Professor Ernst Bresslau, founder of the Zoology Departments at the Universities of Cologne and Sao Paulo: lessons to learn from his life history

Hans-Joachim Pflüger: scientist, citizen, cosmopolitan

“…Ernst Bresslau, the Institute’s first Director in 1925, was expelled by the Nazis in 1933 based on their “Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums” (law to reinstate professional officialdom) and his quarter Jewish heritage, even though he was a highly decorated military doctor during World War I. Prof. Bresslau had to leave Germany permanently with his family and took up the founder position for the Institute of Zoology at Sao Paulo in Brazil. Jochen not only honored the visiting professorship by his stay at the Institute and his close collaboration with Institute colleagues, but he also looked closely into the work and life of Ernst Bresslau (Pflüger 2017 ). In a fascinating way, Jochen used all possible sources of information, such as archives, media, and institutions, to collect information about the Institute’s founder and his fate during the Nazi period.…”