Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History

Hidden Figures meets Oppenheimer in this remarkable story of four trailblazing women physicists and their harrowing escape from Nazi Germany, from the New York Times bestselling author of Women in White Coats.

The 1910s through 1930s were a golden age for physics. Breakthroughs came in rapid succession: general relativity, quantum physics, the invention of the particle accelerator and electron microscrope, the discovery of neutrons and antimatter. Germany was a notable hotbed for such advancements, and physicists Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen were all right in the middle of it making their own groundbreaking discoveries when the Nazis took power and forced them out of their academic positions. Even though these four women were imminent in their fields, they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments. In fact, their escape out of Germany became a life-or-death situation and required herculean efforts of friends, other prominent scientists, relief organizations, and each other. When they fled to America and elsewhere in Europe in an attempt to find sanctuary, these women brought their genius in advanced physics with them, revolutionizing the field in their new nations. They also helped galvanize and inspire the next generation of women scientists. Well-researched and written with cinematic prose, Sisters in Science finally brings these trailblazing women to life and shows us how sisterhood and scientific curiosity can transcend borders and persist, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

About the Author

Olivia Campbell is the New York Times bestselling author of Women in White Coats. An accomplished journalist and essayist, her work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Geographic, New York Magazine, HISTORY, and The Guardian, among others. She is an editor at Dotdash Meredith and a thesis advisor for Johns Hopkins University's science writing program.