The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning as a patron of refugee mathematicians

Abstract

The Society for the Protection of Science and Learning (SPSL, which started out as the Academic Assistance Council (AAC) 1933–36) distinguished itself from many other aid organizations set up in response to Nazi policies towards Jews and political dissidents in its focus on academic excellence as a criterion for support. Its archives are deposited in the Bodleian Library. Today, the organization is known as the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA, http://www.cara1933.org/).

In the archives of the SPSL, there are files on two and a half thousand scientists, victims of persecution in their home countries, who appealed to the Society for assistance in finding refuge and work in Britain. Almost a hundred are mathematicians, of which about one in four found temporary or permanent employment in British academia. Many others found their way to the US, in most cases aided by the Emergency Committee, an American organization with priorities similar to those of the SPSL. The paths of some of the most successful SPSL grantees are described, and contrasted with those of some less fortunate applicants.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Council for At-Risk Academics and the Bodleian Library for granting and facilitating our access to the archives of the SPSL. The support from the University of Agder under the Gueststipend programme is also gratefully acknowledged.