Editing Konrad Zuse

{{Short description|German computer scientist and engineer (1910–1995)}}
{{Redirect|Zuse|Konrad Zuse's son|Horst Zuse|the institute|Zuse Institute Berlin}}
{{Redirect|Helixturm|the lighthouse in Cologne|Heliosturm}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{anchor|SRS72}}{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Konrad Zuse
| image = Konrad Zuse (1992).jpg
| caption = Konrad Zuse in 1992
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|06|22|df=yes}}
| birth_name = Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse
| birth_place = [[Berlin]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[German Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|12|18|1910|06|22|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Hünfeld]], Hesse, Germany
| residence = 
| field = {{ubl|[[Computer science]]|[[Computer engineering]]}}
| work_institutions = Aerodynamic Research Institute
| alma_mater = [[Technische Universität Berlin]]
| doctoral_advisor = 
| doctoral_students = 
| known_for  = {{ubl|[[Z3 (computer)|Z3]], [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]]|[[Plankalkül]]|[[Calculating Space]] (cf. [[digital physics]])|Montagestraße SRS 72<ref name="Eibisch_2016"/>|[[Helixturm]]<ref name="Eibisch_2009"/><ref name="Bock-Eibisch_2010"/><ref name="Eibisch_2016"/>}}
| prizes = {{ubl|''[[Werner von Siemens Ring]]'' in 1964|''[[Harry H. Goode Memorial Award]]'' in 1965 (together with [[George Stibitz]])|[[Wilhelm Exner Medal]], 1969<ref name="Editor 2015">editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.</ref>|''[[Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]'' in 1972|''[[Computer History Museum]] Fellow Award'' in 1999}}
|signature=Konrad Zuse Signature.png
}}

'''Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|uː|s|ə}};<ref>{{YouTube|id=Ml3-kVYLNr8|Von Neumann Architecture - Computerphile|time=13m02s}}</ref> {{IPA|de|ˈkɔnʁaːt ˈtsuːzə|lang}}; 22 June 1910 – 18 December 1995) was a German civil engineer, [[List of pioneers in computer science|pioneering computer scientist]], inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; the functional program-controlled [[Turing completeness|Turing-complete]] [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]] became operational in May 1941. Thanks to this machine and its predecessors, Zuse is regarded by some as the inventor and father of the modern computer.<ref name=Rojas1>{{cite journal |last1=Rojas |first1=Raúl |date=1997 |title=Konrad Zuse's Legacy: The Architecture of the Z1 and Z3 |url=http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/Zuse_Z1_and_Z3.pdf |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=5–16 |doi= 10.1109/85.586067|access-date=12 May 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426230133/http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/Zuse_Z1_and_Z3.pdf |archive-date=26 April 2021 |quote=Konrad Zuse is popularly recognized in Germany as the father of the computer, and his Z1, a programmable automaton built from 1936 to 1938, has been called the first computer in the world. Other nations reserve this honor for one of their own scientists, and there has been a long and often acrimonious debate on the issue of who is the true inventor of the computer.}}</ref><ref name=Flippo>{{cite web |url=http://www.german-way.com/famous-konrad-zuse.html |title=Konrad Zuse: The first programmable, digital computer |last=Flippo |first=Hyde |date= |website=german-way.com |publisher=The German Way & More |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531063542/http://german-way.com/famous-konrad-zuse.html |archive-date=31 May 2013 |quote=The German civil engineer Konrad Zuse is considered the inventor of the first digital and programmable computers}}</ref><ref name=von_Leszczynski>{{cite web |url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1566782.php/Z-like-Zuse-German-inventor-of-the-computer |title=Z like Zuse: German inventor of the computer |last=von Leszczynski |first=Ulrike |date=27 June 2010 |website=monstersandcritics.com |publisher=Deutsche Presse-Agentur |access-date=22 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522022610/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/tech/features/article_1566782.php/Z-like-Zuse-German-inventor-of-the-computer |archive-date=22 May 2013 |quote=There's strong evidence that [Zuse] built the world's first computer in Berlin.}}</ref><ref name=Bellis>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/konrad-zuse-modern-computer-4078237 |title=Biography of Konrad Zuse, Inventor and Programmer of Early Computers |last=Bellis |first=Mary |date=15 May 2019 |orig-date=First published 2006 at inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa050298.htm |website=thoughtco.com |publisher=Dotdash Meredith |access-date=3 February 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213003237/https://www.thoughtco.com/konrad-zuse-modern-computer-4078237 |archive-date=13 December 2020 |quote=Konrad Zuse earned the semiofficial title of 'inventor of the modern computer'}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001335.htm | title=Who is the Father of the Computer? }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bruderer |first=Herbert |title=Milestones in Analog and Digital Computing |publisher=Springer |year=2021 |isbn=978-3030409739 |edition=3rd |pages=13, 961}}</ref>

