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Home , Carl Zeiss, Ernst Abbe, Siegfried Czapski, Walther Bauersfeld

Part II Tracing paths of history Rudolf Straubel, Walter Bauersfeld, and the projection

Peter Volz 7131 Farralone Avenue #48 Canoga Park, California 91303, USA [email protected]

Editor’s Note: The following is the second and final part of an article begun in the December 2013 issue that reviews the history of Rudolf Straubel, Walter Bauersfeld, and development of the first projec- tion planetarium by the Zeiss Optical Company Discussion: Bauersfeld’s account cated mechanical arms with the planets, sun starting in 1914. of the “birth moment” meeting and located at their ends, as originally Briefly summarizing, the first article included Some obvious inaccuracies in Bauersfeld’s designed. But it left in place the need for the the founding of the Zeiss Optical Co. in , Ger- article from 1957 have been discussed by oth- rotating sphere signifying the night sky, with many in 1846 and its leadership; the formation ers, especially by Ludwig Meier. For example, hundreds of holes in it, lit from behind, simu- of the Carl-Zeiss-Siftung, and the employment of Bauersfeld placed Oskar von Miller as repre- lating the fixed stars. the key figures in the development of the plane- sentative of the Deutsches Museum at the Straubel’s contribution that “also the fixed tarium. It also includes the company’s relation- meeting, instead of von Miller’s envoy, Franz stars should be projected from the central ap- ship with the Deutsches Museum and its quest Fuchs, as evidenced by the correspondence. paratus” meant combining, into the device for a better portrayal of the stars. As well, Bauersfeld took some liberties in the at the center of the sphere, all the mechan- The first part concluded with the first of three time line of the planetarium development ics required for the presentation. It also ren- discussion sections examining the lack of men- progression (17 Meier pp. 97-98). dered the sphere’s design (hundreds of back-lit tion of Rudolf Straubel in the historical docu- Yet, it is Bauersfeld’s singular mention of holes) and its rotational mechanics obsolete. ments surrounding the planetarian, specifically Straubel’s active, shared role in originating the Now a simple, fixed structure could the lack of credit given by Franz Fuch in an arti- concept of the projection planetarium which be used, to project both the heavenly bodies cle written in 1955. is most important: “Then of course, also the and the fixed stars onto its interior surface. This particular discussion section erroneous- fixed stars should be projected from the cen- The size of the sphere was no longer limited ly concluded with these words: “Although it is tral apparatus.” Coming from the person gen- by the mechanics of rotating it. Many more not known with certainty why Fuchs did not erally considered the “inventor” of the pro- people could be placed inside the hemisphere give Straubel the warranted credit for his contri- jection planetarium, Bauersfeld’s attribution and watch the presentation than with the butions, we will offer a possible explanation at to Straubel of the projection of the fixed stars original design. the end of this article.” The correct conclusion in- is particularly significant, and further under- Bauersfeld’s assertion that Straubel consid- stead should read: “We have no explanation why scores Straubel’s crucial role, as we will discuss ered the projection of the fixed stars an essen- Fuchs did not credit Straubel for his contribu- below. tial element in the concept of the projection tions; this mystery will require further research.” Bauersfeld’s proposal “to optically project planetarium indicates that Straubel saw the Please note that the sentence had been the pictures of the heavenly bodies onto the big picture, and had the vision, to conceive an changed earlier by the author, a change that had interior surface of the sphere” from a central optical projection apparatus that was entire- been missed by the editor. apparatus was intended to replace the compli- ly self-contained and did not require any me- chanical, movable parts outside of the device. This defining “birth moment” in the projec- Peter Volz (born 1950) is a grandson of Zeiss optical physicist Ernst Wandersleb (1879- tion planetarium’s origin has been likened to 1963), whose family had close ties to the Straubel and Langer families. During his child- a “gestalt switch” by historian Jordan Marché. hood in Volz met the two Straubel sons Heinz and Harald. It was only after more recently contacting Straubel's great-nephew Gerhard Langer in the US that Volz became (16 Marché, p. 13) interested in the persona of Rudolf Straubel. This then led to a visit to the archives of the In early publications about the planetari- Deutsches Museum in Munich and further research. Volz wrote the article on the sugges- um from the 1920s, no attributions were made tion of planetarium historian Jordan Marché, a former editor of the Planetarian. as to the origin of the idea. Instead, the projec-

