Der “Fall” Schrödinger. Zur Aufklärung der Missbrauchsvorwürfe

In the last two years, serious accusations have been made against the physicist Erwin Schrödinger. These accusations range from pedophilia to sexual abuse and have lastingly damaged the Nobel Prize laureate’s public reputation. In Dublin, for example, where Schrödinger worked from 1939 to 1956, the Schrödinger Lecture Theatre was renamed.

The debate surrounding a potential renaming of the Erwin-Schrödinger-Zentrum at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin raises the question whether or not the accusations are justified at all. So far, the discussion has suffered from a lack of reliable evidence, due in part to the fact that important sources from Schrödinger’s estate are not publicly accessible.

For this lecture, previously unconsidered sources (including Schrödinger’s diaries, known as Ephemeriden, as well as letters by affected women) are evaluated for the first time. This assessment is meant to contribute to the reification of a medially heated debate.

This lecture takes place in cooperation with the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Fig. above: Erwin Schrödinger (~1928), source: Österreichische Zentralbibliothek für Physik, coloration: Martin Gronau.