Rudolf Ludwig Mössbauer was born on January 31, 1929, in Münich, Germany. He was the only son of Ludwig and Erna (Ernst) Mössbauer. Mössbauer grew up during a difficult time in Germany, during the disruptions accompanying the rise of Adolf Hitler's National Socialism (Nazism) and the onset of World War II. His plans to attend a university were thwarted because the number of new enrollments was greatly reduced following Germany's devastation in the war.

Through the efforts of his father, Mössbauer was able to find a job working as an optical assistant first at the Rodenstock optical firm in Münich and later for the U.S. Army of Occupation. Eventually Mössbauer saved enough money from these jobs to enroll at the Münich Institute for Technical Physics. In 1952 he received his preliminary diploma (the equivalent...