Claus Grote

Claus Grote

Claus Grote (born August 8, 1927 in Bückeburg / Lower Saxony ) is a German nuclear physicist .

Life and education

Claus Grote was born as the son of the industrial worker Heinrich Grote and his wife Hedwig Grote, b. Sawartowski , born. His training began in 1933 at an elementary school, from 1938 to 1943 he attended a middle school, which he had to quit early because he was called up as an anti-aircraft helper . From 1943 he was an intern in the clothing industry with the aim of becoming a textile engineer. This activity was interrupted when he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1944, one week before his 17th birthday. After serving as a private in World War II , he was taken prisoner in the US in Bad Kreuznach and in France for 10 months. After his release in February 1946, he worked as an intern and as a miner at the Soviet stock corporation Wismut , where he was proposed for a degree. In addition, he obtained his Abitur with distinction in 1952 at the Workers and Farmers Faculty (ABF) of the University of Leipzig in the linguistic branch because of an originally intended law degree.

This was followed in 1953 by studying physics at the Humboldt University of Berlin (HUB), where he lectured a. a. Heard from Rudolf Ritschl , Robert Rompe and Friedrich Possible (experimental physics and theoretical subjects) and Kurt Schröder (applied mathematics).

Grote graduated with a diploma thesis, which he has been doing since 1957 at the " Nuclear Physics Institute " of the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (DAW) in Zeuthen and which he graduated in early 1958 as a graduate physicist with the grade "Good" in the major in nuclear physics .

Grote was married to the pharmacist Hilde Grote from 1954 to 1976, and this marriage resulted in two children. He has had a second marriage since 1978 with Gerda Grote , who has a doctorate , the couple lives in Templin and at their summer residence in Rutenberg (Lychen) in the Uckermark .

High energy physicist at the Academy of Sciences

After his diploma, Grote initially had a job from 1958 to 1963 at the “Research Center for High Energy Physics” of the DAW in Zeuthen as a scientific assistant. In 1959, at the beginning of his career, he spent six months at the United Institute for Nuclear Research (VIK) in Dubna near Moscow . The VIK was founded in 1956 as a joint institution of the Comecon countries, and the DAW institute in Zeuthen saw itself as a junior partner, so that Claus Grote stayed several times in Dubna for study and work stays. As early as 1954, the European Organization for Nuclear Research was founded in Switzerland near Geneva by twelve Western European countries , with which Grote later also worked. In 1962 he first received his doctorate as Dr. rer. nat. with the rating summa cum laude . (Doctoral supervisor: Karl Lanius ).

After the Second World War, activities in applied nuclear physics were prohibited in Germany by the Allied Control Council Act No. 25 . This ban has been relaxed since 1950, so that scientific work on nuclear physics began again in both parts of Germany. In the GDR this was at the universities in Jena, Dresden, Halle and Rostock; In Berlin, the path was taken via the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (DAW) and the Miersdorf Institute was founded in 1950 (based on the remains of a research center of the Deutsche Reichspost in Miersdorf, district of Zeuthen).

Grote worked as a scientific assistant or senior assistant in the “Cosmic Radiation” department headed by Karl Lanius. The Nuclear Physics Institute was divided into two independent research centers in 1962: "High Energy Physics" (headed by Lanius) and "Special problems in theoretical physics" (headed by Richter). Claus Grote stayed with Lanius and became head of the Bubble Chamber Scientific Department (more precisely: physics with bubble chambers). In 1963 Grote worked for a second time at VIK Dubna. In 1968 the previous research center for physics of high energies was converted into the Institute for High Energy Physics (IfH) of the DAW. Grote also worked very closely with Lanius here, and he continued to work in Zeuthen as a scientific department head until 1970.

At the beginning of the 1960s, Claus Grote and Karl Lanius looked for international scientific collaborations by working with bubble chambers at CERN and the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg and participating in a West German-British cooperation: with DESY, with Aachen and with other West Germans Groups as well as with CERN. The main research objectives were to find new elementary particles that were created in the atomic interactions. The IfH with Claus Grote organized some of this research. Grote published about the novel properties of the elementary particles found.

From 1966 to 1970, Grote took on special lectures on experimental methods of elementary particle physics at the HUB in Berlin. In 1968 there was also his habilitation to become a Dr. rer. nat. habil. (Reviewers: Karl Lanius , Kaschluhn , Robert Rompe , Robert Havemann ).

Claus Grote was appointed professor at the academy in 1970 by the then academy president Hermann Klare .

Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences

Place of activity of Claus Grote (1970–1990) in the former seat of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR in Berlin-Mitte, Jägerstrasse (on Gendarmenmarkt)

In 1970 Grote was appointed to the head office of the DAW in Berlin as head of research and deputy to the vice president for scientific research. As deputy to Vice President Ulrich Hofmann , who was responsible for research, corporate planning and national cooperation, Claus Grote quickly gained an overview of all research work in the DAW facilities. In June 1972 Grote was elected as a Corresponding Member of the Academy's learned society.

