Mathwar/Personlist/Loewy Alfred
Alfred Loewy
(* June 20th 1873 in Rawitsch, † January 25th 1935 in Freiburg)
Life
Anti-Semitism increased in Germany following the end of World War I. Anti-Semites joined forces with nationalists in attempting to blame the Jews for Germany's defeat. Increasing discrimination was not the only source of difficulty in Loewy's life. Already by 1916 he had lost the sight of one eye. His eyesight began to fail completely from about 1920 and he became totally blind before his death after a failed operation in 1928 left his other eye completely blind also. Despite these severe health problems Loewy continued to carry out his teaching duties. He could battle against blindness and against the hurt of anti-Semitism directed at him, but the final blow came in 1933 when anti-Semitism became part of the law of the land. On 30 January 1933 Hitler came to power and on 7 April 1933 the Civil Service Law was passed that provided the means of removing Jewish teachers from the universities, and of course also to remove those of Jewish descent from other roles. All civil servants who were not of Aryan descent (having one grandparent of the Jewish religion made someone non-Aryan) were to be retired. Loewy was forced to retire in 1933 under the Civil Service Law.