Maria Geoppert-Mayer immersed herself in many different cultures and lifestyles throughout her lifetime. She was born and raised in pre-World War I Kattowiz, Prussia, on the northern coast of Germany. In this time period, Prussia was recovering from the Second Schleswig War of 1864, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, as well as the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. The success of these conquests exponentially escalated their power and influence, but took a toll on the national economy (Hebeeler, 1847). Fueled by the successful realpolitik of Otto von Bismarck, Prussia’s post-war recovery was well underway by Mayer’s birth in 1906. As a result, the kingdom of Prussia refocused on progressing social goals such as education and medicine. In both respects, Prussia was a front-runner in support of fair and equal treatment and astute application of basic human rights. Education had long been a source of national pride in Prussia, as they were one of the first nations to implement a widespread, public educational system. Not only did Prussia develop the first nationwide public education, but also a pioneering nation in promoting universal equality (Svenjar, 1979). Prussia’s national education system consisted of mandatory public education starting with elementary school until adulthood. Supplemental to this, Prussia funded voluntary universities without tuition for most members of society. In 1908, two years after Mayer’s birth, the suffragettes secured the right for women to attend Prussian universities, setting Prussia on course to become the world’s first nation with true gender equality.
In addendum to the leap forward for the equal rights movement in education, Prussia also built the preliminary foundation for the development of patient rights and doctor responsibility. The First Directive on informed consent barred medical research and testing on patients without their knowledge. This enactment alone reshaped the way society viewed medical professions by dousing fear of becoming a test subject (Raz, Schicktanz, & Shalev, 2010).
The increased morale from these social improvements united the nation, creating the short-lived prime of Prussia. Deterioration began with the appointment of Wilhelm II as the King of Prussia in 1888. The governing ideology employed by Wilhelm directly conflicted with realpolitik in spite of Otto von Bismarck’s glowing success. The tensions between the two officials culminated in Wilhelm’s dismissal of Bismarck from the office of Chancellor, foreshadowing the dark changes to come. Free to reign as he pleased, Wilhelm redirected previous foreign relation efforts based on Bismarck’s policy and instead used the growing nationalism and empowerment as fuel to pursue strategic and militaristic opportunities. The turnover in governmental focus diminished social attitudes and lifestyle over time until breaching the threshold of tolerance in July of 1914. Wilhelm’s support of powerhouse Austria-Hungary nullified previously secured alliances and sparked the beginning of World War I. By the end of the war, Prussia no longer existed as a self-governed nation, social directives were overturned, and left the citizen’s culture forever tainted by Germany’s acquisition of Prussia in its entirety. Wilhelm was stripped of his power and exiled from the country, casting shame and diminished morale on his once flourishing homeland. Now known as Germany, the territory of Prussia suffered through a militaristic regime that would last for nearly half of a century (Mombaeur, 2001).
