how hitler damaged world class universities fabian waldinger (university of warwick)
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How Hitler Damaged World Class Universities
Fabian Waldinger (University of Warwick)
German Universities were the Best in the World
USA
Germany+ Austria
UK
Other
01
02
03
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1901-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
German Universities were the Best in the World
USA
Germany+ Austria
UK
Other
01
02
03
04
05
0P
erc
en
tage
of N
ob
el P
rize
s
1901-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80
When Hitler’s Nazi Party assumed power in 1933 they immediately dismissed all Jewish and what they called “politically unreliable” professors from the German universities. .
What Happened?
When Hitler’s Nazi Party assumed power in 1933 they immediately dismissed all Jewish and what they called “politically unreliable” professors from the German universities.
What Happened?
§ 3: Civil servants who are not of Aryan descent are to be placed in retirement...(this) does not apply to officials who had already been in the service since the 1st of August, 1914, or who had fought in the World War …
§ 4: Civil servants who, based on their previous political activities, cannot guarantee that they have always unreservedly supported the national state, can be dismissed from service.
Some of the Best Professors Were Dismissed
Albert Einstein (Physics)• Professor at the University
of Berlin.• Developed relativity theory.• Nobel Prize in 1921. • Dismissed 1933.• Migrated to the United
States (IAS Princeton).
Some of the Best Professors Were Dismissed
Fritz Haber (Chemistry)• Professor at the University
of Berlin.• Developed Haber-Bosch
process to produce ammonia. -> used as key input in fertilizer which caused massive increases in agricultural productivity
• Nobel Prize in 1918. • Dismissed 1933.• Migrated to Switzerland.
Some of the Best Professors Were Dismissed
John von Neumann(Mathematics)• Privatdozent at the
University of Berlin.• Major contributions in:
– Mathematics– Physics– Computer science– Economics (game theory)
• Dismissed 1933.• Migrated to the United
States (IAS Princeton).
Dismissal Shock: Physics
Dismissal Shock: Physics
Dismissal Shock: Physics
Dismissal Shock: Physics
Effect of Losing 10% of Faculty
-.5
-.4
-.3
-.2
-.1
0.1
Eff
ect o
f Dis
mis
sing
10
%
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980Year
Persistence of Dismissal Shock
Effect of Losing Top Quality Scientists
all
top 50th
top 25th
top 10th
top 5th
-1.2
-1-.
8-.
6-.
4-.
20
Coe
ffici
ent
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980Year
Regression Results
German universities never recovered from this massive loss of human capital.
Main channel: hiring quality fell. After losing stars German universities did not manage to hire good researchers.
They lost 9,576 publications in top journals between 1933 and 1980. These publications received almost 200,000 citations.
Quantifying the Loss to German Unis