26 Planetarian March 2014 tact with the Straubel family. He reports of a visit as a youngster with his school class to the Jena planetarium in the 1930s. After the visit, he excitedly told Werner Straubel about the planetarium. At that time Werner, Rudolf Straubel’s son, was in his thir- Opening page of ties. Gerhard remembers Werner telling him the US patent issued for the that he should know that the planetarium “Device for was Uncle Rolf’s (Straubel’s) idea. (15 Linda Projecting Stars.” Langer Snook, p. 122) Public record from It should also be noted that Werner the United States Straubel himself played a role in the Patent and Trademark Office history of the planetarium. He had be- come a physicist and had joined Zeiss in the early 1920s. Coinciding with the is- suance of U.S. patent no. 1616736 for the projection planetarium on February 8, 1927, while active in international sales he spent an extended time in the Unit- ed States as Zeiss representative for the planetarium. His presence at the 39th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Walther Bauersfeld New Haven, Connecticut (December 29-30, 1927) is documented (24 Popular Astronomy). So too are his efforts, in 1927, to bring a Zeiss planetarium to , three years before the opening of the Adler Plane- Rudolf Straubel tarium, as evidenced by Werner Straubel’s cor- respondence with Leo Wormser, attorney of Julius Rosenwald, vice-president of Sears, Roe- tion planetarium was simply presented as a gested here by the author of this article, who buck and Co. and Max Adler’s brother-in-law. Zeiss project. (4 Bauersfeld; 25 Villiger) While believes that, during the extensive conversa- (14 MSI Archives) Werner Straubel’s statement Bauersfeld publicly received credit in 1924 tion with Straubel in Munich on September to Gerhard Langer should therefore be regard- for the construction of the projection plan- 30, 1913, von Miller not only discussed the ed as quite significant. etarium (2 Auerbach pp. 193-194), it was like- plans for the two prepared by F. Jentzsch, in his 1934 article on Straubel, ly Straubel’s own modesty which prevented the museum, but also other approaches and described Rudolf Straubel’s task as scientif- him from claiming credit for his contribution concepts, such as the shadow projection of the ic director of Zeiss in these terms: “to spread to the concept of the device. planets as conceived by Hindermann. seeds and present new ideas everywhere, After World War II, of the participants For Straubel, scientific director of a world- but seldom to be able to execute a project in the early discussions only Franz Fuchs wide optical firm and professor of by himself.” (13 Jentzsch, p. 217) This state- and Bauersfeld were still alive. Given that in with specialty in optics, such a mention of ment sounds like an accurate description of Fuchs’s account Straubel is almost completely optical projection must have been particular- Straubel’s role in the development of the pro- gone from the history of the planetarium, it is ly interesting and enlightening. Furthermore, jection planetarium concept. Bauersfeld’s co-attribution to Straubel which using an optical projection concept in the de- makes his account so significant. Published sign of the Ptolemaic planetarium would en- Scope of Straubel’s work at Zeiss when Bauersfeld was 78 years old, it is his only able Zeiss to showcase its capabilities in its and main accomplishments public statement giving credit to Straubel that specialty—the most advanced optical instru- described how, upon join- we know of. ments. ing Zeiss management, Straubel immersed It is thus conceivable that Straubel brought himself “in commercial and organizational is- Discussion: Origin of the idea of to Zeiss from Munich the idea of using projec- sues, scientific issues and technical and design projection for the planetarium tion, and then, in internal discussions at Zeiss, issues, all at the same time… That is Abbe’s spir- As reported earlier, in February 1913, von encouraged the engineers, especially Bauers- it.” (11 Hermann, p. 122) Friedrich Schomerus Miller had been made aware by Eduard Hin- feld, to apply the