The regular new election of the academy management in June 1972 led to Grote becoming a functionary: President of the academy: Hermann Klare; 1st Vice-President: Ulrich Hofmann , Vice-President: Heinrich Scheel ; Secretary General: Claus Grote , with the rank of Vice President as representative of the President, responsible for international relations in science in the GDR on a non-state level and for the Academy's international scientific cooperation. All of the above-mentioned positions in the Academy were full-time. This election of June 1972 also marks the completion of the academy's reform that began in 1968. At the same time, the "German Academy of Sciences in Berlin (DAW)" was renamed the "Academy of Sciences of the GDR (AdW of the GDR)" with effect from October 7, 1972. The AdW was thus a central scientific institution in the GDR, but its management did not belong to the state apparatus and its president was therefore not a member of the Council of Ministers.

Grote was appointed Secretary General of the DAW by the Prime Minister of the GDR with effect from June 1972, succeeding Ernst August Lauter . He worked in this capacity until 1990 under the two presidents Hermann Klare (until 1979) and Werner Scheler (until 1990). As General Secretary in the AdW management in Berlin, Grote was responsible for the Academy's relations with non-governmental international scientific organizations. From a strategic point of view, he was responsible for all research that included direct cooperation with foreign institutions, e.g. B. Nuclear and high-energy physics, cosmos research, marine research, archaeological excavations abroad, Antarctic research, etc.The national committees of international scientific organizations were subordinate to him, he was responsible for the approval of all trips abroad as well as the confirmation of the so-called travel cadre Directorate cadres as well as responsible security institutions had to work closely together.

Due to the bureaucratic regulations in place in the GDR, the tasks involved as general secretary were so extensive that they took up most of Grote's work. As Secretary General, he was granted the right to spend 4 weeks' annual work holiday in VIK Dubna / USSR in order to maintain his scientific qualification. He was able to fully realize this in the first year, in the second year he could only arrange two weeks, and after that there was no more time for such a working vacation in nuclear research. Originally he had been shown the prospect of being Vice Director at VIK Dubna, which is why he had given his approval for a temporary transfer to the academy management in Berlin; however, this perspective did not come true later.

In 1974 Grote was elected a full member of the learned society of the AdW. In addition, he was appointed chairman of the “Coordinating Committee for Research and Use of Cosmic Space” ( Interkosmos ) at GDR level. This was a scientific program of the Soviet Union to integrate non-Soviet science and technology into the Soviet space program. The corresponding "Agreement on participation in the exploration and use of space with the help of artificial earth satellites for peaceful purposes" was concluded in 1967 between the governments of the USSR and other Comecon countries and existed until 1990; the work of Claus Grote in the “Interkosmos” committee was based on this. In the Interkosmos program, space travelers from other nations were given the opportunity to participate in Soviet space flights. This included Sigmund Jähn's space flight in 1978 . With experience from the Interkosmos cooperation, similar programs were later implemented with other countries: France, India, Syria, Afghanistan.

Comparable to the international Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), Grote, as chairman of “Interkosmos”, promoted cooperation on astronomy with earth satellites, balloon probes, sounding rockets and space probes. However, this cooperation did not have its own international institution such as the European Space Agency (ESA), which has its own budget from the contributions of the participating states. At Interkosmos, each side had to bear all costs incurred in their own area. The Soviet Union primarily provided the rockets and the Soyuz spaceships and demanded that the other states develop and provide their own research equipment, measuring instruments and systems for research projects on the Soviet launch vehicle. The Interkosmos coordination committee under the direction of Claus Grote had to provide the necessary cooperation. The use of a multi-spectral camera MKF 6 from Jena during Sigmund Jähn's space flight has become particularly well known .

The activities of the ten or so member states finally led to joint space research projects , including an intensive exchange with the participating scientists from the AdW of the GDR, coordinated by the Interkosmos coordination committee (KoKo-Interkosmos) under the chairmanship of Claus Grote . Heinz Kautzleben became its deputy chairman in 1988 , and he also chaired the scientific advisory board of KoKo-Interkosmos. This advisory board also took care of the scientific Interkosmos congresses, which took place every one to two years with special conferences in between. At the AdW there was the research area for geo- and cosmos sciences from 1981 to 1990 and the institute for cosmos research Berlin until 1991 , both academy institutions were most recently headed by Kautzleben .

During his work as Secretary General, Claus Grote provided special strategic support and support for scientific equipment manufacturing with the aim of improving the technical basis for research through the academy's own measures.

Grote also represented the AdW externally, for example in December 1981 he was one of the participants in the “Berlin Encounter for Peace Promotion”, to which Stephan Hermlin invited writers, artists and scientists from both German states and other European countries.

After the German reunification

On June 28, 1990, Grote was recalled as General Secretary of the AdW by the then Prime Minister of the GDR Lothar de Maiziere . After that, he was given early retirement for two years at his own request and, from September 1992, when he turned 65.

After leaving the academy, Grote tried unsuccessfully through personal contacts with representatives of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and the Max Planck Society (MPG) to prevent the dissolution of the learned society of the AdW.

