Sublime

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

Then along came Curt Herzstark, a young man who in the 1920s regularly traveled through the former Austrian Empire selling mechanical calculators to banks and other businesses. It was on these travels that he heard the same complaints from his customers.

HERZSTARK: The second war... yes, yes. My father had owned, by the way, a movie theater for many years. As

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

'Then along came Curt Herzstark' http://newatlas.com/curta-death-camp-calculator/45506/... See more

There was a will from 1913 and my parents each left everything to the other partner so that there could be no dispute. This will was still in existence but my mother did not want to use it. Instead she suggested, "You get the factory and your brother Ernst, will get the cinema and I will receive a pension from each of you." That was '37, '38 and we... See more

"The head of the department, Mr. Munich said, 'See, Herzstark, I understand you've been working on a new thing, a small calculating machine. Do you know, I can give you a tip. We will allow you to make and draw everything. If it is really worth something, then we will give it to the Führer as a present after we win the war. Then, surely, you will b... See more

And then the first World War started, and the difficulties began. Unfortunately after the war began, the production of calculating machines was no longer possible. Many of the personnel had to enlist and the factory had to produce military equipment, specifically Schrapnel ignitors. This type of work requires precision. The ignitor is suspended int... See more