projection idea to the Ptol- summarized Straubel’s work at Zeiss “in two dermann that “the idea of using light projec- emaic planetarium. If that were the case, Bau- points: Straubel as a technical physicist and tion can of course be applied and used with ersfeld could have adopted the projection idea as an entrepreneur who is looking far ahead advantage when simulating the view of the then made it his own. And it could have set and is pushing ahead.” (20 Schomerus, p. 95) world according to the Ptolemaic system” (9 the stage for Straubel’s later suggestion to ap- Markus Becker concluded: “The breadth of Fuchs p. 58). Yet in his 1957 article, Bauersfeld ply projection techniques to the planetarium tasks that Straubel was involved in as a top presented the optical projection of the pic- stars themselves. manager seems to replicate Abbe’s.” (5 Beck- tures of the heavenly bodies onto the inner A story told by Gerhard Langer, a nephew er, p. 22) surface of the sphere in such a way that it ap- of Prof. Straubel, now 90 years old and living As the scientific director of Zeiss, following pears to be his original idea. in Boulder, Colorado, is of interest to us in this in ’s footsteps, it was Straubel’s re- A slightly different course of events is sug- context. Gerhard Langer grew up in close con- sponsibility to ensure that product develop-

March 2014 Planetarian 27 Above, right: Two letters by Straubel to the Deutsches Museum, one letter thanking for being invited to join the museum’s presidium board, both let- ters announcing the donation by Zeiss of a large for demonstra- tions to the public. Both letters are handwritten on the same date (Sep- tember 29,1912) and on the same Zeiss management stationery, one signed “Professor Dr. Straubel,” the other signed “.” At far right: Letter dated October 23, 1912, undersigned by the three direc- tors of the Deutsches Museum, in- forming Prof. Straubel of his unani- mous election to the presidium board ers with project execution. in an effort to counter the economic dif- of the museum and to its secretary. There may be countless examples of Zeiss ficulties of the German camera and op- Fotos Deutsches Museum projects in which Straubel was intricately in- tical industry, Straubel led the even larg- volved, but for many of them his involve- er consolidation of ICA and several other ment will never be known since he called so major German camera and photo-tech- ment and fabrication processes were based on little attention to himself and typically pre- nical equipment manufacturers into the scientific principles. ferred to work behind the scenes. Usually, the Zeiss-Ikon AG, under the umbrella of the Maximilian Herzberger, a Zeiss research final product was credited to another Zeiss sci- Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. (12 Herzberger p. 589) staff member from 1928 to 1934, described entist or engineer. Straubel became chairman of the board of Straubel’s significance: “During Straubel’s Nevertheless, more than thirty patents are the new company. reign, a staff of scientists was assembled that issued to Straubel directly, including patents Two of Straubel’s special interest projects made Jena the center of the optical industry (to name a few) on: prismatic reflector, reflec- are presented here individually. in the entire world and made optical prog- tor spotlight, , objectives and lens- In 1921, his research into the use of so- ress and Zeiss almost synonymous. Under es, projection (as used in a projection appara- lar energy led to the first modern furnace of Straubel, the Zeiss laboratory did not limit tus for university auditoriums), accessories the reflecting type, the “Straubel Solar Fur- itself to practical problems but extended its for , and production processes. nace.” With a system of mirrors and lenses us- studies into theoretical research, a procedure (13 Jentzsch, pp. 217-218). As should be evident ing solar energy, he was able to generate fo- that is followed by only the largest research from this list, he was intimately familiar with cused heat and temperatures of up to 3,000° C laboratories today.” (12 Herzberger, p. 589) the various optical elements that found their (10,000° F). (7 Duwez p. 14) While most of Straubel’s numerous scien- way into the projection apparatus for the Secondly, starting in 1916, much of tific papers had been written prior to his join- planetarium. Straubel’s time away from the Zeiss premis- ing Zeiss, about six of his theoretical research Among his entrepreneurial achievements, es was spent designing an extensive system articles were published while he was in office, these