Documents relating to 1941 Bohr-Heisenberg meeting

Document 2. Page 1 of 2.

First document | Previous document | Next document | Last document

First draft of congratulatory letter for Heisenberg's 60th birthday (5 December 1961), never sent.

In Margrethe Bohr's handwriting.

Undated.

Two pages.

Facsimile and text Facsimile only Next page | Last page

Kære Heisenberg

Margrethe og jeg sender Dig mange hjertelige Lykønskninger til Din Fødselsdag, hvor Du kan se tilbage paa saa rigt et Livsværk i den fysiske Videnskabs Tjeneste. Jeg tænker især paa alt hvad Du udrettede i de Aar vi havde den store Glæde af Dit Medarbejderskab paa Instituttet i København og jeg har jo i det Festskrift som Du modtager paa Fødselsdagen skrevet lidt om Minderne fra den Tid, det betyder jo ikke at jeg glemmer alt, hvad der siden er sket hvori Du stedse tog saa ledende Del. Vi følger alle med Spænding Dine Arbejder i de sidste Aar og glæder os til at lære mere derom, naar som Du fortalte mig i Brüssel Du til Foraaret kommer til Besøg i København, til den Tid haaber jeg ogsaa at vi kan faa Lejlighed til at tale nærmere sammen om hvad der skete under Krigen og hvorom jeg er blevet adspurgt fra saa mange interesserede Sider/Kredse hvor der netop i de begivenhedsrige Tider opstaar

Dear Heisenberg

Margrethe and I send you many heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of your birthday, when you can look back on such a rich life’s work in the service of the physical sciences. In particular, I think of all you achieved in the years when it was our great pleasure to have you as a colleague at the Institute in Copenhagen, and I have written a little about the memories from that time in the Festschrift that you will receive on your birthday. That does not mean that I have forgotten everything that has happened since, in which you have always played such a leading role. We have all followed your work in recent years with excitement and look forward to learning more about it when, as you told me in Brussels, you come to Copenhagen for a visit in the spring. I also hope that we shall then have the opportunity to talk to each other in greater detail about what happened during the war, about which I have been asked by so many interested parties/circles, among which such