Petr Zuman

Who is Petr Zuman?

Petr Zuman is a Czech chemist.

Born and raised in Prague, the Second World War severely impacted Zuman and his family while he was a teenager. In 1939, when he was 13 years old, the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia and sent his father to a concentration camp. In 1943–1944, Zuman worked in a Prague laboratory for the Research Institute of the Sugar Industry. Enjoying the work he wrote three papers on the alkaline cleavage of sucrose. However in June 1944 Zuman was himself sent to a concentration camp. He was liberated from the camp on May 6, 1945 and then returned to Prague.