Zuse was noted for the S2 computing machine, considered the first [[process control]] computer. In 1941, he founded one of the earliest computer businesses, producing the [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]], which became the world's first commercial computer.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bruderer |first=Herbert |title=Milestones in Analog and Digital Computing |publisher=Springer |year=2021 |isbn=978-3030409739 |edition=3rd |page=14}}</ref> From 1943<ref>Zuse, Konrad (1943), "Ansätze einer Theorie des allgemeinen Rechnens unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Aussagenkalküls und dessen Anwendung auf Relaisschaltungen" [Inception of a universal theory of computation with special consideration of the propositional calculus and its application to relay circuits], unpublished manuscript, Zuse Papers 045/018.</ref> to 1945<ref>A book on the subject: [http://www.zib.de/zuse/English_Version/Inhalt/Texte/Chrono/40er/Pdf/0233.pdf (full text of the 1945 manuscript)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210150041/http://www.zib.de/zuse/English_Version/Inhalt/Texte/Chrono/40er/Pdf/0233.pdf |date=10 February 2012 }}</ref> he designed [[Plankalkül]], the first [[high-level programming language]].<ref name="HZ2010-11-18"/> In 1969, Zuse suggested the concept of a [[digital physics|computation-based universe]] in his book {{lang|de|Rechnender Raum}} (''[[Calculating Space]]'').<ref name="Zuse_1967_RR"/><ref name="Zuse_1969_RR"/><ref name="MIT_1970_RR"/>

Much of his early work was financed by his family and commerce, but after 1939 he was given resources by the [[government of Nazi Germany]].<ref name="books.google.com">[https://books.google.com/books?id=gayW7Z-B_e8C&dq=zuse%2C+nazi&pg=PA82 "Weapons Grade: How Modern Warfare Gave Birth To Our High-Tech World"], David Hambling. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|0-7867-1769-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7867-1769-9}}. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref> Due to [[World War II]], Zuse's work went largely unnoticed in the United Kingdom and United States. Possibly his first documented influence on a US company was [[IBM]]'s option on his patents in 1946.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidhuber |first=Jürgen |date=19 August 2021 |title=1941: Konrad Zuse completes the first working general-purpose computer, based on his 1936 patent application |url=https://people.idsia.ch/~juergen/zuse-1941-first-general-computer.html |website=Universita della Svizzera Italiana}}</ref> The Z4 also served as the inspiration for the construction of the [[ERMETH]], the first Swiss computer and one of the first in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bruderer |first=Herbert |title=Milestones in Analog and Digital Computing |publisher=Springer |year=2021 |isbn=978-3030409739 |edition=3rd |pages=1009, 1087}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Konrad Zuse was born in [[Berlin]] on 22 June 1910.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|title=Konrad Zuse: First on the digital track|author=Schofield, Jack|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=20 December 1995|page= 13}}</ref> In 1912, his family moved to [[East Prussia]]n [[Braunsberg]] (now Braniewo in [[Poland]]), where his father was a postal clerk. Zuse attended the [[Collegium Hosianum]] in Braunsberg, and in 1923, the family moved to [[Hoyerswerda]], where he passed his [[Abitur]] in 1928, qualifying him to enter university.{{cn|date=May 2020}}

He enrolled at Technische Hochschule Berlin (now [[Technische Universität Berlin]]) and explored both engineering and architecture, but found them boring. Zuse then pursued civil engineering, graduating in 1935.<ref name="Guardian"/>

==Career== 
After graduation, Zuse worked for the [[Ford Motor Company]], using his artistic skills in the design of advertisements.<ref name="HZ2010-11-18">Talk given by [[Horst Zuse]] to the [[Computer Conservation Society]] at the [[Science Museum (London)]] on 18 November 2010</ref> He started work as a design engineer at the [[Henschel]] aircraft factory in [[Schönefeld|Schönefeld near Berlin]]. This required the performance of many routine calculations by hand, leading him to theorize and plan a way of doing them by machine.<ref name=LeeComputerorg>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=J. A. N. |date=1995 |title=Konrad Zuse |url=https://history.computer.org/pioneers/zuse.html |website=computer.org |publisher=IEEE Computer Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc |access-date=14 April 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204020840/https://history.computer.org/pioneers/zuse.html |archive-date=4 December 2022 }}</ref>

Beginning in 1935, he experimented in the construction of computers in his parents' flat on {{lang|de|italic=no|Wrangelstraße}} 38, moving with them into their new flat on {{lang|de|italic=no|Methfesselstraße}} 10, the street leading up the [[Kreuzberg (Tempelhofer Berge)|Kreuzberg]], Berlin.<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=418}} Working in his parents' apartment in 1936, he produced his first attempt, the [[Z1 (computer)|Z1]], a [[floating-point]] binary mechanical calculator with limited programmability, reading instructions from a perforated 35&nbsp;mm film.<ref name="HZ2010-11-18"/> 

