Math as a Tool of Anti-Semitism

1970’s and 1980’s, there was rampant discrimination against Jewish and other unwanted students. The professors at the math department made a strong effort to keep Jewish students out of the department. They designed "killer " or "coffin " problems and Jewish students had to answer them during an oral exam. These problems have simple solutions, but require a clever strategy to solve them. This paper explores some of the context of this episode and provides several problems with detailed solutions