DEALING WITH THE POLITICAL PAST OF EAST-GERMAN MATHEMATICS

Incomplete though my remarks may be, I hope I have been able to show the following: Looking at the early political history of mathematics in the GDR, it is pointless to differentiate between "good mathematicians" and "bad politicians." Mathematicians sometimes quite unexpectedly find that circumstances compel them to act politically to make mathematics. Their moral judgments, therefore, have always to consider both domains, mathematics and society as a whole. A reliable picture of the history of mathematics in East Germany has to combine domestic political constraints, international relations, and, last but not least, the individual and collective interests of mathematicians. The political history of mathematics in the GDR-yet to be written-will be a new occasion to discuss the political and social responsibility of mathematicians in the modern society. © 1993 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.