Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

CuratorofOrnithologyattheAmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory 137
Throughout his career Mayr has been interested, and to some extent remained
involved, in the affairs of German ornithology. In a letter to Stresemann dated
May 25, 1934 he referred to minor competitive animosities in Berlin and Munich
suggesting several remedies to settle these differences. When he visited southern
Germany in 1938, he proposed a field station at Radolfzell (Mettnau) to study
not only bird migration but also avian ecology and general biology (letter of
July 9, 1938). He corresponded regularly with his fatherly friends R. Zimmermann,
G. Schiermann and R. Heyder as well as Oscar Neumann, his co-student W. Meise
and others.
World War II ended in Europe in May 1945. The postwar relief programs for
relatives and fellow ornithologists in Germany occupied the Mayrs for several
years. One program was organized in the Tenafly area where they lived. Families
of German descent pooled their energies and resources, packing and mailing
innumerable packages with clothing, shoes and food. The wives were the heroes
at that time. Many families depleted their savings accounts. The second task was
the great relief program of the American Ornithologists’ Union. By late 1946 Mrs.
F. Hamerstrom, Mrs. M. M. Nice, Joseph Hickey, Ernst Mayr and others had been
very active arousing the interest of American ornithologists and, due to their
energy, nearly fifty C.A.R.E. packages were sent to German ornithologists (CARE
was the “Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe”). Gretel Mayr was
active as a mediator and in translating handwritten letters. Until May 1947, more
than 100 food packages and an equal number of clothing packages had been mailed.
Mayr reported to Stresemann:
“The relief program of the American Ornithologists’ Union is making good
progress. Packages with clothes as well as food and C.A.R.E. packages are being
sent every day” (31 March 1947) and “The enthusiasm of Mrs. Hamerstrom and
the other members of the committee is the finest experience I have had in recent
years. It really gives you hope for a better world” (15 April 1947).
When Rudolf Drost at Göttingen needed a dark suit as a lecturer, Mayr sent
him his only dark suit. The American Relief Committee for German ornithologists
continued to operate until about mid-1949. Over 3,000 packages had been sent
by over 1,000 American donors to European ornithologists in 15 countries. The
readiness of American people to help Europeans after the war was extraordinary.
Some details of this relief work and a formal “Thank you” are published in the
Journal für Ornithologie 133: 455–456, 1992.
Because of the complex political situation in Berlin after the end of World War II
(where the German Ornithological Society, DOG, was legally registered), a group of
its representatives founded another society, the Society of German Ornithologists
(Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft, DO-G), in West Germany in late 1949. This
DO-G carried on the tradition of the old (dormant) DOG until the latter ceased to
exist, when it was fused legally with the DO-G in 2006.
When after a pause of 6 years the Journal für Ornithologie had started to appear
again in 1951, Mayr suggested to E. Stresemann “that the German Ornithological
Society should make more of an effort to get foreign subscribers” (20 March
1952) and included a rough draft of a letter to be sent to 30–50 North American