In Search of Van der Waerden: The Early Life

My distinguished colleagues John J. Watkins and Robin J. Wilson called The Mathematical Coloring Book, 2009 [Soi44] “labor of love.” However, in a friendly way, they opined that I wrote too much about Van der Waerden, too much labor or too much love. Their remark is well taken, but … What am I to do? To simply state that my 20-year-long archival research proved that Van der Waerden was not “a Nazi collaborator” nor “a strong anti-Nazi”? and instead of proof declare Trump’s “believe me”? In my entire life, I’ve never asked anyone to believe me – this is your choice. So, I have to present as rigorous a proof as the historical genre allows in this complicated case. Moreover, that is not my only goal here.