letters.qxp 4/22/98 9:02 AM Page 405 Letters to the Editor Corrections on Mac Lane’s In this context it is not worth men- (iii) Max Dehn was never in Berlin Article tioning the missing accents on Brün- as a professor, but was “habilitated” Saunders Mac Lane’s memories of ing and Pólya or the curious spelling in Münster, and then was successively mathematical life in Göttingen imme- “Bertold” for Bertolt (Brecht). in Kiel, Breslau, and Frankfurt (where diately after January 30, 1933 (Notices, Mac Lane also gets some historical he succeeded Bieberbach in 1921). He vol. 42, October 1995, 1134–1138), things wrong. fled in 1939, first to Denmark, and in when he was a foreign student there, (i) Moritz Geiger did not serve in the a very arduous way finally came to the are inevitably interesting, as he is one First World War—he was dismissed on United States. of the few surviving mathematicians September 26, 1933 (one month after (iv) Richard Brauer was not in from that time. However, either Pro- Mac Lane’s departure). Berlin; his elder brother, Alfred (a well- fessor Mac Lane, or more likely the (ii) Mac Lane must have misunder- known number theorist, though not as Notices editor responsible, should have stood Martin Kneser about his father- famous as his younger brother), was. When Richard emigrated in October done a better job of editing these rem- in-law. It was a great-great-grand- 1933, he was a professor at Königs- iniscences. To wit: mother of Hasse who was Jewish (her berg. Mac Lane may have been con- “Richard Pohl” should be Robert name was Itzig). I was shown this doc- fused by the fact that both Alfred and Pohl. umentation by Martin Kneser in 1988. Richard did doctoral dissertations in “Hans Freudental” should be Hans The “non-Aryan rules” for being a Freudenthal. Berlin. member of the NSDAP were far “Edward Tornier” should be Erhard (v) I believe Hans Freudenthal left stricter than for anything else and re- Tornier. Berlin in 1931. He certainly did only quired no non-Aryan ancestor alive in “Karl Ludwig Siegel” should be Carl narrowly escape the Nazis, but that 1800. Hasse’s great-great-grand- Ludwig Siegel. was in Holland. Under the picture (p. 1137) “Schw- mother in question was born in 1775. (vi) Hanna Neumann was not Jew- ertfager” should be Schwerdtfeger (his The story of Hasse’s application for ish (her maiden name was vonCaem- first name was Hans). Nazi Party membership is very com- merer). In January 1933 she met Bern- “Erna Barrow” should presumably plicated. Suffice it to say here that he hard Neumann, who was Jewish and be Erna Bannow, who, incidentally, had a brother, Albrecht Hasse, living who emigrated in August of that year later followed Witt to Hamburg, be- in Berlin who had been allowed to to England. She became secretly en- came his first doctoral student (de- join the Party, and so Helmut Hasse gaged to him in 1934; she passed the gree awarded in 1939), and married had reason to believe he might be Staatsexamen while still at Berlin and him in 1940. able to do so as well. in 1937 actually started work on a APRIL 1996 NOTICES OF THE AMS 405 letters.qxp 4/22/98 9:02 AM Page 406 Letters to the Editor doctorate at Göttingen, to be super- that his “good friend” Gerhard I propose that the AMS take a vised by Hasse. She did not leave Ger- Gentzen “disappeared” when the Rus- stronger, more visible role in the dis- many until July 1938 and married sians arrived in Prague. In fact cussion of the problems of teaching Bernhard secretly later that year. For Gentzen refused to voluntarily give up mathematics. I suggest the following more detail, her obituary in volume his university position in early April action: 17 of the Journal of the Australian 1945; arrested in May, he was placed 1. The Notices editorial board Mathematical Society should be con- in a detention camp, where appar- should invite a series of feature arti- sulted. ently he was murdered by Czech (not cles highlighting the kinds of change (vii) Concerning the story about Russian) soldiers. which are being implemented. There Pólya, since various versions of it cir- are many serious mathematicians who culate (e.g., see also p. 26 of the recent Sanford L. Segal have taken a deep interest in this ac- book George Pólya, Master of Discov- University of Rochester tivity in recent years. Why have they ery, by Harold and Loretta Taylor), the done that? Why do they continue to do (Received December 13, 1995) truth is perhaps worth presenting. On it? Is it, as Professor Krantz suggests, P.S. In Mac Lane’s recent piece in January 18, 1921, Pólya wrote Bieber- because that’s where the big bucks the Mathematical