May be of interest to some of our members--

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> Dear Listmembers:
> 
> I have received the letter below from the Ostwald Haus Energie in the 
> village of Grossbothen in Saxony. As you can see, the state of Saxony 
> has withdrawn funding from Haus Energie,  Wilhelm Ostwald's home, 
> workplace and memorial , so it has had to be closed.  The funding was 
> quite small, but enabled the place to be kept open to visitors.  This 
> small estate was largely preserved as it was in Ostwald's day and 
> contains much of his furniture, paintings and other objects in an 
> environment which richly evokes his work and life.
> 
> Sadly, a large quantity of scientific papers and other records were 
> removed from Ostwald's home during the Communist era, in spite of the 
> fact that a Foundation had been set up to preserve it.  Even so, there 
> are lots of  remaining materials, including many of his paintings and 
> some most interesting objects relating to his work on colors.
> 
> Anything that can be done to keep open Ostwald's home for research 
> purposes, for 'scientific tourists' and to promote the interest of 
> young people in science would be praiseworthy, so if you are able to  
> spread the word or write a letter (see below for details) it would be 
> very helpful.
> 
> Haus Energie is one of only a few homes of well-known chemists that I 
> know of that has been preserved in its original state, with the owners 
> original furniture, library or scientific equipment, and which can be 
> visited by the general public.  I made this point in my own letter to 
> the Minister for Science and the Arts.  This morning I have received an 
> e-mail from Haus Energie following up on this idea.  I am asked if I 
> know of other Nobel Laureates in Chemistry whose homes have been 
> preserved as a memorial to their owners and are open to visitors? Or 
> the homes of other distinguished chemists who pre-dated or did not 
> receive a Nobel?
> 
> This would be an interesting question to answer - would anyone 
> subscribing to this newslist like to contribute information?
> 
> In France I know of Pasteur's homes of course, then if you count Newton 
> as an alchemist, his home in Woolsthorpe can be included - but I can 
> think of no other ones in the UK.  There are plaques a-plenty, but the 
> houses are owned by others and not preserved,  In Ireland Kirwan's 
> childhood home is now a small hotel and can be stayed at, though none 
> of Kirwan's possessions are still there. His wife's castle(though 
> roofless) can be visited in Galway and his Dublin home is also a small 
> hotel.  In Giessen, Liebig "lived above the shop" and while the 
> laboratory is wonderful, there is no access to his former living 
> quarters and so far as I know they do not contain his personal 
> possessions, though his office furniture and some books are  on display 
> in the laboratory.  Fritz Haber's home in Dahlem is used as offices, 
> and Carl Bosch's home in Heidelberg is owned by a company that was 
> extensively renovating it for corporate use the last time I was there.  
> His garage is used as a small museum and contains quite a lot of his 
> possessions.
> 
> 
> All best wishes,
> 
> Yvonne Twomey
> [log in to unmask]
> (630) 961-9811
> 
> 
> _________________________________________________________
> Das ist ein Hilferuf. Seit dem 1. Februar 2005 ist die 
> Ostwald-Gedenkstätte Großbothen geschlossen, weil das Sächsische 
> Wissenschaftsministerium die Finanzierung von jährlich etwa 50.000 Euro 
> gestrichen hat. Der Nachlass Ostwalds ist zwar Eigentum des 
> Freistaates, hat aber offensichtlich im Bewußtsein der Beamtem einen so 
> geringen Stellenwert, dass man ihn nicht haben will. Wir versuchen nun 
> den Widerstand zu organisieren und bitten alle Sympathisanten, im 
> Dresdner Wissenschaftsministerium zu protestieren. Die Gesellschaft 
> Deutscher Chemiker und die Kolloid-Gesellschaft haben sich schon f> ür 
> die Erhaltung des Ostwald-Nachlasses ausgesprochen.
>   Wäre es möglich, dass Sie einige Zeilen an die Ministerin schreiben?. 
> Ich weiß, dass dies eine ungewöhnliche Bitte ist, aber ich denke, dass 
> eine Reaktion von außerhalb etwas mehr Aufmerksamkeit hervorruft, als 
> innerdeutsche. Falls Sie schreiben, hätten wir auch gern eine Kopie an 
> Fax 049 34384 72691, weil wir mit diesen Briefen - 60 Kopien haben wir 
> schon - auch bei unseren Kommunalpolitikern etwas Druck machen wollen.
>   Die Adresse ist Ministerin für Wissenschaft und Kunst des Freistaates 
> Sachsen:
>   Frau B. Ludwig, PF 10 09 20, 01079 Dresden. Auf unserer Internetseite 
> www.wilhelm-ostwald.de haben wir unter dem ersten Menüpunkt den ganzen 
> Vorgang dokumentiert.
>   Herzlichen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung K. Hansel.
> 
>   Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gesellschaft zu Großbothen e.V.
>   Grimmaer Str. 25  /  04668 Großbothen
>   Tel.:   034384  71 283  /  Gedenkstätte  71 429
>   Fax:   034384  72 691
>   www. wilhelm-ostwald.de
>   eMail: [log in to unmask]
> ____________________________________________________________
> This is a plea for help. The Ostwald Memorial Site in Grossbothen was 
> closed effective Feburary 1, 2005 when the Science Ministry of the 
> state of Saxony discontinued its annual subsidy of about 50,000 Euros. 
> Ostwald's heritage belongs to the state of Saxony, but apparently has 
> so little significance in the consciousness of officialdom that it is 
> not wanted. We are now trying to organize opposition and ask all 
> smpathizers to protest with the Science Ministry in Dresden. The German 
> Chemical Society and the Colloid-Society have already spoken out for 
> the maintenance of
> Oswald's heritage.
> 
> Would it be possible for you a write a few lines to the minister? I 
> realize that this is an unusual request, but I believe that reaction 
> from outside the country might elicit more attention than from inside. 
> If you do write, we would very much like to receive a copy (Fax 049 
> 34384 72691). (Postal address is above in the German version) We have 
> 60 letters already and we want to put pressure on local politicians as 
> well.
> 
> The address is: Minister for Science of Art of the Free State of Saxony
>                  Frau B. Ludwig
>                  PF 10 09 20, 01079 Dresden, Germany
> 
> We have explained the whole proceeding under the first menu-point on 
> our internet site www.wilhelm-ostwald.de
> 
> 
> -- 
> Yvonne Twomey
> [log in to unmask]
> (630) 961-9811
> 
> 
>