stand out: of reservoirs and dams along the upper Saa- between 1903 and 1933. His theoretical work •• Internationally, the alliance formed in le River to generate clean and reliable hydro- has been described elsewhere. (6 Boegehold, 12 1908 by Straubel with the U.S. optical firm electric energy for the Zeiss works, the city of Herzberger, 13 Jentzsch) Bausch & Lomb, giving Zeiss access to the Jena, and a major area of middle Germany. For However, it was practical optics that be- U.S. market for its products; an in-depth description of the “Plan Straubel, came his foremost responsibility. As men- •• Domestically, it was his leadership in 1909 Hydroelectric Power from the Saale River”, see tioned in connection with the projection in the consolidation of four German cam- Linda Langer Snook, The Langers of Jena, pp. planetarium, his task was to present new ideas era manufacturers into the ICA Dresden. 118-121 (15). Straubel’s pursuit of this project, as and initiate projects, then guide and assist oth- •• Then again, after World War I, in 1925-26, (Continues on page 30)

28 Planetarian March 2014 (Continued from page 28) had to endure for that reason.” well as his continual support of the University Prof. Straubel continued writing papers and of Jena, are further indications as to how per- conducting experiments from his home after sonally he took the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung’s prin- his forced retirement from ciple to “support science and technology out- Zeiss. Werner Straubel: “He side as well as within the enterprises, and the dedicated himself entire- participation in projects that served the gen- ly to the development of eral good.” science. …Father derived from the occupation with Straubel’s forced retirement, final mathematical and physi- years, and fate of his family cal problems the evenness The ascent of National Socialism in Germa- of mind necessary to live ny, and the election of Adolf Hitler in January, through the difficult times 1933 brought Straubel’s distinguished career at which lie behind us.” Zeiss to an abrupt end. In a letter dated Octo- In the late 1930s Straubel ber 17, 1945, quoted throughout this section, developed kidney cancer. Straubel’s son Werner wrote (23): “My father In 1943 he became ill, and had to retire from office in 1933. . . . He had to died on December 2, 1943. retire from office solely on account of being Werner Straubel: “He had married to my mother who was Jewish.” worked to the very end. In In turn, Werner’s brother Harald recount- fact, the printers received ed the events in a typed and signed statement, the last of his manuscripts dated January 15, 1988, when he was 82 years the day after he died.” Be- old (22): tween 10 and 13 people are “My father, Prof. Dr. Rudolf Straubel, had reported to have attended been hired in 1903 by Ernst Abbe as Scientif- Straubel’s funeral service— ic Director for Life. Later he also became Bev- only close relatives, and ollmächtigter (Power-of-Attorney) of the Carl- Frau Grete Unrein (Ernst Zeiss-Stiftung. When on Jan. 1, 1933 (the Nazis) Abbe’s daughter). (26 Wan- assumed power, initially nothing happened dersleb) at Zeiss. On a day in the middle of June 1933 The systematic expul- my father returned home at noon and said, sion, expropriation and literally: ‘So that you don’t hear about this finally annihilation of in town, the other partners in management German Jews started in No- (Prof. Bauersfeld, Herr Henrichs and Herr Kot- vember 1938 with “Kristall- thaus) have given me the choice of getting nacht.” On November 10, divorced or leaving Zeiss. I have refused get- 1938, Straubel’s wife Ma- ting divorced and must be out by Sept. 30, rie was arrested by Nazis 1933.’ However my father was allowed to re- in uniform, incarcerated tain his position on the board of Zeiss-Ikon for one night, and then re- The Straubel family. Top: Prof. Straubel with son Harald and wife Ma- AG in Dresden which he had founded. Of the leased. (22) rie (1937), in front of the Wisenta power station, part of an extensive above mentioned other managers, no-one has Gerhard Langer, the system of reservoirs and dams along the upper Saale River designed expressed his regret, or even tried to reverse then 15-year old son of by Straubel to generate hydroelectric energy for Zeiss and beyond. Below: Marie Straubel and Werner Straubel. Courtesy Linda Langer- this order which had been mandated by the Marie Straubel’s niece, He- Snook family archive, used with permission. regional (Nazi) government in . My fa- lene Langer, was able to es- ther’s pension privileges remained intact.” cape from Germany