Emil J. Gumbel (1891-1966) began his career simply as a professor of mathematical statistics in Heidelberg, but he is most remembered as a political activist militantly advocating for pacifism during the complicated and volatile times of the Weimar Republic in Germany. As a Jew with left-wing socialist and democratic sensibilities, he was exiled to France and later America. Ironically, the same writings on political terror and politicized justice...