Public talk (in German): “In the orbit of politics”
Public talk
- Date: Nov 7, 2024
- Time: 07:00 PM - 08:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Barbara Blum
- Location: Bibliotheca Albertina, Beethovenstr. 6, 04107 Leipzig
- Room: Vortragssaal
“Heisenberg in Leipzig” mainly covers the years 1927 to 1942, i.e. the period from the rise of the National Socialist party and the emergence of the “Third German Reich” to its foreseeable downfall towards the end of the Second World War. Moderator: Alexander Blum, head of the Max Planck Research Group “Historical Epistemology of the Final Theory Program” at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, which works together with the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam.
The lecture deals with questions that have once again become topical today: Is it possible to separate pure science from politics? Where does the freedom of science end and politics begin? Why did Heisenberg not emigrate from Germany like so many of his colleagues? What compromises did he have to make in order to continue his research in Germany? What consequences did his decision have for his personal life? Is everyone who stayed in Germany guilty? Is it possible to survive in a dictatorship without corrupting one's own values? These and similar questions will be examined by looking at specific events in the life of Werner Heisenberg during his years in Leipzig.