in Au- Straubel’s forced retirement was just the be- gust 1939, on one of the last ginning of a progression of persecution for ships leaving Hamburg for New York before hand. She died in dignity and peace on Sep- the Straubel family. Straubel’s son Werner was World War II broke out. tember 9, 1942.” permitted to continue working for Zeiss. But, Werner Straubel: “(Gerhard) had…the luck Her niece, Dr. Helene Langer, for the same like other employees of a “questionable racial to escape from the horrors of war and the reason, had to end her own life on June background” or with non-conformist politi- great, the very great privilege to live in a 16, 1944. Werner Straubel: “While he [Prof. cal views, he had to take on a less-visible role country ‘where liberty prevails.’ What that Straubel] lived, the Gestapo did not dare to than before. means can only be fully understood by some- touch my poor old mother, but a few months From 1935 on, after Hitler had successfully one, who had to spend the last years—12 long later she was informed that she was to be ‘de- consolidated his power, the racial agenda of years—in this country.” ported’ and just like her sister and niece, end- the Nazis became more pronounced. In Feb- When mass deportations began in 1942, Ma- ed her life by her own hand. What tragedy be- ruary 1938, Prof. Straubel’s name was removed rie’s sister, Therese Zuckerkandl, widowed and hind those few words! But there is no use to from the role of professors at the University also living in Jena, was the first of the family say more about those things, except perhaps, of Jena. The reason was his “45 years of Jewish to face deportation. Werner Straubel: “[She] that she too, ‘died in perfect dignity and in ab- relations,” referring to his marriage to a wife was to be transported to [concentration camp] solute peacefulness.’ My brother and I were at who was of Jewish heritage. Theresienstadt by the Gestapo solely on ac- her bedside.” Marie Straubel died on April 20, Werner Straubel: “I do not want to tell you count of being a Jewess. She knew full well 1944. about the many sad events which my parents what that meant and ended life by her own (Continues on page 32)

30 Planetarian March 2014 (Continued from page 30) immense pressure was exerted, with In October 1944, Werner daily intimidations, threats and in- Straubel and his brother Harald trusions. (20 Schomerus p. 276) The were sent to a forced labor camp, management team was even threat- where they spent the last seven ened with concentration camp. months of the war. In May 1945, It is in this climate that Rudolf as the war ended, Werner, who Straubel was forced into retire- was fluent in English, rushed back ment. As a member of the manage- to Jena to offer his services as in- ment team and married to a Jewess, terpreter in the negotiations be- Straubel was particularly vulnerable. tween Zeiss and the U.S. army, Friedrich Schomerus, in his centen- which had just liberated Jena. nial corporate history of Zeiss pub- He ended up assisting the U.S. lished in 1952, does not give details army in compiling a list of valu- about the event, he simply writes: able Zeiss scientists and man- “The distinguished member of man- agers to be moved from Jena to agement Prof. Straubel had to retire.” the west, before the Soviet army (20 p. 276) would take over that part of Ger- As well, no material could be many as had been agreed in the found in the Zeiss archives concern- treaty of Yalta. Included in the ing this event, which breached the move from Jena to Heidenheim statutes of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung were the Zeiss managers Bauers- since members of management were feld, Henrichs, and Küppenbend- chosen for life, and discrimination er (who had joined the manage- based on race was forbidden. ment ranks after Kotthaus’s death in 1941). An impossible choice In the post-war years, all three According to Harald Straubel’s managers went on to form Zeiss statement, it was “on a day in the West in Heidenheim, then lat- middle of June 1933” that his father er Oberkochen. Werner Straubel was given the choice of either getting also joined in the move to divorced or to retire. (28) Given that Heidenheim while his brother the Nazi commissioner in charge of Harald remained in Jena. Perhaps overseeing Zeiss had been assigned Werner had hoped that, in the to his post by Minister Wächtler on west, he would be able to help re- June 1 1933 (20 p. 275-276), it appears vive the legacy of Zeiss and Abbe that Straubel was forced into making and restore his father’s dignity? his choice during the first month of Yet, this