Intelligencer (vol. 16, bach (then in Frankfurt) a lengthy let- are? I don’t think so. Let’s find out. no. 3 (1994), 9–10) an error relevant ter from Zürich (a copy is in my pos- 2. The Society should schedule me- to this letter also occurs. The “math- session) in which the incident alluded diated discussions at AMS meetings on ematical anti-Semite” who said to by both Mac Lane and the Taylors the issues of change. The participants “Princeton ist ein kleines Negerdorf” (following a taped interview with should represent various positions on was not in Berlin and was not in- Pólya’s nephew) is described. Inci- the questions of change, and these significant. He was the great geome- dentally, the context of this letter is should not simply be panel discus- ter Wilhelm Blaschke, who was in that Pólya might be considered (the sions. They should also not degener- Hamburg. chance, in fact, was very remote) as ate into debates, since debate implies Bieberbach’s successor when he went confrontation, and in debate, victory to Berlin. Presumably Pólya in 1921 is tends to go to the glib participant. rather more accurate about something Innovations in Mathematics The goal should be information for that happened in 1913 than other peo- Education the membership. I suggest discussion ple’s secondhand memories many The AMS has been presented with an mediated by persons who are trained years later. So far as I know this is the opportunity for positive action and for that activity. first time this story has become pub- change by Steven Krantz. He has pre- 3. The Committee on Education lic. Christmas 1913, Pólya was travel- sented readers of AMS publications should better highlight the Society’s ling from Zürich to Frankfurt and had with a collection of singularly unpro- activities related to education at its an exchange of words with the young fessional diatribes opposing change in Web site, and the Committee on Edu- man sitting opposite him in the train the way we teach mathematics and cation should attempt liaison with compartment over Pólya’s trunk, attacking those who promote change. other organizations interested in the which had fallen down. Pólya, who was The most recent, in “Math for Sale”, same problems. in an “overly irritated state”, chal- the editorial in the October 1995 issue Seven years ago Jerry Uhl and Ho- lenged the fellow to a duel. He refused, of the Notices, carries the authority of racio Porta decided to try using new where upon Pólya punched him. It the Society, since it was written by an tools and ideas in teaching calculus to turned out that his unwilling oppo- editor and published by the Society. undergraduates. The Calculus&Math- nent was the son of an important man Do you know that the Society has ematica project was born. I came along and a student in Göttingen. Pólya had a Committee on Education? Do you shortly after they started. We tried to leave Göttingen as a consequence. know what it is doing? You can find these things and were very excited by Pólya says, “privately the story is also out by going to the AMS home page what we saw: first-year undergrads not worth a defense.” Thus, there were on the World Wide Web. Do you know (and not just honors students) talking no anti-Semitic remarks as in the Tay- that the Society has a listserv for dis- about mathematics in ways we hadn’t lors’ version, and Pólya was the one cussion of calculus reform issues? seen before, students taking charge of who demanded a duel rather than the Will you find reference to it on the their own explorations into mathe- other way around. Pólya blames him- AMS home page? Not as this is being matics, and students who could and self completely for the incident. Inci- written. Is the Society serious about did explain in their own terms what dentally, Pólya does mention anti- addressing problems in the teaching the calculus does and is. We were Semitism elsewhere in the letter, so of mathematics? hooked. We have continued to invent there is every reason to believe this ver- I believe that the Society and its and pursue change, and we are still ex- sion. Of course, neither Mac Lane nor membership have a vital interest in cited by what we see happening. Martin Kneser could have known about questions about teaching mathemat- Changing the way we teach math- this. ics. The questions are difficult, and ematics is a serious enterprise and In this connection, one must also points of view vary, but there is strong should not be demeaned by an opin- mention Mac Lane’s letter in the same evidence to suggest that general im- ionated, uninformed member of the issue of the Notices, when he hints provement is possible.