Weimar culture and quantum mechanics

Most, but not all, of the fundamental work on quantum mechanics took place during the turbulent times of the Weimar republic, which was formed in Germany after the abdication of the Kaiser at the end of WWI. While many physicists are appalled at the implication that physical theories might, even to a limited extent, be influenced by their cultural milieu, we feel an overview of the latter might help in an overall understanding of the theory. We will see that such views were shared, to some extent, by Schrödinger. After a brief overview of the contemporary economic and cultural situation and the reactions of several of the originators of quantum theory, we pass on to Forman’s thesis regarding the influence of Weimar culture and quantum mechanics. This thesis has spurred an enormous debate, of which we give a short description.