I've had this book for quite some while. My presence in Austria and exposure to philosophers working on Nazi-era biologists made me realize that a few of the historical German biologists that I've come to know and admire are actually successful and/or famous because they collaborated or are part of the Nazi rule over science.
It was wonderful that this author decided to take a year of leave from teaching biology to conduct the research needed to write up this dissertation. And now, more than ever, is the time to read it.
"This study is an attempt to answer the question of how National Socialist politics and ideology influenced the development of biological research at the universities and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes in Germany." -- p.1
In the foreword by Deichmann's dissertation advisor Benno Müller-Hill, who supervised the work, and the author's introduction, we learn that 13% biologists were dismissed between 1933-38, mostly for racial reasons, that 75% of those were able to emigrate, and that many of them went on to become internationally successful scientists. A main conclusion of this book is that the inward-looking, self-isolating Third Reich biologists and the nationalistic turn of science (e.g., publishing only in German journals and conferences) better explains the substantial decline of the biological sciences during this period, more so than the antiscientific attitude of Hitler and the (horrible) brain drain.
I really look forward to learning more about what it is like to be a biologist during these times-- especially for those who stayed and thrived through collaboration. I'll be updating my reading notes in the comments.
Offline gadgets:
Physical copy of book, but see link for an archive.org loan copy
Writer deck: kinesis Freestyle 2 split keyboard plugged into an old smartphone ("distraction-less" compared to a laptop)
Situation: baby finally fell asleep, half an hour of reading before adult bedtime
Location: desk