Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and other Danish educational institutions had extensive scientific cooperation with Germany after Hitler’s takeover in 1933, shows recent historical analysis. <\/p>\n
At a two day conference entitled ‘Danish Science, Universities and the Challenge from Nazism 1933-1945’, the participants discussed the details.<\/p>\n
Associate professor in history Palle Roslyng-Jensen noted how dominant Germany was in scientific circles at the time saying that it had the same status among scientific circles in the 1930’s as the United States gets after the Second World War. This \u00bbapplies not only to theology and the humanities, but also to science,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n
When, how, and under which circumstances, the Danish university world distanced itself from German scientists that had conformed their results to Nazi ideology in the 1930’s, is different from science to science. The Nazi message came out loud and clear in humanities and theology, while it was only indirect in the natural sciences.<\/p>\n
The Danish natural scientists were those who continued their co-operation with German scientists the longest.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe most familiar example is Niels Bohr, and he’s even Jewish and one of the University of Copenhagen’s star scientists with a Nobel Prize and everything. He continues to work with the German physicist Werner Heisenberg. This has been written about extensively,\u00ab says Palle Roslyng-Jensen.<\/p>\n
It was up to individual professors and researchers to make a stand and this often depended upon ideological convictions.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt is clear that if you were leftist at the time, you were absolutely anti-Nazi, if you were a national-conservative, it was more difficult. This was evident in, for example, the history department\u00ab says Palle Roslyng-Jensen.<\/p>\n
\u00bbSome break the connection with their German scientist colleagues as soon as they register Nazification. Others hesitate and say: Ah, the storm will settle soon enough, we know them as reasonable people.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Less to the University of Copenhagen’s credit was the low profile of the president and senate (konsistorium) which governed the university, when the German occupation came (1940-1945).<\/p>\n
The University calls on student-run publications to withhold criticism of the Nazis, but they also urge individual, Nazi-oriented, lecturers to not post invitations to Nazi meetings on campus.<\/p>\n
\u00bbSo it was really a part of the general policy of co-operation to keep a low profile against the Nazis and the occupying power\u00ab<\/p>\n
After 1945 a maximum of five to seven people were fired or reprimanded for contributing to Nazi activity: a small minority in a 5,000-student university at the time.<\/p>\n
universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n