Recollections and Reflections: From My Life in Nazi Germany, Wartime England, and America

The author's childhood in Germany culminated with Kristallnacht, shortly after his ninth birthday. To ensure his survival, four months later, his parents sent him to England on a Kindertransport, not knowing whether they would see him again. Five weeks later his father died. Despite these traumatic experiences, the author eventually flourished in his new homeland. His mother and sister escaped to England just days prior to the outbreak of World War Two. Seven years later, he and his family moved to America, where he earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry at Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Chicago, launching his career to become an academic Biochemist. His marriage to an African American woman contributed to the author's involvement with the Civil Rights movement, in the early 1960s, shortly after his arrival to accept a faculty position as the first Biochemist hired by Syracuse University. The author describes his three activities as a professor: teaching, research, and service. In addition to teaching Biochemistry, and his specialty, Enzymology, he taught a course which sought to acquaint students intending to enter the health professions with some of the dilemmas of contemporary medicine. His research, which was funded with federal grants for virtually his entire career, focused on the mechanisms of action and regulation of enzymes, and led to over 80 publications. He directed the research of numerous undergraduate, M.S., and Ph.D., students. With his wife and daughter, he spent a sabbatical year in England, where he conducted research at Oxford University. His many service activities at the University culminated with his appointment as the chairman of the Department of Biology.Seventy years after leaving his native Leipzig, the author returned, with his daughter, for an emotional visit that was filmed for a German television program. He was able to visit his father's grave, the apartment in which he lived as a child, and other sites that were personally meaningful for him.Following his retirement, the author compiled an extensive family genealogy; published a book on the history of the Syracuse University Department of Biology; served on the board of a local musical organization, and wrote a book celebrating its 125th anniversary.Recollections and Reflections was written primarily to enable the author to retrieve fading memories, and to reflect on his good fortune that, despite the turmoil in his childhood, he was able to forge a successful career and to live a rich, fulfilling life. This would not have been possible without the British government, which rescued the author and thousands of other children from almost certain extermination; the support of his family and friends; the kindness and generosity of the family who took him into their home in England; and the encouragement of his scientific mentors.