“Just as the cubists had an inability to paint decently, so, here lies together the audacity and the inability the theoretical physicists want to impose on others.” - Philipp Lenard
"The Pragmatic and the Dogmatic Spirit in Physics" expanded on the anonymous article "Weisse Juden' in der Wissenschaft" ("White Jews" in Science) published in 1937 in Das Schwarze Korps, the SS newspaper. As quoted in Nature, "To purge science from this Jewish spirit is our most urgent task. For science represents the key position from which intellectual Judaism can always regain a significant influence on all spheres of national life." (https://www.nature.com/articles/141778a0). It was an attack by Stark on Heisenberg (a "white jew"), possibly preventing Heisenberg from succeeding Sommerfeld in Munich. Sir Richard Gregory, the editor-in-chief of Nature, invited Stark to explain his views, which led to the "The Pragmatic and the Dogmatic" article. By the end of 1937, Nature was banned in Nazi Germany by the minister of education. Sommerfeld's position (Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich) went to Wilhelm Müller, who was not a theoretical physicist. In 1945, Müller was dismissed and barred from academia due to denazification. Subsequently, Sommerfeld wrote to Hans Bethe, inviting him to return to Munich and take his chair. Bethe politely declined, expressing his love for America.
"The Pragmatic and the Dogmatic Spirit in Physics" expanded on the anonymous article "Weisse Juden' in der Wissenschaft" ("White Jews" in Science) published in 1937 in Das Schwarze Korps, the SS newspaper. As quoted in Nature, "To purge science from this Jewish spirit is our most urgent task. For science represents the key position from which intellectual Judaism can always regain a significant influence on all spheres of national life." (https://www.nature.com/articles/141778a0). It was an attack by Stark on Heisenberg (a "white jew"), possibly preventing Heisenberg from succeeding Sommerfeld in Munich. Sir Richard Gregory, the editor-in-chief of Nature, invited Stark to explain his views, which led to the "The Pragmatic and the Dogmatic" article. By the end of 1937, Nature was banned in Nazi Germany by the minister of education. Sommerfeld's position (Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Munich) went to Wilhelm Müller, who was not a theoretical physicist. In 1945, Müller was dismissed and barred from academia due to denazification. Subsequently, Sommerfeld wrote to Hans Bethe, inviting him to return to Munich and take his chair. Bethe politely declined, expressing his love for America.