[[File:Zuse Z1-2.jpg|thumb|right|Zuse Z1 replica in the [[German Museum of Technology]] in Berlin]]
In 1937, Zuse submitted two patents that anticipated a [[von Neumann architecture]]. In 1938, he finished the Z1 which contained some 30,000 metal parts and never worked well due to insufficient mechanical precision. On 30 January 1944, the Z1 and its original [[blueprint]]s were destroyed with his parents' flat and many neighbouring buildings by a [[Battle of Berlin (air)|British air raid]] in [[World War II]].<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=426}}

Zuse completed his work entirely independently of other leading computer scientists and mathematicians of his day. Between 1936 and 1945, he was in near-total intellectual isolation.<ref>[http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Zuse.html "Konrad Zuse"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829164932/http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Biographies/Zuse.html |date=29 August 2011 }}, Gap System. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref>

===1939–1945===
[[File:2007-01-20 Gedenktafel Zuse Z3.jpg|thumb|right|Plaque commemorating Zuse's work, attached to the ruin of {{lang|de|italic=no|Methfesselstraße}} 7, Berlin]] 
In 1939, Zuse was called to [[Wehrmacht|military service]], where he was given the resources to ultimately build the [[Z2 (computer)|Z2]].<ref name="books.google.com"/> In September 1940 Zuse presented the Z2, covering several rooms in the parental flat, to experts of the {{lang|de|[[Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt#History|Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt]]}} (DVL; German Research Institute for Aviation).<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=424}} The Z2 was a revised version of the Z1 using telephone [[relay]]s.

In 1940, the German government began funding him and his company through the {{lang|de|Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt}} (AVA, Aerodynamic Research Institute, forerunner of the [[German Aerospace Center|DLR]]),<ref>[http://www5.in.tum.de/~huckle/mathwar.html "Mathematicians during the Third Reich and World War II"], Technical University of Munich. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref> which used his work for the production of [[glide bomb]]s. Zuse built the S1 and S2 computing machines, which were special purpose devices which computed aerodynamic corrections to the wings of radio-controlled flying bombs. The S2 featured an integrated [[analog-to-digital converter]] under program control, making it the first process-controlled computer.<ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|page=75}}

In 1941 Zuse started a company, {{lang|de|italic=no|Zuse Apparatebau}} (Zuse Apparatus Construction), to manufacture his machines,<ref>{{Cite book | last = Lippe | first = Wolfram-M. | title = Die Geschichte der Rechenautomaten | trans-title = The History of Computing Machines | chapter = Kapitel 14: Die ersten programmierbaren Rechner | trans-chapter = Chapter 14: The First Programmable Computer | url = http://cs.uni-muenster.de/Professoren/Lippe/lehre/skripte/geschichte/ | chapter-url = http://cs.uni-muenster.de/Professoren/Lippe/lehre/skripte/geschichte/pdf/Kap14.pdf | access-date = 21 June 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080503054847/http://cs.uni-muenster.de/Professoren/Lippe/lehre/skripte/geschichte/ | archive-date = 3 May 2008 | url-status = dead }}</ref> renting a workshop on the opposite side in {{lang|de|italic=no|Methfesselstraße}} 7 and stretching through the block to {{lang|fr|italic=no|Belle-Alliance}} {{lang|de|italic=no|Straße}} 29 (renamed and renumbered as [[Mehringdamm]] 84 in 1947).<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|pages=418, 425}}

In 1941, he improved on the basic Z2 machine, and built the [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]]. On 12 May 1941 Zuse presented the Z3, built in his workshop, to the public.<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=425}}<ref name="Chod 2003 52">Kathrin Chod, Herbert Schwenk and Hainer Weißpflug, ''Berliner Bezirkslexikon: Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg'', Berlin: Haude & Spener / Edition Luisenstadt, 2003, p.&nbsp;52. {{ISBN|3-7759-0474-3}}.</ref> The Z3 was a [[binary numeral system|binary]] 22-bit [[floating-point arithmetic|floating-point]] calculator featuring programmability with loops but without conditional jumps, with memory and a calculation unit based on telephone relays. The telephone relays used in his machines were largely collected from discarded stock. Despite the absence of conditional jumps, the Z3 was a [[Turing complete]] computer. However, Turing-completeness was never considered by Zuse (who was unaware of Turing's work and had practical applications in mind) and only demonstrated in 1998 (see [[History of computing hardware]]).

