General Karl Heinrich Emil Becker,[2] head of the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) and dean and professor in the faculty of defense technology[3] at the Technische Hochschule Berlin, was its president (1937 to 1940).
In actuality, the direction of the RFR was carried out by Rudolf Mentzel, the president of the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft (DFG, German Scientific Research Association), which, as of 1937, was the new name of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft (NG, Emergency Association of German Science).
[7] Other members of the Council included:[8] On 9 June 1942, Adolf Hitler issued a decree for the reorganization of the RFR as a separate legal entity under the Reich Ministry for Armament and Ammunition; the decree appointed Reich Marshall Göring as the president.
The meeting was a turning point in National Socialism's attitude towards science, as well as recognition that its policies which drove Jewish scientists out of Germany were a mistake, as the Reich needed their expertise.
During the meeting, Planck told Hitler that forcing Jewish scientists to emigrate would mutilate Germany and the benefits of their work would go to foreign countries.