*July 14, 1907 (Berlin, Germany)
†March 21, 1973 (Paris, France)

Wilma Papst, the daughter of the engineer Heinrich Papst and Rosi Papst, née Gelber, was born on July 14, 1907 in Berlin. She first visited the Hohenzollernlyzeum in Wilmersdorf and later the Westend-Oberrealschule in Berlin, where she passed her examination at Easter 1926. On 25 October, 1929 she passed a supplementary examination in Latin and thus obtained her permission for the matriculation at university. In the summer semester of 1926, she began her study in mathematics, chemistry and physics at Heidelberg University. For the winter semester she moved to Berlin (1926/27) where she studied philosophy, especially philosophy of natural sciences. In the summer term 1928, she studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and returned to Berlin in the winter term 1928/29. Papst received her doctorate with a work on Gottlob Frege, titled Gottlob Frege als Philosoph. The referees were Max Dessoir (Dessauer) and Wolfgang Köhler. The doctoral examination took place at July 24, 1930. Philosophy was the main subject, mathematics and physics the minor subjects. Wilma Papst received her doctorate degree on October 7, 1932. Papst’s dissertation consists of three main parts. The first two part deal with Frege’s writings of the first and second period, the third part is about Frege’s position in logic. Frege’s criticism of psychologism, empiricism and formalism is presented in detail. The author comes to the conclusion that Frege’s rejection of the traditional formalism is only conditionally applicable to Hilbert’s modern formalism. After her marriage to Ewald Fritsch and her move to Paris, Wilma Papst published several books and translations as an independent publicist and author, now under the name “Vilma Fritsch.” She died on March 21, 1973 in Paris.

References

Papst, Wilma (1932). Gottlob Frege als Philosoph. Phil. Diss. Berlin.

Fritsch, Vilma (1964). Links und Rechts in Wissenschaft und Leben. Kohlhammer: Leipzig.

[translations:

• Fritsch, Vilma (1967). La gauche et la droite. Flammarion: Paris.
• Fritsch, Vilma (1968). Left and Right in Science and Life. Barrie & Rockliff: London.]

Fritsch, Wilma (1971). Galilée ou l’avenir de la science. Seglers: Paris.

Translations

Amadou, Robert (1957). Vom Okkultismus zur Parapsychologie. Würdigung und Kritik der internationalen Forschung. Hg. von G. F. Hartlaub. Übers. v. Vilma Fritsch.

Erikson, Erik H. (1974). La Vérité de Gandhi. Les origines de la non-violence. Traduit de l’américain par Vilma Fritsch. Paris: Flammarion.

Lorenz, Konrad (1969). L’Agression. Une histoire naturelle du mal. Trad. de l’allemand par Vilma Fritsch. Flammarion: Paris.

Rostand, Jean (1966). Die Wissenschaft vom Leben: In: Der Wandel der Problemlage der Biologie in den letzten Jahrzehnten, Bd. III, hg. von E. Ungerer, übers. v. Vilma Fritsch. Freiburg: Alber.

Watson, James D. (1973). Die Doppel-Helix. Ein persönlicher Bericht über die Entdeckung der DNS-Struktur. Deutsch v. Vilma Fritsch. Aus d. Engl. übertr. v. Vilma Fritsch, mit einer Einführung von Albrecht Fölsing. Reinbek: Rowohlt.

[note: numerous other translations and smaller essays in newspapers and magazines]

Archival Records

Archiv der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Rigorosenakt Wilma Papst, Phil. Fak. Nr. 739 Bl. 59–75.

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