The Z3, the first fully operational electromechanical computer, was partially financed by German government-supported DVL, which wanted their extensive calculations automated. A request by his co-worker [[Helmut Schreyer]]—who had helped Zuse build the Z3 prototype in 1938<ref>St. Amant, Kirk; Still, Brian. [https://books.google.com/books?id=75KT6GdcWbYC&dq=z3%2C+nazi%2C+zuse&pg=PA62 ''Handbook of research on open source software''] Idea Group. 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-59140-999-1}}. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref>—for government funding for an electronic successor to the Z3 was denied as "strategically unimportant".

[[File:KZuse denkmal.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of Zuse in [[Bad Hersfeld]]]]
In 1937, Schreyer had advised Zuse to use [[vacuum tube]]s as switching elements; Zuse at this time considered it a "crazy idea" ({{lang|de|Schnapsidee}} in his own words). Zuse's workshop on {{lang|de|italic=no|Methfesselstraße}} 7 (along with the Z3) was destroyed in an [[Bombing of Berlin in World War II|Allied Air raid in late 1943]] and the parental flat with Z1 and Z2 on 30 January the following year, whereas the successor [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]], which Zuse had begun constructing in 1942<ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|page=75}} in new premises in the {{lang|de|Industriehof}} on {{lang|de|italic=no|Oranienstraße}} 6, remained intact.<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=428}}

On 3 February 1945, aerial bombing caused devastating destruction in the [[Luisenstadt]], the area around {{lang|de|italic=no|Oranienstraße}}, including neighbouring houses.<ref name="Selig_2011"/> This event effectively brought Zuse's research and development to a complete halt. The partially finished, telephone relay-based Z4 computer was then packed and moved from Berlin on 14 February, arriving in [[Göttingen]] approximately two weeks later.<ref name="Spode_1994"/>{{rp|page=428}}

These machines contributed to the Henschel Werke [[Henschel Hs 293|Hs 293]] and [[Henschel Hs 294|Hs 294]] guided missiles developed by the German military between 1941 and 1945, which were the precursors to the modern [[cruise missile]].<ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|page=75}}<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wx7myVYenMcC&dq=s1,+s2,+HS-293&pg=PA51 "Germany's Secret Weapons in World War II"], Roger Ford. Zenith Imprint, 2000. {{ISBN|0-7603-0847-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7603-0847-9}}. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20120731110116/http://www.atypon-link.com/OLD/doi/abs/10.1524/itit.2010.0566 "The S1 and S2 Computing Machines — Konrad Zuse´s Work for the German Military 1941–1945"], Atypon Link. Retrieved 14 March 2010.</ref> The circuit design of the S1 was the predecessor of Zuse's [[Z11 (computer)|Z11]].<ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|page=75}} Zuse believed that these machines had been captured by occupying [[Red Army|Soviet troops]] in 1945.<ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|page=75}}

While working on his Z4 computer, Zuse realised that programming in [[machine code]] was too complicated. He started working on a PhD thesis<ref>Konrad Zuse: [http://herbscorner.lepete.de/upload/plankalkuel.%28pdf%29 Der Plankalkül] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512112136/http://herbscorner.lepete.de/upload/plankalkuel.%28pdf%29 |date=12 May 2015 }}. PhD thesis, 1945</ref> detailing the first high-level programming language, {{lang|de|italic=no|[[Plankalkül]]}} ("Plan Calculus") and, as an elaborate example program, the first real computer chess engine.<ref name=knuthpardo>Knuth & Pardo: The early development of programming languages. In Nicholas Metropolis (Ed): ''History of Computing in the Twentieth Century'', p. 203.</ref>

===1945–1995===
After the 1945 Luisenstadt bombing, he fled from Berlin to the rural [[Allgäu]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Konrad Zuse im Schloss zu Hopferau |url=https://www.hopferau.de/konrad-zuse.html |access-date=28 October 2023 |website=www.hopferau.de}}</ref> In the extreme deprivation of [[Allied-occupied Germany|post-war Germany]] Zuse was unable to build computers.

Zuse founded one of the earliest computer companies: the {{lang|de|italic=no|Zuse-Ingenieurbüro Hopferau}}. Capital was raised in 1946 through [[ETH Zurich]] and an IBM option on Zuse's patents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidhuber |first=Jürgen |date=19 August 2021 |title=1941: Konrad Zuse completes the first working general-purpose computer, based on his 1936 patent application |url=https://people.idsia.ch/~juergen/zuse-1941-first-general-computer.html |website=Universita della Svizzera Italiana}}</ref>

In 1947, according to the memoirs of the German computer pioneer [[Heinz Billing]] from the [[Max Planck Institute for Physics]], there was a meeting between [[Alan Turing]] and Konrad Zuse in [[Göttingen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/Images/Turing_Zuse.pdf|title=Did Alan Turing interrogate Konrad Zuse in Göttingen in 1947?|author=Bruderer, Herbert|access-date=7 February 2013|archive-date=21 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521211106/http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/Images/Turing_Zuse.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The encounter had the form of a [[Academic conference|colloquium]]. Participants were [[John R. Womersley|Womersley]], Turing, Porter from England and a few German researchers like Zuse, Walther, and Billing. (For more details see Herbert Bruderer, {{lang|de|Konrad Zuse und die Schweiz}}).
 
