Shameful History

We had an interesting colloquium yesterday from Mark Walker, a colleague in the History department, on the subject of Peter Debye, a Dutch chemist and Nobel laureate. It seems that a book published last year on Einstein in the Netherlands included some material accusing Debye of being a Nazi collaborator, which touched off a major controversy. The University of Utrecht renamed their Debye Institute, and Maastrichty University removed Debye's name from a scientific research prize.

The main point of the talk is pretty well summarized in the piece Mark co-wrote for the German Physical Society (Debye was the president of the society in 1937-9, and the main charge against him is that the last Jewish members were expelled on his watch). He made a strong case that while Debye was personally ambitious and fairly successful under the Nazi regime, his actions weren't really significant or enthusiatic enough to rate being called a "collaborator."

The talk was a striking reminder, though, of how politics can warp science, and how the pursuit of scientific goals can lead even good people (Debye helped Lise Meitner to escape Germany, at some personal risk) to do things that history will regard as shameful. Based on the documents Mark showed, Debye appears to have been better than many of his colleagues, but that's not a high bar to clear.

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I wonder how people who judge Debye so harshly would have done themselves, when put in his situation. Unless there is a clear proof of someone doing something really wrong, making a judgment over him 60 years after the events... it's just stupid.

By Roman Werpachowski (not verified) on 31 May 2006 #permalink

I'm very familiar with this case, as I'm from Holland.

Helping Meitner was one thing, but his overall mentality and loyality towards the Nazi regime seems rather doubtful. The only reason he didn't apply for the German nationality was the fear that a German scientist wasn't going to receive the Nobel Prize. The fact that Debye (a foreigner) was the head of such an important research group implies at least some trust from the Nazi regime.
He went to work at Cornell, but left his wife and children in Berlin and, later on, offered the Generalkonsulat to take up his old job at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut.

Some Dutch research groups are currently studying the problems with Debye - results are expected in a few months. If he turns out to be clean, the universities might reconsider the naming issues.

For those able to understand (some) Dutch, this article by Rispens started the controversy: http://www.kennislink.nl/web/show?id=145191

There was a brief article on this in the May issue of Physics Today. See page 26, "Debye Stripped of Honors Because of Nazi Past".

Helping Meitner was one thing, but his overall mentality and loyality towards the Nazi regime seems rather doubtful. The only reason he didn't apply for the German nationality was the fear that a German scientist wasn't going to receive the Nobel Prize. The fact that Debye (a foreigner) was the head of such an important research group implies at least some trust from the Nazi regime.

According to the talk yesterday, his lack of German citizenship didn't become an issue until 1939, at which point he already had a Nobel Prize.

He went to work at Cornell, but left his wife and children in Berlin and, later on, offered the Generalkonsulat to take up his old job at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut.

Hie wife came to the US with him, but his daughter (who was married to a German) remained, living in the house that he received as a Director of a Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. According to the speaker, he kept up the connection in order to help support his daughter and her young children.

His actions in this regard weren't particularly admirable, but I think they're understandable, at least as they were presented yesterday.

Cornell's Department of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry just finished its investigation of Peter Debye during the 1935-45 time period and concluded that, clearly, he was not a Nazi collaborator, not a Nazi sympathizer, not an anti-Semite but was a valuable contributor to the Allied war effort. It is true that his 18 year old daughter was left in Berlin and that by maintaining an official leave of absence, she (and his sister in law) could remain in the Berlin house of the Institute. It is not true that he intended to return. In fact, within days of his arrival in NYC in early February 1940, he went to the Rockefeller Foundation and asked them for permission to obtain a position outside Germany. In May, 1940 after landing a permanent position in the US, he decided to stay. In June, he went to Toronto to reenter the US with an immigration visa and sent for his wife who entered the US in late 1940, also with an immigration visa. He submitted his intent to become a US citizen in 1941. The results of another (Dutch) investigation are expected to be released in mid-June 2006 and indications are that they will also refute Rispens'allegations. Rispens' allegations appear to be part of an irresponsible marketing effort for his book.

By Nordulf Debye (not verified) on 02 Jun 2006 #permalink