The Computer — My Life

Front Matter....Pages I-XIV
Ancestors and parents — Early childhood memories — School days — Metropolis — Abitur ....Pages 1-13
Studies (not without detours and by-ways) and general studies — First inventions — The Akademische Verein Motiv — Student life between science and politics....Pages 15-32
The early years of the computer (and a digression on its prehistory) — Colleagues remember — From mechanics to electromechanics — Schreyer’s electronic computing machine — First outside contacts — Thoughts on the future....Pages 33-53
Outbreak of the war and (first) call-up — Structural engineer in aircraft construction — The Z2 and Z3 — Second call-up — Zuse Ingenieurbüro und Apparatebau, Berlin — The first process computer....Pages 55-73
Origins of the Z4 — News from the United States — Attempt at a Ph.D. dissertation — Computing machine for logic operations — Final months of the war in Berlin — The evacuation — Z4 completed in Göttingen — Final war days in the Allgäu....Pages 75-94
End of the war — Refugees in Hinterstein — The Plankalkül — The computing universe — Automation and self-reproducing systems — A logarithmic computing machine — Computer development in Germany and the United States — Move to Hopferau near Füssen — The mill of the Patent Office....Pages 95-112
The Zuse-Ingenieurbüro, Hopferau bei Füssen — First business partners: IBM and Remington Rand — The first pipelining design — Founding of ZUSE KG in Neukirchen — The Z4 in the ETH in Zurich — The computer in Europe: taking stock — Lost opportunities — The first German contract: the Z5....Pages 113-132
The partners leave — Computing machine for land use zoning — Electronics gains acceptance — First funds from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft — Losing one’s way (and possibly a lost opportunity) — The array processor — Custom work for geodesists — The Graphomat Z64 — Growth and crisis of ZUSE KG — The end....Pages 133-155
Free for science (again) — Honors — A look to the future....Pages 157-183
Back Matter....Pages 185-243