It was not until 1949 that Zuse was able to resume work on the Z4. He would show the computer to the mathematician [[Eduard Stiefel]] of the ETH Zurich. The two men settled a deal to lend the Z4 to the ETH.<ref name="Lippe_2007">{{Cite web |title=Kapitel 14 – Die ersten programmierbaren Rechner |author-last=Lippe |author-first=Wolfram M. |date=13 April 2010 |orig-date=2007 |language=de |url=http://cs.uni-muenster.de/Professoren/Lippe/lehre/skripte/geschichte/pdf/Kap14.pdf |access-date=21 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719110029/http://cs.uni-muenster.de/Professoren/Lippe/lehre/skripte/geschichte/pdf/Kap14.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011
|quote=[in 1949 Professor Stiefel from ETH Zürich] was not a little surprised when he found the Z4, which was already a bit battered from the outside, set up in a horse stable. Nevertheless, he dictated to Zuse a simple differential equation that Zuse could immediately program, demonstrate on the machine and solve. After that he concluded a contract with Zuse: the Z4 should be loaned to the ETH after a thorough overhaul and cleaning.}}</ref>

[[File:Zuse-Werkstatt-Neukirchen-Jan-2010.jpg|right|thumb|Zuse's workshop at Neukirchen, 2010]]
In November 1949, Zuse founded another company, Zuse KG, in [[Haunetal|Haunetal-Neukirchen]]; in 1957, the company's head office moved to [[Bad Hersfeld]]. The [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]] was finished and delivered to the ETH Zurich in July 1950, where it proved very reliable.<ref name="HZ2010-11-18" /> At that time, it was the only working digital computer in Central Europe,<ref>Bruderer (2021), p. 1098</ref> and the second computer in the world to be sold or loaned, beaten only by the [[BINAC]], which never worked properly after it was delivered. Other computers, all numbered with a leading Z, up to Z43,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://epemag.com/zuse/part7e.htm |title=Part 7 (continued): The Zuse KG |access-date=4 July 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511021714/http://epemag.com/zuse/part7e.htm |archive-date=11 May 2009 }} Horst Zuse, EPE Online, archived on 11 May 2009 from [http://www.epemag.com/zuse/part7e.htm the original] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228103304/http://www.epemag.com/zuse/part7e.htm |date=28 December 2008 }}</ref> were built by Zuse and his company. Notable are the [[Z11 (computer)|Z11]], which was sold to the optics industry and to universities, and the [[Z22 (computer)|Z22]], the first computer with a memory based on magnetic storage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epemag.com/zuse/ |title=The Life and Work of Konrad Zuse |access-date=18 April 2010 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629003415/http://www.epemag.com/zuse/ |archive-date=29 June 2009 }} Horst Zuse, EPE Online, archived on 29 June 2009 from [http://www.epemag.com/zuse/ the original] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418164050/http://www.epemag.com/zuse/ |date=18 April 2010 }}</ref>

Unable to do any hardware development, he continued working on {{lang|de|italic=no|Plankalkül}}, eventually publishing some brief excerpts of his thesis in 1948 and 1959; the work in its entirety, however, remained unpublished until 1972.<ref name="knuthpardo"/> The PhD thesis was submitted at [[University of Augsburg]], but it was rejected because Zuse forgot to pay the [[Deutsche Mark|DM]]&nbsp;400 university enrollment fee. The rejection did not bother him.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.get-it.tu-berlin.de/menue/werdegaenge/ursula_walk/ |title=Ursula Walk, geb. 1925 |website=www.get-it.tu-berlin.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116041955/https://www.get-it.tu-berlin.de/menue/werdegaenge/ursula_walk/ |archive-date=16 November 2018 }}</ref> 

{{lang|de|italic=no|Plankalkül}} slightly influenced the design of [[ALGOL 58]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rojas|first1=Raúl|first2=Ulf|last2=Hashagen| date=2002 |title=The First Computers: History and Architectures|page=292 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDWPW9uwZPAC&q=algol-68+konrad+zuse&pg=PA292 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-68137-7 |access-date=25 October 2013 }}</ref> but was itself implemented only in 1975 in a dissertation by Joachim Hohmann.<ref>Joachim Hohmann: ''Der Plankalkül im Vergleich mit algorithmischen Sprachen''. Reihe Informatik und Operations Research, S. Toeche-Mittler Verlag, Darmstadt 1979, {{ISBN|3-87820-028-5}}.</ref> [[Heinz Rutishauser]], one of the inventors of [[ALGOL]], wrote: "The very first attempt to devise an [[algorithm]]ic language was undertaken in 1948 by K. Zuse. His notation was quite general, but the proposal never attained the consideration it deserved." Further implementations followed in 1998 and then in 2000 by a team from the [[Free University of Berlin]]. [[Donald Knuth]] suggested a [[thought experiment]]: What might have happened had the bombing not taken place, and had the PhD thesis accordingly been published as planned?<ref name=knuthpardo/>{{relevant|reason=A thought "experiment" is presented, but no relevant result or conclusion. This is of no greater interest than any other arbitrary "what if" question. |date=May 2025}}

