The Moravian crossroads. Mathematics and mathematicians in Brno between German traditions and Czech hopes

Laurent Mazliak (1) , Pavel Sisma (2)

1 LPMA - Laboratoire de Probabilités et Modèles Aléatoires
2 Katedra Matematiky

In the paper, we study the situation of the mathematical community in Brno, the maintown of Moravia, between 1900 and 1930. During this time, the First World War and, as one of its consequences, the creation of the new independent Czechoslovakia, created a major perturbation and was the occasion of a reorganization of the community. Its German and Czech sides were in particular constantly looking for a renewed cohabitation which proved difficult to establish along the sliding of political power from the Germans to the Czechs . We try to illustrate how before the war the main place for mathematics in Brno was the German Technical University whereas after the war it became the newly created Masaryk university.

Mots clés: History of mathematics; scientific politics; international links; First World War.; First World War

Domaines: Histoire et perspectives sur les mathématiques [math.HO]

Laurent Mazliak, Pavel Sisma. The Moravian crossroads. Mathematics and mathematicians in Brno between German traditions and Czech hopes. 2010. ⟨hal-00370948v2⟩