Then Grote was an advisory co-initiator of a citizens' initiative against the construction of a gravel building in the vicinity of his municipality of Rutenberg (Lychen) . The site is now a nature reserve. In his home town of Rutenberg , he is a member of the local council , and here he was temporarily mayor .

Memberships and honors

• Elected from 1972 to 1974 as a corresponding member of the learned society of the AdW
• 1974 to 1992 elected as a full member of the learned society of the AdW
• Chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Research and Use of Cosmic Space (Interkosmos)
• 1981 election as a foreign member of the AdW of Czechoslovakia (CSSR) in Prague
• Temporary member of the ICSU Structural Commission (International Council of Scientific Unions)
• Temporary member of the Scientific Council for High Energies at VIK Dubna
• re-elected to the aforementioned functions up to and including 1988
• 1993 founding member of the learned society Leibniz Society of Sciences in Berlin
• Member of the municipal council of his home town Rutenberg (Lychen) in the Uckermark; temporarily acting mayor here;
• Patriotic Order of Merit of the GDR
• Star of friendship among peoples in silver
• Order of the Red Banner of the USSR.

Publications

Claus Grote was co-author of more than 30 scientific publications in international journals and of around 30 national and international conference reports:

• Observation of a (K pi pi) resonance at 1800 MeV. Phys. Letters 22B (1966) 357;
• Quantum number assignment for the A2 meson. Phys. Letters 25B (1967) 48;
• Evidence for a new xi-resonance at 2500 MeV in 10 GeV Kp interactions, Phys. Letters B28B (1969) 439;
• The g-meson. Nuclear Physics B22 (1970) 109.
• Lecture at the conference on: Encouraging and retarding circumstances of international cooperation on global issues. April 1987 in Berlin
• On the Academy's German-German academic relations. Lecture at the conference of the Leibniz Society on the 300th anniversary of the Academy, Berlin 1999.

Web links

• Literature by and about Claus Grote in the catalog of the German National Library

literature

• Werner Hartkopf: The Academy of Sciences of the GDR. A contribution to their history - Biographical Index. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1983.
• Yearbook 1990/1991 of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR and the coordination and processing office for the institutes and facilities of the former Academy of Sciences of the GDR. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1994.
• Werner Scheler : From the German Academy of Sciences to Berlin to the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. Outline of the genesis and transformation of the academy. Dietz Verlag, Berlin 2000.
• Ulrich Hofmann : To plan and organize research at the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. Treatises of the Leibniz Society of Sciences in Berlin, Volume 6, pp. 63–75. trafo Verlag, Berlin 2001. In: The Berlin Academy after 1945, contemporary witnesses report. Edited by Wolfdietrich Hartung and Werner Scheler .
• Ulrich Hofmann: On the research cooperation between the universities and the academy. Experiences of a contemporary witness and co-designer. Treatises of the Leibniz Society of Sciences, Volume 29, pp. 133–153. trafo Wissenschaftsverlag Dr. Wolfgang Weist, Berlin 2010. In: Academy and University from a historical and current perspective, annual conference of the Leibniz Society 2010. Edited by Herbert Hörz and Hubert Laitko .
• Heinz Kautzleben : Claus Grote in the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin and the Academy of Sciences of the GDR. An essay on the occasion of his 85th birthday on August 8, 2012. Leibniz Online, 2013 year, pp. 1–14. Journal of the Leibniz-Sozietät e. V. ISSN 1863-3285 http://leibnizsozietaet.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/kautzleben.pdf
• Ulrich Hofmann: The Academy of Sciences of the GDR - report from a responsible party. In: Research academies in the GDR - models and reality. Pp. 65-102. Leipziger Universitätsverlag 2014. Edited by Wolfgang Girnus and Klaus Meier .
• Horst Kant : Biographical Databases: Grote, Claus. Who was who in the GDR?

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Claus Grote: Analysis and interpretation of hyperfragment decays in the nuclear track emulsion. Berlin, Humboldt University, Math.-Naturwiss. Faculty, physics, thesis, HUB 1958.
2. ↑ Claus Grote: About the interactions of high-energy π mesons with bound nucleons on the periphery of nuclei in the nuclear track emulsion. Berlin, Humboldt University, Math.-Naturwiss. Faculty, dissertation 1962.
3. ↑ Claus Grote: Experimental investigations of the interaction of positive pi mesons with protons at primary pulses of 4 and 8 GeV / c. Berlin, Humboldt University, Math.-Naturwiss. Faculty, habilitation thesis 1969.
4. ^ Heinz Kautzleben : On the 80th birthday of Dr. rer. nat. Sigmund Jähn , honorary member of the Leibniz Society, on February 13, 2017 . [1]
5. ↑ Berlin Encounter for Peacebuilding. Protocol. 13./14. December 1981. These minutes are the unabridged reproduction of the contributions to the discussion at the “Berlin Encounter for Peacebuilding” and were obtained from the Academy of the Arts of the GDR .
6. ↑ High government awards . In: New Germany . May 2, 1987, p. 4 .
7. ↑ Claus Grote in the INSPIRE physics database, accessed on March 2, 2018.