The cultural meaning of Aufbau

Peter Galison

pp. 75-93

in: Friedrich Stadler (ed), Scientific philosophy, Berlin, Springer, 1993

Abstract

Between the end of World War I and the immediate post World War II period, there were almost a hundred journals and multi-authored volumes that appeared in the German speaking world with the word "Aufbau" in their titles. Practically none existed before the end of the First World War, and only a handful remained after 1947. Put into a histogram, the journals fall into three spikes: the largest burst between 1919 and 1927, a middle peak between 1934 and 1937, and a final surge between 1945 and 1947.