1940–45: War

The war had turned Rudolf and Genia Peierls into enemy aliens. Soon tribunals were set up to classify this group of residents.¹⁰⁷⁰ Being classified as 'category one' meant that the couple in practice had to endure very few restrictions to their every-day life. What concerned Rudolf Peierls more than these relatively insignificant limitations of his private life were those placed on him with regard to civil defence and to his work and research. The former were lifted when his naturalisation was approved in February 1940,¹⁰⁷¹ but the latter would continue to present problems throughout the first year of the war…