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Alan Beyerchen is 2004-2005 Hillard Gold '39 Lecturer
Thursday, February 3, 2005
"Heisenberg and the German Physics Community Under the
Third Reich"
Kresge Foundation Common Room (039)
James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence
The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Introduction
Christopher Browning
Frank Porter Graham Professor History
Alan D. Beyerchen, Associate Professor of History at Ohio
State University, teaches and researches nineteenth and twentieth
century German history. With a strong interest in cultural
history, his research focuses on the relationships among science,
technology, and modern values as reflected in the economic
and political developments of nineteenth- and twentieth-century
Germany. Presently writing a study of social responsibility
in science, he also is doing research on the implications
of nonlinear dynamical systems for the liberal arts. His most
recent publications include articles on Nazism and science,
the unpredictability of warfare, and the technology of racism.
Beyerchen has been a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science and his book, Scientists Under
Hitler, received a Choice award as an Outstanding Book of
1977.
The Nazi rise to power posed at least three dilemmas to German
physicists. First, their Jewish colleagues were dismissed
from universities and research institutes. Second, important
professional developments in physics were threatened with
political interference, such as being stigmatized as "Jewish
physics." And thirdly, the physics community was expected
to support the war effort and thus advance Hitler's war aims.
Professor Beyerchen will discuss how Heisenberg and the physics
community under the Third Reich responded to these dilemmas.
The Hillard Gold ’39 Lecture series was established
by Carolina alumni James and Jonathan Gold as a memorial to
their father and his commitment to liberal arts education.
Hillard Gold lecturers interact with students both inside
and outside the classroom. Alan Beyerchen is the fifth Hillard
Gold ’39 Lecturer.
A complete listing of all events at the Johnston Center for
Undergraduate Excellence is available at our Event
Calendar.
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