Otto Lehmann

When more than 20 years ago Mrs. Gertrud Lehmann gave me some dusty
boxes with old documents of her father-in-law Otto Lehmann, I had not the
slightest idea about the historical treasure that I was given. Next to many
vials with chemicals, microscopical compounds, and old manuscripts of
books, I could find an almost complete collection of his publications as well
as a folder with letters that allow deep insight into his eventful life as a researcher.
In order to learn more about Otto Lehmann, I was given the opportunity to
talk to his son, Professor Karl Otto Lehmann, other relatives and friends.
They too could tell me some nice anecdotes about Otto Lehmann’s life.
It took a long time to review all of the documents and to decipher all of the
predominantly handwritten letters. Within the framework of this biography it
is not possible to print all of these letters; this book is written as a means to
give the interested reader an insight, based on some examples, into the
work of this outstanding scientist. Still, there are some quotations of letters
that are more extensive. I hereby ask the reader for indulgence since I’m
trying to meet the demands of colleagues who would like to have these documents
as close to the original as possible.