Mathwar/Mohr Ernst
Ernst Mohr
Ernst Mohr (1919-1989)
Life
After he had received his doctorate at Goettingen University in 1933, he became involved with several National Socialist people at the university and in Goettingen. In 1934 this led to a strange confrontation with the newly appointed professor for mathematics, Helmut Hasse, with the result of Mohr becoming a scapegoat and having to leave Goettingen. He then went to Breslau and began to specialize in hydrodynamics under the supervision of Johann Nikuradse. In 1939 he became lecturer for mechanics and applied mathematics at both Breslau University and Breslau Polytechnic. In 1942 he was provisionally appointed to an associate professorship at the German University in Prague, in 1943 he got tenure there. All the time after 1934, Mohr had been very reluctant to speak his mind in public or semi-public, while in private he openly declared his disapproval of National Socialism. In 1944 he was denounced by a female "friend" of his wife and arrested in Prague. On 24 October 1944 his case came before the "Volksgerichtshof" ("People's Court") and he was sentenced to death for subversion, etc. Due to intensive efforts by several people (Nikuradse, Mohr's Prague colleague Hans Rohrbach, and his lawyer) Mohr was saved at the last moment, but only for half a year. He was kept in Ploetzensee jail near Berlin to do mathematical computations, observed the killings there, and survived bomb attacks. Just before the postponement of his execution ended, the Soviet Red Army freed the inmates of Ploetzensee. After the war, Mohr's career resumed as he became professor at Berlin Technical University at the beginning of 1946. However, the fact that he had been a victim of national socialism was only reluctantly accepted by West German officials: While old Nazis were back at the university, or had their full pensions, in the early 1950s, Mohr had to wait until 1963 before he received full compensation. His death sentence was only revoked in 1958, partly by subterfuge and luck. The memories of imprisonment and waiting on death-row stayed with Mohr to the end.