hope did not materialize Nazi interference into Zeiss. in a timely manner. Emotional- Schomerus goes on describing in ly exhausted from the preceding a long chapter how, from December 12 years, and feeling very alone, 1933 until May 1934, Zeiss manage- Werner Straubel committed sui- ment, in a united front, heroically cide in Heidenheim on Novem- Page from the proceedings of the 1913 annual meeting of the museum’s and successfully fought back in the ber 6, 1945. presidium board. Highlighted is the paragraph that mentions Straubel’s courts against intrusive meddling acceptance of the planetarium plans by Zeiss. Foto Deutsches Museum into Zeiss internal affairs by Nazi of- Why Straubel might have ficials, leading to the eventual re- been forgotten moval of the Nazi commissioner as- Like his predecessor, Zeiss co-founder Ernst correspondence with the Deutsches Museum, signed to the Zeiss Works. (20 p. 275-299) Abbe (11 Hermann p. 107), Rudolf Straubel de- illustrates Straubel’s aversion to personal ex- During the following years, Zeiss manage- tested any cult of personality. “His aversion to posure. It is unlikely that he himself would ment succeeded in retaining a significant any personal exposure, to any cult around his have drawn attention to his contribution to number of scientific and other staff members person grew increasingly stronger over time”, the invention of the planetarium. who were endangered due to their racial sta- writes Jentzsch. “Up until his retirement from Another cause for Straubel’s lack of renown tus, affiliation or political persuasion, often by Zeiss management on October 1 1933, there can be attributed to his forced retirement in giving them less visible assignments. (19 Mül- would have been numerous occasions to hon- 1933, and, especially, to how this event was lat- ler) or and celebrate Straubel; he avoided each er used in the post World War II legal battles It was in the aftermath of his forced retire- such occasion, either by very forcefully ask- between Zeiss East and West. This is a rather ment that Straubel received the most writ- ing in advance not to pursue those plans, or complicated story. ten accolades of his entire life. On October 3, by suddenly going on travels, or even by keep- In 1933 the new Thuringian Nazi Interior 1933, Straubel’s retirement was announced by ing strictly secret all his personal data.” (13 Jen- Minister Wächtler intended a “reform from Zeiss in a press release, written by Friedrich tzsch p. 219) head to toe of the Zeiss Works which are in- Schomerus, long-time director of the Zeiss Signing business letters with “Carl Zeiss” in- fested with Marxists and Liberals.” He want- personal department. (27 Zeiss Archive Jena) stead of using his own name, as we saw in the ed to force its management out of office. An (Continues on page 34)

32 Planetarian March 2014 (Continued from page 32) as: Which side had the right to be considered ment. At the time he was 69 years old and not In 1934 two articles, most likely written on seat of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung and to use the unhappy about the unsolicited time of lei- the suggestion of Dr. Schomerus, appeared in name Carl Zeiss? Which side could claim the sure. After solely having been a manager for German scientific magazines in honor of Prof. assets of Zeiss in various countries, and use the three decades, he welcomed his return to sci- Straubel’s 70th birthday. Zeiss trademarks? ence. Nevertheless his colleagues felt a sense of After Straubel’s death, a third article, writ- The case had to be decided using the stat- disgrace for having to accept his resignation.” ten by Schomerus himself, appeared in a Zeiss utes of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung. The arguments (11 Hermann p. 147) internal publication (March 1944), largely re- gave neither side a clear advantage. Accord- These two very different accounts of the iterating what had been written in the two ing to the statutes, the seat of Zeiss had to be same event need to be seen in the context previous articles. The press release and all Jena, which favored Zeiss East. On the other of the legal fight between the two opposing three articles praised Straubel’s accomplish- hand, the statutes demanded that Zeiss man- companies. Given what was at stake, one can ments. However, they did not say anything agement make all decisions independent- conclude that Zeiss West tried to avoid even about Straubel’s wife or the reasons for his re- ly. This was no longer the case in the east, the appearance of having given in to Nazi tirement in 1933. (6 Boegehold; 13 Jentzsch; 21 where the communist state mandated con- pressure, by underplaying Straubel’s impor- Schomerus) trol over industry, which was now central- tance and the significance of his forced retire- In his centennial corporate history from ly managed. Zeiss West’s claim to legitimacy ment. This, in turn, may have contributed to 1952, Schomerus reprinted his article from was that it was headed by the original man- the decline of his renown during that period. 