History of Zeitschrift für Kristallographie

Dear Dr. Duax

In Newsletter No. 2 of 1997 Peter Strickland and Brian McMahon report on the 50th Anniversary Opening for the New IUCr Editorial Offices in Chester. They remember the need in 1947 of the new Union of Crystallography to find its voice in a scientific journal edited and produced by its members and for its members, and they continue that the demise of Zeitschrift für Kristallographie, a victim of the war years, had left a gap in the literature...

It is true that in Feb. 1945 Zeitschrift für Kristallographie ceased publication and a few months later the editor, Max von Laue was deported to Great Britain. At the same time, the allied authorities denied the publishers both the paper rations and a license to publish. However, after a period of nearly ten years in which the situation in the occupied and divided Germany continued to prevent Zeitschrift für Kristallographie from being published, the second issue of the 106th volume was published in October 1954. From 1955 onwards, Zeitschrift für Kristallographie appeared regularly. From 1963 the Sheffield physicist G.E. Bacon belonged to the board of editors. Today, Zeitschrift für Kristallographie is very much alive and kicking, and looking back on a long tradition of 120 years. A period in relation to which the ten years of its disappearance during and after the Second World War seem to be negligible - sad but not a demise. Although due to historic events it is not the house journal of the crystallographic community, it forms a very important part of its history and continues to be a highly respected forum and means of communication for crystallographers all over the world.

Dear Dr. Guettinger

Thank you for setting the record straight. I was saddened, but not surprised to learn that the allied authorities denied publishers of a scientific journal paper and rights to publish.