Science and Survival: Exploring the Papers of Georg and Max Bredig

Abstract Following the death of his parents, George Bredig inherited a large steamer trunk inconspicuously tucked away in the basement of his boyhood home in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The trunk was old, and upon opening it, a strong musty smell emerged from within. As he reviewed the contents of the trunk, he discovered an assortment of unpublished letters, original photographs, rare pamphlets and small scientific artifacts. His father Max and grandfather Georg were both gifted physical chemists and it did not take long for George to realize that these papers documented their scientific careers in the years preceding their flight from Nazi Germany.