1/? the (abridged) story of Curt Herzstark, the brilliant Viennese engineer who invented an incredibly complex handheld mechanical calculator in the Buchenwald concentration camp

But he did have the plans and the prototypes of the Curta, which was a true marvel of design and construction – as much like a watch movement or the mechanism of a fine camera as it was a calculator. But could he find backers to manufacture it?

In 1945, that was a difficult question. At first glance, the Curta looks as much like a calculator as a po... See more

the Curta hit the world market in 1949 selling for US$125 through mail order and in a handful of specialty shops. It was a lot of money in those days, but the Curta was still a hit with engineers, traveling accountants, pilots, and even rally drivers. In the end, 150,000 of them were built in two models over the course of 20 years. It also gained a... See more

By 1938, Hertzstark had applied for patents for his new design and had made a couple of prototypes of the basic mechanism out of Bakelite plastic to demonstrate the principle. Unfortunately, that's as far as he got because in March 1938 the Anschluss took place and Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht marched over the border to annex Austria.

The inside of a Cu... See more