History of Germany (1945–90) German exodus was continuing apace; more than 117,000 left in January and February 1990. In early February 1990, the Modrow government's proposal for a unified, neutral German state was rejected by Chancellor Kohl, who affirmed that a unified Germany must be a member of NATO. Finally, on 18 March, the first free elections were held in East Germany, and a government led by Lothar de Maizière (CDU) was formed under a policy of expeditious unification with West Germany. The freely elected representatives of the "Volkskammer" held their first session on 5 April, and East Germany peacefully evolved from a communist
Mathematics in Nazi Germany would begin with a Nazi salute, a practice that Erich Hecke declined to implement in his classroom. Even before Hitler's rise to power, some mathematicians had already emigrated to the United States for various reasons. John von Neumann had taken a position at the California Institute of Technology in 1929 because he felt anti-semitism in Germany was effecting his career. By 1933, von Neumann had a position at Princeton; though he had maintained ties with Germany until then, he canceled his scheduled lectures in Berlin after Hitler became Chancellor. Other early emigrants from Germany included Theodor Estermann, Hans Freudenthal, Eberhard