Mathwar/Personlist/Landau Edmund
Edmund Landau
(* February 14th 1877 in Berlin, † February 19th 1938 in Berlin)
Life
On 30 January 1933 the National Socialist party led by Hitler did come to power in Germany and Fritz Rathenau's predictions soon came true. The Civil Service Law was passed on 7 April 1933 which provided the means of removing Jewish teachers from the universities. In fact before any official work reached Göttingen from the Ministry, the Dean wrote to Landau on 28 April asking him not to give his summer lecture courses and these were given instead by Landau's assistant. Having received no further advice from the university authorities, Landau decided to give his autumn lectures as advertised.
Teichmüller, as leader of the students, had organised the boycott of Landau's lectures. In fact Teichmüller went to Landau's office after the boycott and explained that it was not the work of any organised group. Landau then asked Teichmüller to put this in writing and he included it with his request to the Ministry that he be retired. Despite Teichmüller's assertions, it is believed that student members of the Sturmabteilung (Stormtroopers) organised the boycott. Landau was given permission on 19 November to work at Groningen, in the Netherlands, and the permission was later extended to allow him to remain there for the winter semester. He was officially retired on 7 February 1934, moved to Berlin and after this only lectured outside Germany, spending some time in Cambridge and in Holland. He received full pay until 1 July 1934, then a pension until his death from a heart attack. His widow continued to receive a pension but in March 1939 she was informed that her pension would be terminated if she emigrated to the United States.