine Stelle fr mich, wenn ich nur schon
bald fahren knnte. Ich danke dir sehr fr das Geld. Momentan bin ich mehr als dauernd
pleite und wnschte Sx. wrde weniger Skrupel haben u(nd) mir(?) das Geld wenigstens
leihen. Well, ich kann ihn nicht(?) zwingen.
Deine Mutter klang am Tel(efon) neulich sehr vergngt, sie scheint wirklich viel besser
zu gehen. Margaret hat ein kleines Mdchen bekommen, und ich bin - auch aus diesem
Grunde schon - in der letzten Zeit fast nicht mehr weggekommen.
Dies ist weniger ein Brief, Eva, als eine Besttigung des Deinen. Wir sehen uns ja
vielleicht bald!
Grüsse Hans.
Weiter alles Gute. Bamsi u(nd) Jan gehen beide in die Schule bzw. Nursery class und
wachsen sichtbar. Die Bilder von B. hngen in meinem Zimmer u(nd) werden dauernd
bestaunt.
Servus, Schnax
10 Courtesy of Mr. Nico Roosnek. I would like to thank him for pointing them out to
me.
Preface 15
tion into other zones. Finally, from Goudsmit’s letter it becomes

clear that he and at least some of his friends were of a rather
low opinion of Fritz Houterman’s moral values.
Rather informative is Fritz Houtermans’ letter written by to
Arnold Sommerfeld on April 2, 1947. At that time, Sommer-
feld was Professor-Emeritus at Munich University. He had au-
thored a number of well-known books on physics one of which
was considered for publication in the US in English. In 1942
Fritz Houtermans already was in a romantic relationship with
his collaborator and wife-to-be Ilse Bartz of which he did not
inform Charlotte until much later.11 Yet, he made an attempt
to indirectly provide Charlotte with so much needed financial
assistance by recommending her to Sommerfeld as a possible
translator of a Sommerfeld’s book. At that time she just fin-
ished translating the classic Gregor Wentzel’s textbook Quan-
tum Theory of Fields which was released by Interscience Pub-
lishers in 1949. Apparently, her salary at Sarah Lawrence was
insufficient to support the family.
She did not get the work.
This letter (see page 18) was made available to me by Karl
von Meyenn in May 2018 and translated from German by L.J.
Reinders to whom I am deeply grateful.
Letter 1. From Charlotte to Sam Goudsmit

Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville 2-7392W, New York
October 13, 1947
Dear Sam,
There do not seem to be any meetings that I could attend. So,
I better write though I find it difficult and I must ask you to add
all the things which are complicated. I had a letter from Fritz
a few weeks ago asking my opinion on whether to accept the
11 Itis rather remarkable that Fritz refers to Charlotte as “my first wife in the US”
although he formally divorced her only in 1944.
16 M. Shifman
position in Graz or not. The advantages would lie on the finan-

cial side, and the acquisition of the Austrian passport seems to
him an easier road to get out eventually. The disadvantages are
obvious, both scientifically and politically. I was very doubtful
and answered that I would consult all of you. I finally managed
to see Oppenheimer who was rather definite against Graz, and
said to be sure to write to you.
Do you think, Sam, that there might be a chance for him
to get here, especially after your book is out? He is very very
pessimistic about the situation there, and somehow I feel he
would deserve a break.
All this – I hope you understand – is quite apart from any
personal difficulties on my side. I would do this for anybody,
and why not for F[ritz]? Please, think it over again and let
me know in case there might be a chance and also whether you
would agree that Graz is too dangerous.
How is Northwestern? Do you ever come to N.Y.? If yes,
please, ring me up.
Yours,
Schnax
Preface 17
Letter 2. From Samuel Goudsmit to Charlotte Houter-

mans
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
November 7, 1947
Mrs. Charlotte Houtermans
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York
Dear Charlotte,
I had to do a lot of thinking before I could answer your let-
ter. I do not quite understand Oppenheimer’s objection against
Graz. If I am properly informed, it is in the British Zone of
Austria. Whether it will stay British, I do not know, of course.
From the point of view of physics, Göttingen is, of course, far
superior. But Fritz is not accepted by many of the colleagues
there: I am afraid that they would rather see him go. Under
those circumstances Graz may well be an improvement.
Forgive me if I write frankly about Fritz’s problem. Keep in
mind that I do not know him. I met him only a couple of times,
in Göttingen in 1927 and again in 1945. However, from what I
gather, his actions always make him loose the confidence of the
people with whom he works. I am not a psychologist and do not
know the reason for it, but it seems to be a fact. His war record
shows it.
Oppenheimer must have shown you the proof of my book.12
I mention that Fritz is a good physicist and he still is. But I am
afraid that his record will make it hard for him to get permission
to enter the US. What I fear more, however, is a statement of
a colleague who knows him well, made to me. He said: “Fritz
would certainly sooner or later want to come to America, not
in order to be reunited with his family, but merely because it
is easier to get cigarettes there.” Forgive me for being so frank,
12 Samuel Goudsmit, ALSOS, (Henry Schuman, New York, 1947).