[[File:Zuse Z64 Graphomat.jpg|alt=Z64 Graphomat plotter|thumb|Z64 Graphomat plotter]]
In 1956, Zuse began to work on a high precision, large format [[plotter]]. It was demonstrated at the 1961 [[Hanover Fair]],<ref name=HorstZuse>{{cite web|url=http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/z64.html|title=Graphomat Z64 (in German)|website=www.zuse.de}}</ref> and became well known also outside of the technical world thanks to [[Frieder Nake]]'s pioneering computer art work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heikewerner.com/nake_en.html|title=Pioneer Work: Frieder Nake|website=www.heikewerner.com}}</ref> Other plotters designed by Zuse include the ZUSE Z90 and ZUSE Z9004.<ref name=HorstZuse/>

[[File:Digitalteilchen.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|An elementary process in Zuse's Calculating Space: Two digital particles A and B form a new digital particle C.<ref>[ftp://ftp.idsia.ch/pub/juergen/zuse67scan.pdf ''Rechnender Raum''] (PDF), Elektronische Datenverarbeitung, 8: 336–344, 1967.</ref>]]
In 1967, Zuse suggested that the [[universe]] itself is running on a [[cellular automaton]] or similar computational structure ([[digital physics]]); in 1969, he published the book {{lang|de|Rechnender Raum}} (translated into English as ''[[Calculating Space]]'').<ref name="Zuse_1967_RR"/><ref name="Zuse_1969_RR"/><ref name="MIT_1970_RR"/>

{{anchor|Helixturm}}Between 1989 and 1995, Zuse conceptualized and created a purely mechanical, extensible, modular tower automaton he named "helix tower" ({{lang|de|"Helixturm"}}). The structure is based on a gear drive that employs rotary motion (e.g. provided by a crank) to assemble modular components from a storage space, elevating a tube-shaped tower; the process is reversible, and inverting the input direction will deconstruct the tower and store the components. In 2009, the {{lang|de|italic=no|[[Deutsches Museum]]}} restored Zuse's original 1:30 functional model that can be extended to a height of 2.7&nbsp;m.<ref name="DM_2015"/> Zuse intended the full construction to reach a height of 120&nbsp;m, and envisioned it for use with wind power generators and radio transmission installations.<ref name="Eibisch_2009"/><ref name="Bock-Eibisch_2010"/><ref name="Böttiger_2011"/><ref name="Eibisch_2016"/>

Between 1987 and 1989, Zuse recreated the Z1, suffering a heart attack midway through the project. It cost 800,000&nbsp;[[Deutsche Mark|DM]] (approximately $500,000) and required four individuals (including Zuse) to assemble it. Funding for this [[retrocomputing]] project was provided by [[Siemens]] and a consortium of five companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rojas |first=Paul |date=August 2015 |title=Reconstruction of the Z1 Computer |url=https://dcmlr.inf.fu-berlin.de/rojas/index.html%3Fp=567.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015074346/https://dcmlr.inf.fu-berlin.de/rojas/index.html%3Fp=567.html |archive-date=15 October 2023 |website=Paul Rojas, Professor of Artificial Intelligence}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Konrad Zuse Denkmal im Huenfelder Stadtpark.JPG|thumb|upright|Zuse Memorial in [[Hünfeld]], Hesse]]
Konrad Zuse married Gisela Brandes in January 1945, employing a carriage, himself dressed in tailcoat and top hat and with Gisela in a wedding veil, for Zuse attached importance to a "noble ceremony". Their son [[Horst Zuse|Horst]], the first of five children, was born in November 1945.

While Zuse never became a member of the [[Nazi Party]], he is not known to have expressed any doubts or qualms about working for the Nazi war effort. Much later, he suggested that in modern times, the best scientists and engineers usually have to choose between either doing their work for more or less questionable business and military interests in a [[Deal with the Devil|Faustian bargain]], or not pursuing their line of work at all.<ref name="Zuse_1984"/>

After Zuse retired, he focused on his hobby of painting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history-computer.com/konrad-zuse-biography-history-and-inventions/|title=Konrad Zuse – Biography, History and Inventions|date=4 January 2021 |publisher=History Computer|access-date=4 February 2021}}</ref> He signed his paintings as "Kuno [von und zu] See".

