We shall use the quantity of Nobel Prizes won over a certain period of time as a crude proxy for the rates of scientific innovation during the Nazi and Liberal governments (Wilhelmine, Weimar, and Occupied periods of German history) respectively, and between each Liberal period as well during the existence of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (1911-1948)
According to the book Surviving the Swastika Scientific Research in Nazi Germany, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society was German's most prestigious scientific research organization, being at the forefront of scientific advancement for the early 21st century, the entirety of its existence. Thus, it should serve as a basic synoptic overview of trends in German science for much of the post WW1 years
I excluded Fritz Haber, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein since their nobel prize winning works were conducted and concluded before the founding of the society.
So, (15-3) the society produced a total of 12 Nobel Prize winning works from its founding to its reorganization as the Max Planck society in 1948. (5-2) 3 of those Prizes were awarded for research conducted in the Nazi Regime (Hans Spemann and Peter J.W. Debye were awarded the Nobel Prize for research before the regime change in 1933). This meant that (3/12) 25% of Nobel Prizes awarded to members of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society were for research conducted within the Nazi Regime
Out of the (48-11) 37 years the society was active (before being renamed as the Max Planck society), 12 of those years were under the Nazi Regime. (12/37) Approx. 32% of the Society's existence was under the Nazi Regime.
The rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research during the Nazi period is (3/12 divided by 12/37 which is 37/48) approx. 77% of the rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research during the Liberal period (Wilhelmine, Weimar, and Occupied)
HOWEVER, if you adjust for the fact that out of the 9 most celebrated scientists working in the society (Fritz Haber, Otto Warburg, Carl Correns, Richard Goldschmidt, Carl Neuberg, Otto Meyerhof, Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Albert Einstein), 6 either emigrated or were forced out for being Jewish (6/9 is approx. 66%), (37/48 divided by 1/3) Nazi Germany had a 231.25% faster rate of producing Nobel Prize winning works adjusting for purges (due in no small part that the society often had a huge corps of leading German scientists to replace purged Jewish and/or Communist scientists)
The comparison becomes more favorable for the Nazi Regime if we were to to extend our analysis to include the Max Planck Society as well. During a period of 114 years (1911 to 2025), the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and its successor organization the Max Planck Society produced a grand total of 36 Nobel Prizes (12+24), which is (114-12) 102 years of Liberal Germany (including West Germany and its successor state). The rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research by the society during the Nazi period is (3/36 divided by 12/114) approx. 79.17% of the rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research by both societies during the Liberal period (Wilhelmine, Weimar, Occupied, West Germany and its successor state)
Despite possessing an oppressive political structure and purging many prominent scientists, the synoptic trend of scientific innovation in the country doesn't seem to have turned Germany into a scientific wasteland as popular imagination or the academic consensus would have you believe (of course, Nazi Germany only lasted a little over a decade)
@Castaway @pedrolopezwasright @DarkStar
According to the book Surviving the Swastika Scientific Research in Nazi Germany, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society was German's most prestigious scientific research organization, being at the forefront of scientific advancement for the early 21st century, the entirety of its existence. Thus, it should serve as a basic synoptic overview of trends in German science for much of the post WW1 years
I excluded Fritz Haber, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein since their nobel prize winning works were conducted and concluded before the founding of the society.
So, (15-3) the society produced a total of 12 Nobel Prize winning works from its founding to its reorganization as the Max Planck society in 1948. (5-2) 3 of those Prizes were awarded for research conducted in the Nazi Regime (Hans Spemann and Peter J.W. Debye were awarded the Nobel Prize for research before the regime change in 1933). This meant that (3/12) 25% of Nobel Prizes awarded to members of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society were for research conducted within the Nazi Regime
Out of the (48-11) 37 years the society was active (before being renamed as the Max Planck society), 12 of those years were under the Nazi Regime. (12/37) Approx. 32% of the Society's existence was under the Nazi Regime.
The rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research during the Nazi period is (3/12 divided by 12/37 which is 37/48) approx. 77% of the rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research during the Liberal period (Wilhelmine, Weimar, and Occupied)
HOWEVER, if you adjust for the fact that out of the 9 most celebrated scientists working in the society (Fritz Haber, Otto Warburg, Carl Correns, Richard Goldschmidt, Carl Neuberg, Otto Meyerhof, Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, and Albert Einstein), 6 either emigrated or were forced out for being Jewish (6/9 is approx. 66%), (37/48 divided by 1/3) Nazi Germany had a 231.25% faster rate of producing Nobel Prize winning works adjusting for purges (due in no small part that the society often had a huge corps of leading German scientists to replace purged Jewish and/or Communist scientists)
The comparison becomes more favorable for the Nazi Regime if we were to to extend our analysis to include the Max Planck Society as well. During a period of 114 years (1911 to 2025), the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and its successor organization the Max Planck Society produced a grand total of 36 Nobel Prizes (12+24), which is (114-12) 102 years of Liberal Germany (including West Germany and its successor state). The rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research by the society during the Nazi period is (3/36 divided by 12/114) approx. 79.17% of the rate of Nobel Prizes awarded for research by both societies during the Liberal period (Wilhelmine, Weimar, Occupied, West Germany and its successor state)
Despite possessing an oppressive political structure and purging many prominent scientists, the synoptic trend of scientific innovation in the country doesn't seem to have turned Germany into a scientific wasteland as popular imagination or the academic consensus would have you believe (of course, Nazi Germany only lasted a little over a decade)
@Castaway @pedrolopezwasright @DarkStar
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