D O C U M E N T 3 0 3 N O V E M B E R 1 9 2 8 2 9 1 303. From Luitzen Brouwer Laren, 5 November 1928 To the publisher and editors of the Mathematische Annalen[1] From the information communicated to me during a visit by one of the chief ed- itors of the Mathematische Annalen on October 10, 1928, I infer the following:[2] 1. That in recent years, as a result of the deviations of my opinion from that of Hilbert (my rejection of the offer of a chair in Göttingen, the opposition between formalism and intuitionism, a difference in views regarding the moral position of the Bologna congress), which had nothing to do with the editorial staff of the Math- ematische Annalen, Hilbert has developed a steadily increasing anger against me.[3] 2. That most recently Hilbert has repeatedly expressed the desire that I be re- moved from the editorial staff of the Annalen, on the grounds that he can no longer “collaborate” with me.[4] 3. That this justification is a pretext, because there has never been any collabo- ration between Hilbert and me in the editing of the Annalen[5] (any more than there has been between me and various other members of the board). That I have not even exchanged a single letter with Hilbert for many years and have spoken to him only superficially (the last time in July, 1926). 4. That the true reason is to be sought only in Hilbert’s anger-inspired wish to harm and wound me in some way. 5. That equal rights of members of the editorial staff (repeatedly emphasized by the editors both externally and internally x) ) permits a fulfillment of Hilbert’s desire only if a majority of the whole editorial staff votes to exclude me. That such a ma- jority can hardly be imagined, because I am one of the most active members of the editorial board of the Annalen, because no one on the board has ever made the slightest objection to the way in which I fulfill my editorial duties, and because my exclusion from the board would mean a significant loss for the future content and the future prospects of the Annalen.[6] 6. That the equal rights so often proclaimed by the editorial leadership was only a mask that is now to be thrown away. That the editorial leadership intends (and considers itself legally able) to remove me from the board without the consent of the other editors.[7] 7. That Carathéodory and Blumenthal justify their collaboration in this enter- prise by giving priority to the supposed advantages for Hilbert’s health over my civil rights and ability to work, and over the values of the moral prestige to be sac- rificed and the scientific content of the Mathematische Annalen. I now appeal to your sense of chivalry and above all to your respect for Felix Klein’s memory and ask you to act to see to it that either the editorial leadership