Ernst August Weiß (or Weiss; 5 May 1900 in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

– 9 February 1942 in a Nazi

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

near

Lake Ilmen Lake Ilmen (, ) is a large lake in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. A historically important lake, it formed a vital part of the medieval trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Veliky Novgorod, which is a major trade center of the ro ...

) was a German mathematician.

Early life and education

Since 1906, he attended the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, the Luther school and (1910–1912) Schiller gymnasium in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, and 1912–1917 the Mommsen-Gymnasium in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he passed the

Notabitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

. He volunteered for the German

military engineers Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics be ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, participated in the

attrition warfare Attrition warfare is a form of military strategy in which one side attempts to gradually wear down its opponent to the point of collapse by inflicting continuous losses in personnel, materiel, and morale. The term ''attrition'' is derived fro ...

near

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

and

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and was captured 26 September 1918 during the tank battle near

Cheppy Cheppy () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It was a site of fighting during World War I. An American monument sculpted by Nancy Coonsman was erected there by the State of Missouri after the war to hon ...

by American soldiers. After his release in September 1919 he studied mathematics at

Leibniz University Hannover Leibniz University Hannover (), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public university, public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational School, the university has undergone six period ...

and (1920–1924)

Bonn University The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Will ...

, where he obtained a Ph.D. in March 1924 and a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in May 1926. In August 1926, he married the physicist Eva Renate Bidder.

Work in SA

Weiß joined an SA storm in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

in 1933, and got promoted up to an

Obertruppführer Obertruppführer (, "senior troop leader") was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party that was used between the years of 1932 and 1945. The rank is most closely associated with the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), but also was an early rank of the '' Sch ...

. He directed the Bonn

Studentenwerk A Studentenwerk (plural: ''Studentenwerke'') or Studierendenwerk is a state-run non-profit organization for student affairs in Germany. Each ''Studentenwerk'' is organized at the local level so that it covers one or more universities. The umbrella ...

. He created the Mathematical Work Camps ("Mathematische Arbeitslager") in Kronenburg "as a new form of mathematical university teaching and collaboration of professors and students", which took place 1—15 March 1934, 15—29 October 1934, 17 February–3 March 1935, 23 February–7 March 1936, and 17—31 October 1938. Segal (1992) examined Weiß' camps from a pedagogical point of view, "as one example of how mathematics and Nazi ideology would interact". Weiß was a permanent editor of the journal ''

Deutsche Mathematik ''Deutsche Mathematik'' (German Mathematics) was a mathematics journal founded in 1936 by Ludwig Bieberbach and Theodor Vahlen. Vahlen was publisher on behalf of the German Research Foundation (DFG), and Bieberbach was chief editor. Other editors w ...

''. A list of his publications is given in Blaschke (1942).

Death

In 1941, Weiß took part in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

of an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

unit; during the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (; ) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942. A much ...

he was mortally wounded in close combat in Lukinn.

Selected works

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Ernst August 20th-century German mathematicians University of Bonn alumni German Army personnel of World War I German Army personnel killed in World War II Sturmabteilung personnel 1900 births 1942 deaths German prisoners of war in World War I Scientists from Strasbourg Leibniz University Hannover alumni