1944 in honor of Straubel’s death, in a slight- agement team, evacuated by force from Jena The increasingly costly court battles be- ly shortened version whose content remained to the west. (11 Hermann p. 168-221) tween Zeiss East and West, begun in 1954, were largely unchanged. (20 Schomerus, p. 312-318) It was in this context that the east attempt- finally abandoned in 1971 and replaced by an Only one sentence of the reprinted article ed to undermine Zeiss West management out-of-court settlement between the two sides made reference to Straubel’s fate: referring to team’s legitimacy, by claiming that during that specified the geographic areas in which his retirement, Schomerus changed the word- the Third Reich its members had voluntarily each were authorized to do business and use ing to “his retirement forced upon him by Na- adapted to the new rulers, and had modified the Zeiss trademark to market their products. tional Socialism.” (20 Schomerus, p. 317) the statutes of the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung to ac- Summing up, a current lack of familiarity One last article honoring Straubel was pub- commodate Nazi ideology. with Straubel’s name and accomplishments lished in 1954 in the United States by Langer The east called the west management can be attributed to both personal and his- and Straubel family friend Maximilian Herz- team “war criminals” and “capitalist bosses.” torical factors: personally, his aversion to any berger, previously cited. It is the only article Straubel’s forced retirement was used to sup- cult around his persona; and historically, his that has appeared in English. (12 Herzberger) port the case that the management team had renown/recognition declining in the west as violated the foundation statutes from 1933 a result of the Cold War legal battles between Separated in the east and west onwards. The following quotation, from a Zeiss East and West. The Post World War II era featured two communist pamphlet from 1958, “Mit klarer separate Zeiss companies: the original Zeiss Sicht,” may illustrate the argument: Conclusion Works in Jena, in the Soviet occupied zone, “Among the men who had essentially con- Rudolf Straubel shunned publicity, yet and a new company, founded in the west tributed to the worldwide reputation of Zeiss worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help by the Zeiss management team and scientif- products were also several who were disap- others. It is hoped that this article may help ic staff evacuated by the U.S. army in 1945. proved of by the Nazis because of their ra- revive interest in the man and his work, no- The ascent of Zeiss West, narrated from Zeiss cial or political affiliation. Due to the signifi- tably his contribution to the invention of the West’s perspective, and based on material cance of the Zeiss Works for war production, projection planetarium, and his overall im- from Zeiss West’s own archives, court records, the Zeiss managers would have had many op- pact on the advancement of optics at Zeiss and conversations with former and current portunities to stand up for and protect these in the first third of the 20th century. Taking members of Zeiss West’s management and men. They did the opposite. Among others, over the baton from Ernst Abbe and Siegfried staff, has been well described in Armin Her- they forced Prof. Dr. Rudolf Straubel into re- Czapski, Rudolf Straubel, in exemplary fash- mann’s book from 1989, Nur der Name war tirement, power-of-attorney of the Carl-Zeiss- ion, continued the tradition of scientific lead- geblieben. (11 Hermann) Stiftung and member of Zeiss management ership at Zeiss. He offered inspiration and sup- An initial period of cooperation between for more than three decades, owner of 32 Ger- port to a whole generation of scientists. Just as the two companies was soon replaced by de- man Reich patents, and initiator of the Wisen- Zeiss and Abbe before him, he deserves to be cades-long legal battles concerning issues such ta hydroelectric power plant..” (18 p. 29) included in the select group of Zeiss personal- Conversely, Armin ities who, during their lifetime, elevated Jena Hermann’s account of into