Math as a tool of anti-semitism

At Moscow State University’s Department of Mathematics during the 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