Enlarge image Dr. Eisinger, Carol Kahn Strauss of the Leo Baeck Institute and Ambassador Ammon (© Germany.info / by J. DeTiege)

A new exhibit at the residence of German Ambassador Peter Ammon highlights the extraordinary contributions of German Jews in the fields of natural science, mathematics and medicine in Germany and for Germany in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Ambassador Ammon opened the exhibit, “Faith in Reason: Breakthroughs in Scientific Inquiry,” which displays artifacts and materials from the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, on May 10.

Speaking at the reception, the Ambassador pointed out that of the 170 Nobel Prize winners of the Jewish faith, 41 come from German-speaking countries. Many Jewish people of German heritage lead prestigious and important scientific institutions and university faculties. People like Albert Einstein, Lisa Meitner, Fritz Haber and others have with their work advanced Germany as much as their new home after their flight, often the USA, benefited from their brilliance. The Ambassador also recalled the tragic side of many of their biographies. Most of these scientists had to leave Germany after the National Socialists took over power in 1933 and faced an uncertain future in exile. Moreover, untold numbers fell victim to Nazi crimes.

Enlarge image (© Germany.info / by J. DeTiege) The story does not end there, however, the Ambassador pointed out. “A crime against humanity, against free societies and also against science and art. But – and this is crucial – it has not become the final chapter in our shared history.”

Carol Kahn Straus, executive director of the Leo Baeck Institute New York, especially underscored the role of female German Jewish scientists in her remarks. Women scientists in Germany, as  pioneers in their field, were often active in unusually high positions of responsibility.

Dr. Josef Eisinger, physicist and professor emeritus at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, highlighted the work and the fate of individual scientists presented in the exhibit. He focuses especially on Albert Einstein, about whose travels Dr. Eisinger has recently published an entertaining book called “Einstein on the Road.”