"The Doctors Ising" newspaper article, 1976
Title
"The Doctors Ising" newspaper article, 1976
Description
This newspaper article recounts the story of Ernst Ising and Johanna Ehmer, who arrived at Bradley in 1948. Renamed, “Ernest” taught Physics full time and “Jane” taught German and Economics part time. And together with their son, they adapted to life in the Midwest after surviving the war years in Europe.
Ernst and Johanna had met in 1926 while hiking with a student group. He had a PhD from the University of Göttingen in physics and she had a PhD from the University of Berlin in economics. They started a life together. But the rise of Hitler radically changed the trajectory of their lives.
Ernst was Jewish, so he lost his job and most opportunities for advancement. Johanna was not, but broke with her family to stay with Ernst. The story of how they survived these years in Germany and Luxembourg is recorded in a manuscript memoir written by Johanna years later and archived as a part of the four boxes of the Ising Collection housed in Special Collections.
Also included in the collection is a copy of Ernst’s 1924 dissertation, famous for its contribution to the development of the Ising Model of ferromagnetism, which would have a life of its own and make Ernst famous internationally among physicists. For further research: see the Ising Collection in Special Collections or read Stutz, Conley, and Beverly Williams, “Ernst Ising,” Physics Today (March 1999), https://doi.org/10.1063/1.882538.
Photo by Ching Zedric.
Ernst and Johanna had met in 1926 while hiking with a student group. He had a PhD from the University of Göttingen in physics and she had a PhD from the University of Berlin in economics. They started a life together. But the rise of Hitler radically changed the trajectory of their lives.
Ernst was Jewish, so he lost his job and most opportunities for advancement. Johanna was not, but broke with her family to stay with Ernst. The story of how they survived these years in Germany and Luxembourg is recorded in a manuscript memoir written by Johanna years later and archived as a part of the four boxes of the Ising Collection housed in Special Collections.
Also included in the collection is a copy of Ernst’s 1924 dissertation, famous for its contribution to the development of the Ising Model of ferromagnetism, which would have a life of its own and make Ernst famous internationally among physicists. For further research: see the Ising Collection in Special Collections or read Stutz, Conley, and Beverly Williams, “Ernst Ising,” Physics Today (March 1999), https://doi.org/10.1063/1.882538.
Photo by Ching Zedric.
Creator
Paul Sawyer
Date
1976
Subject
Faculty; World War, 1939-1945
Rights
For official publication permission or to request high resolution images, contact Special Collections at specialcollections@bradley.edu or (309)677-2822.
Citation
Paul Sawyer, “"The Doctors Ising" newspaper article, 1976,” Virginius H. Chase Special Collections Center, accessed May 8, 2024, https://bradleyspecialcollections.omeka.net/items/show/100.