becoming a vibrant epicenter of scientif- Straubel’s forced retire- ic, technical and social innovation. ment, in his book about the history of Zeiss West References from the west’s perspec- 1 Archive, Deutsches Museum, München. If tive, appears to play not indicated otherwise, documents are down the event’s signifi- from the folders “Korrespondenz Astrono- cance as well as Straubel’s mie” or “Allgemeine Korrespondenz”. importance: 2 Auerbach, Felix. Das Zeisswerk und die Carl- “Rudolf Straubel Zeiss-Stiftung in Jena–Ihre wissenschaftliche, whose wife was Jew- technische und soziale Entwicklung und Be- ish had to resign in 1933 deutung, 5th ed. Gustav Fischer, Jena 1925. from his exposed posi- (English: Auerbach, Felix. The Zeiss Works tion in [Zeiss] manage- (Continues on page 36)

34 Planetarian March 2014 (Straubel, continued from page 34) and the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung in Jena, London 1934, Nummer 6. 1904.) 14 Julius Rosenwald correspondence, Museum 3 Bauersfeld, Walther. “Projection Planetari- of Science and Industry (MSI) Archives, Chi- um and Shell Construction.” Part 1. The En- cago. gineer (Proceedings of the Institution of Me- 15 Langer Snook, Linda. The Langers of Jena. chanical Engineers) 171 (17 May 1957): 75-80. Charleston, South Carolina, privately pub- (German: Bauersfeld, Walther. “Projektions- lished, 2012. Planetarium und Schalenbauweise.” In: 16 Marché II, Jordan D. Theaters of Time and Zeiss-Werkzeitungen 1957 Heft 28 p. 87. Carl Space: American Planetaria, 1930-1970. New Zeiss, Jena.) Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 4 Bauersfeld, Walther. Das Zeißische Projek- 2005. tions-Planetarium. Verlag Dr. S. V. Jezewski. 17 Meier, Ludwig. “Die Erfindung des Projek- Jena 1925. tionsplanetariums.“ In: Jenaer Jahrbuch zur 5 Becker, Markus. “From Entrepreneur to Or- Technik und Industriegeschichte, Band 5, ganization: The Replication of Individual 2003. Habits.” Paper presented at the 2010 sum- 18 “Mit klarer Sicht. Das Ende der Zeiss-Legen- mer conference, “Opening Up Innovation: de.“ Herausgegeben vom Zentralkomittee Strategy, Organization and Technology.” und der Bezirksleitung Gera der SED, Abt. Imperial College London Business School, Propaganda/Agitation. Carl Zeiss, Jena, 1958. June 16-18, 2010. 19 Müller, Gisela. “Jüdische Mitarbeiter in der 6 Boegehold, H. “Rudolf Straubel zum siebzig- Leitungsebene der Firmen Carl Zeiss und sten Geburtstage.“ Die Naturwissenschaften .“ In: Kirsche, Brigitte. Juden in 25 (1934): 421-424. Jena: eine Spurensuche. (pp. 152-173) Jenaer 7 Duwez, Pol. “The Solar Furnace.” Engineer- Arbeitskreis Judentum. Verlag Glaux, 1998, ing and Science 19 (Feb. 1956): 13-16. Quote: Jena. “With a glass parabolic mirror of about six 20 Schomerus, Friedrich. Geschichte des Jen- feet in diameter and a focal length of two aer Zeisswerkes, 1846-1946. Piscator Verlag, feet, Straubel was able to reach tempera- 1952. tures of the order of 3000 degree Celsius 21 Schomerus, Friedrich. “Professor Straubel (~10000 degree Fahrenheit).” (on p. 14). zum Gedächtnis.” Zeiss Werkzeitungen Heft 8 Email communications to the author 1 März 1944. Carl Zeiss, Jena. from Dr. Röschner and Dr. Füßl, Archive, 22 Straubel, Harald. Memories. January 1988. Deutsches Museum. Type script, Linda Langer Snook family ar- 9 Fuchs, Franz. “Der Aufbau der Astrono- chive. mie im Deutschen Museum (1905 - 1925).“ 23 Straubel, Werner. Letter to Maximilian Deutsches Museum Abhandlungen und Beri- Herzberger. Oct. 17, 1945. Type script, Linda chte 23, no. 1 (1955): 1-68. Langer Snook family archive. 10 Gale International Directory of Company 24 “Thirty-Ninth Meeting of the American As- Histories: “Carl Zeiss AG.” tronomical Society,” Popular Astronomy 36, 11 Hermann, Armin. Nur der Name war gebli- no. 3 (March 1928): 139-142; group photo on eben–Die abenteuerliche Geschichte der Firma p. 139, with identification chart, p. 139A; list Carl Zeiss. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stutt- of new members/participants, p. 140-141. gart, 1989. 25 Villiger, Walter. Das Zeiss-Planetarium. Ver- 12 Herzberger, Maximilian. “The Scientific lag Vopelius. Jena 1926. Work of Constantin Rudolf Straubel.” Jour- 26 Wandersleb, Dr. Ernst. “Anekdoten von Ru- nal of the Optical Society of America 44, no. 8 dolf Straubel.” Type script, undated. Linda (August 1954): 589-592. Langer Snook family archive 13 Jentzsch, F. “Rudolf Straubel zum 70. Ge- 27 Zeiss Archives, Jena. Zeiss Werkzeitungen burtstag.” Zeitschrift für technische Physik Oktober 1933, p. 64, Carl Zeiss, Jena. I

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