Zuse was an [[Atheism|atheist]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer|date=2010|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-385-52713-2|author=Jane Smiley|quote=Like Alan Turing, Zuse was educated in a system that focused on a child's emotional and philosophical life as well as his intellectual life, and at the end of school, like Turing, Zuse found himself to be something of an outsider—to the disappointment of his very conventional parents, he no longer believed in God or religion.|url=https://archive.org/details/manwhoinventedco00smil_0}}</ref><ref name="Zuse_1993"/>{{rp|pages=12–13}}

Zuse died on 18 December 1995 in [[Hünfeld]], Hesse (near [[Fulda]]) from heart failure.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-konrad-zuse-1526795.html|title=OBITUARY : Konrad Zuse|author=Martin Campbell-Kelly|date=21 December 1995|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==
[[File:Zuse Z31.jpg|right|thumb|[[Magnetic drum]] storage inside a Z31 (which was first displayed in 1963)]]
Zuse received several awards for his work:
* ''[[Werner von Siemens Ring]]'' in 1964 (together with [[Fritz Leonhardt]] and [[Walter Schottky]])<ref name=LeeVTedu>{{cite web |url=http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Zuse.html |title=Konrad Zuse |last=Lee |first=J. A. N. |date=30 September 2004 |website=ei.cs.vt.edu |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215061037/https://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Zuse.html |archive-date=15 December 2022 }}</ref>
* ''[[Harry H. Goode Memorial Award]]'' in 1965 (together with [[George Stibitz]])
* [[Wilhelm Exner Medal]] in 1969.<ref name="Editor 2015"/>
* ''[[Bundesverdienstkreuz]]'' in 1972 – ''Great Cross of Merit''
* ''[[Computer History Museum]] Fellow Award'' in 1999 "for his invention of the first program-controlled, electromechanical, digital computer and the first high-level programming language, [[Plankalkül]]."<ref name=CHM1999>{{cite web |url=https://computerhistory.org/profile/konrad-zuse/ |title=Konrad Zuse: 1999 Fellow |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=computerhistory.org |publisher=Computer History Museum |access-date= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703013338/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Konrad,Zuse/ |archive-date=3 July 2012 |quote=}}</ref>

The [[Zuse Institute Berlin]] is named in his honour.

The [[Konrad Zuse Medal]] of the [[Gesellschaft für Informatik]], and the Konrad Zuse Medal of the Zentralverband des Deutschen Baugewerbes (Central Association of German Construction), are both named after Zuse.

A replica of the Z3, as well as the original Z4, is in the [[Deutsches Museum]] in Munich. The {{lang|de|[[Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin|Deutsches Technikmuseum]]}} in [[Berlin]] has an exhibition devoted to Zuse, displaying twelve of his machines, including a replica of the [[Z1 (computer)|Z1]] and several of Zuse's paintings.

The 100th anniversary of his birth was celebrated by exhibitions, lectures and workshops.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/horst-zuse-zuse-jahr-2010-html/english/index.html|title=Zuse-Jahr 2010|first=Irene|last=Zwernemann-Blech|website=www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de}}</ref><ref>[http://www.sdtb.de/Medieninfo-Zuse-Jahr-2010-zum-100-Geburtstag-d.1642.0.html Zuse-Jahr 2010 – zum 100. Geburtstag des Computerpioniers Konrad Zuse] Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, 19 April 2010 {{in lang|de}}</ref>

