Background
His father, the Frankfurt gem dealer Nathan Moritz Oppenheim (1848–1933), and his mother took their life together in 1933.
His father, the Frankfurt gem dealer Nathan Moritz Oppenheim (1848–1933), and his mother took their life together in 1933.
After studying natural sciences and chemistry at the University of Freiburg Oppenheim earned his doctorate in chemistry and philosophy. He was active in the chemical industry (IG Farben) until 1933, when he emigrated to Brussels. After the beginning of Nazi rule in Germany, he gave several persecuted scientists such as Carl Gustav Hempel and Kurt Grelling financial resources and assistance to escape from Germany.
He published with Hempel and Grelling on philosophy and philosophy of science, including Gestalt psychology.