18 M. Shifman
but I am so afraid that it is true, and I want to inform you.

I can well understand that you might want to get him here
anyway but be prepared for a difficult task after he is here.
With best regards,
Yours,
Sam Goudsmit
Letter 3. From Fritz Houtermans to Arnold Sommerfeld
F.G. Houtermans
(20b) Göttingen
Lotzestrasse 22
Göttingen, 2 April 1947
Very esteemed Privy Councillor,
I was terrified to learn today through Dr. Stevenson of [?]
that so far you have not received my answer to your kind letter
(which contained the carbon of a lost letter, or rather its orig-
inal); I hope however that it has by now arrived. For safety I
would like to briefly reconstruct here the content of my answer,
since, having failed to write my letter on the typewriter, I no
longer have a carbon copy. I would like to thank you very much
for having initiated all steps with respect to the translation and
I have forwarded both the first letter and this letter to my first
wife in the US. I would like to propose that she will first make
a sample translation of a chapter from your book, and send it
to me. I will then have a further look at it and submit it to you
for review. I do not want that you make a definitive decision
before you yourself have seen a sample of the translation.
She has recently translated Wentzel’s book and Weisskopf
gave her some help in checking it; he will do this now again with
pleasure. I am now waiting for my wife’s reply. I believe that
she can just make the sample translation from the first edition,
as there will not be many changes, so that she can use the copy
of the book sent to Jacobi for this. Do you have a special wish
Preface 19
as regards the chapter of the book she should choose as sample

translation?
I also noted in my letter that 27 April 1947 will be Stefan
Meyer’s 75th birthday. Since at his 70th birthday only a pri-
vate party was possible, and in the current circumstances it is
not yet possible either to publish a special issue for him,13 I
proposed, after consultation with several colleagues, to provide
some papers of his friends that are to appear during the year in
the Zeitschrift für Naturforschung with the comment that these
papers are dedicated to his 75th birthday. For this I also have
received commitments from Mr.Mattauch, Mr. Sues (Hamburg)
and several others. I would be very grateful if you also had a
small contribution for this. Mr. Hahn has also promised me a
small birthday article for the Z. Naturforschung. Would you be
prepared to write a few lines on the occasion of his birthday for
the Naturwissenschaften?14
A few months ago I got a message from Professor St. Meyer;
he still lives in Bad Ischl, Lindaustrasse 7 and temporarily again
directs the Vienna Radium Institute, since Mrs. Karlik is ill.
Kind regards and once again many thanks,
Your very devoted,
F.G. Houtermans
13 Iwonder why it was impossible to publish a special issue for Meyer in 1947.
14 A different journal, so Sommerfeld is apparently asked to write two contributions.
-L.J.R.
20 M. Shifman
? Page 277
From Charlotte Houtermans to Eva Zeisel 15
October 2nd, 1940

Dear Eva and Dear Hans,16
My best wishes and congratulations on the birth of your small
daughter. I hope that all went well and that Eva and the baby
are healthy. In the meantime you have likely completely accus-
tomed yourself the the fact that Jean 17 exists and likely can’t
even remember what it was like without her. I should have writ-
ten to Laura Michaylovna [Striker] 18 as well then she is surely
very proud about the new grandchild. I need to apologize that
I am only writing now. Your news came during the visit of our
grandmother and I suddenly needed to start applying for posi-
tions which made any other kind of correspondence out of the
questions. In the meantime nothing has come of any of those
applications which is why I’m writing.
Have you heard from Alex? We have been getting many
postcards and letters from Fisl. He will start work on the first
of November, but is still recovering and is planning to go to
Vienna for a few weeks. The [...] from his time in Russia are
much worse than anything that you told about. Speaking about
it must be put off until we actually see him. The affidavits for
Fritz are almost ready and also all the letters and so forth. I
doubt that anything can be done until the war is over. If there
is anything I could knit for the baby, please let me know. Write
to me about how you are doing.
All the best to you,
Schnax
15 Courtesy of Jean Richards. Translation from German by Annika Fjelstad.

16 Hans Zeisel was Eva’s husband.
17 The Zeisels’ daughter, Jean Richards.
18 Eva Zeisel’s mother.
Preface 21
Figure 3. The first page of the letter from October 2, 1940.

22 M. Shifman
Figure 4. The second page of the letter from October 2, 1940.

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June 19, 2018 16:15 WSPC/Trim Size: 9in x 6in for Proceedings Correction˙Standing˙To˙6˙19˙2018

STANDING TOGETHER IN TROUBLED TIMES

World Scientific, Singapore, 2017: Corrections and Addenda

? Comments by Karl von Meyenn

Professor Karl von Meyenn

many letters to and from his friends were destroyed, as Mrs.

(Basic Books, 1992), page 89.

? Page 26, First paragraph

Ed. Karl von Meyenn (Springer, 1985).

Tolmanns and the Wardts, as well as to your wife (from

? Page 27, 13th line

? Page 46, the last three lines should read:

? Page 56, 6th line from the bottom

assistants’ of Arthur Normann, the head of Soviet spies in Germany. Mari-

In response, Pierre Daix aggressively attacked Rousset in Les

? Page 89, 3d paragraph

? Page 95, paragraph 1

? Page 96, 9th line from the bottom

? Page 111, line 5 in the first paragraph of the letter

? Page 111, line 5 in the second paragraph

? Page 111, line 8 in the 4th paragraph of the letter

? Page 113, line 3

? Page 113, line 13

? Page 115, line 3

? Page 134, paragraph 3 of the letter

? Page 139, date

? Page 141, line 3 of the second paragraph

Another coming event is the conferment by the Univer-

Foxhollow School, see pp. 72-73.

school, respectively to Nursery Class and are visibly growing.

tion into other zones. Finally, from Goudsmit’s letter it becomes

Letter 1. From Charlotte to Sam Goudsmit

position in Graz or not. The advantages would lie on the finan-

Letter 2. From Samuel Goudsmit to Charlotte Houter-

12 Samuel Goudsmit, ALSOS, (Henry Schuman, New York, 1947).

but I am so afraid that it is true, and I want to inform you.

Letter 3. From Fritz Houtermans to Arnold Sommerfeld

as regards the chapter of the book she should choose as sample

October 2nd, 1940

15 Courtesy of Jean Richards. Translation from German by Annika Fjelstad.

Figure 3. The first page of the letter from October 2, 1940.

Figure 4. The second page of the letter from October 2, 1940.

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