== See also ==

* {{anl|John Vincent Atanasoff}}
* {{anl|List of German inventors and discoverers}}
* {{anl|Reverse Polish notation}}
* {{anl|Self-replicating machine}}
* {{anl|Z5 (computer)}}
* {{anl|Z23 (computer)}}
* {{anl|Z25 (computer)}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Zuse_1967_RR">{{cite journal |title=Rechnender Raum |language=de |author-last=Zuse |author-first=Konrad |author-link=Konrad Zuse |location=Bad Hersfeld, Germany |date=1967 |journal=Elektronische Datenverarbeitung |volume=8 |pages=336–344 |url=ftp://ftp.idsia.ch/pub/juergen/zuse67scan.pdf |access-date=2 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618062108/ftp://ftp.idsia.ch/pub/juergen/zuse67scan.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2020}} (9 pages)</ref>
<ref name="Zuse_1969_RR">{{cite book |author-last=Zuse |author-first=Konrad |author-link=Konrad Zuse |date=1969 |title=Rechnender Raum |language=de |trans-title=Calculating Space |publication-place=Braunschweig, Germany |publisher=[[Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn]] |series=Schriften zur Datenverarbeitung |volume=1 |isbn=3-528-09609-8}} (70+4 pages)</ref>
<ref name="MIT_1970_RR">{{cite web |title=Calculating Space - Translation of: Rechnender Raum |series=MIT Technical Translation |id=AZT-70-164-GEMIT (Project MAC) |author-last=Zuse |author-first=Konrad |author-link=Konrad Zuse |translator=Aztec School of Languages, Inc. |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |date=February 1970 |publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] |url=ftp://ftp.idsia.ch/pub/juergen/zuserechnenderraum.pdf |access-date=25 March 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325103231/ftp://ftp.idsia.ch/pub/juergen/zuserechnenderraum.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2020}} (98 pages); {{cite book |chapter=Konrad Zuse's Rechnender Raum (Calculating Space) |language=en |title=A Computable Universe: Understanding & Exploring Nature as Computation |publisher=[[World Scientific]] |author-last=Zuse |author-first=Konrad |author-link=Konrad Zuse |editor-first1=Adrian |editor-last1=German |editor-first2=Hector |editor-last2=Zenil |edition=re-edition in [[LaTeX]] with permission of [[MIT]] and Zuse's family |date=2012 |chapter-url=http://www.mathrix.org/zenil/ZuseCalculatingSpace-GermanZenil.pdf |access-date=2 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521084904/http://www.mathrix.org/zenil/ZuseCalculatingSpace-GermanZenil.pdf |archive-date=21 May 2022}} (69 pages)</ref>
<ref name="DM_2015">{{cite web |title=Automata and punched card machines: Helix tower |publisher=[[Deutsches Museum]] |date=2015 |url=https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/communication/computers/automata/ |access-date=13 February 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506132905/http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/communication/computers/automata/ |archive-date=6 May 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="Eibisch_2009">{{cite book |title=Der Helixturm von Konrad Zuse – Analyse, Dokumentation und Instandsetzung eines höhenverstellbaren Turmmodells, 1989 bis 1995, im Deutschen Museum in München |language=de |author-first=Nora |author-last=Eibisch |date=2009 |type=Thesis |publisher=Lehrstuhl für Restaurierung, Kunsttechnologie und Konservierungswissenschaft, Technische Universität München (TUM) |publication-place=Munich, Germany |url=https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/doc/1597303/m5w9urp8te3mw8fs7srye8ndy.Eibisch_Helixturm_Dipl-Arb-TUM_2009.pdf |access-date=2 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802204043/https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/doc/1597303/m5w9urp8te3mw8fs7srye8ndy.Eibisch_Helixturm_Dipl-Arb-TUM_2009.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2022}} (10+105 pages, 50+28+9 pages appendices, 2 DVDs)</ref>
<ref name="Bock-Eibisch_2010">{{cite conference |author-last1=Bock |author-first1=Thomas |author-link1=:de:Thomas Bock (Architekt) |author-last2=Eibisch |author-first2=Nora |date=2010 |title=The helix tower by Konrad Zuse: Automated con- and deconstruction |conference=27th International Symposion on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC) |location=Bratislava |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas-Bock-7/publication/320405140_The_Helix-Tower_by_Konrad_Zuse_Automated_Con-_and_Deconstruction/links/5a12fcfc4585158aa3e1cb23/The-Helix-Tower-by-Konrad-Zuse-Automated-Con-and-Deconstruction.pdf<!-- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266466169 --> |access-date=2 August 2022 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref>
<ref name="Spode_1994">{{cite book |title=Der Computer – eine Erfindung aus Kreuzberg, Methfesselstraße 10/Oranienstraße 6 |language=de |author-first=Hasso |author-last=Spode |author-link=Hasso Spode |series=Geschichtslandschaft Berlin: Orte und Ereignisse (5 volumes) |editor-first1=Helmut |editor-last1=Engel |editor-first2=Stefi |editor-last2=Jersch-Wenzel |editor-first3=Wilhelm |editor-last3=Treue |volume=5: Kreuzberg |location=Berlin, Germany |publisher=Nicolai |date=1994 |pages=418–429 |isbn=3-87584-474-2}}</ref>
<ref name="Selig_2011">{{cite web |title=Bomber über Kreuzberg |language=de |author-first=Bernd |author-last=Selig |work=Kreuzberger Chronik |date=October 2011 |issue=131 |publisher=Außenseiter Verlag |location=Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany |url=http://www.kreuzberger-chronik.de/chroniken/2011/oktober/geschichten.html |access-date=3 August 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803203927/https://www.kreuzberger-chronik.de/chroniken/2011/oktober/geschichten.html |archive-date=3 August 2022}}</ref>
<ref name="Zuse_1984">{{cite book |title=Der Computer – Mein Lebenswerk |language=de |trans-title=The Computer, My Life's Work |author-first=Konrad |author-last=Zuse |author-link=Konrad Zuse |date=1984 |edition=1 |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=3-540-56292-3 |page=X}}</ref>
<ref name="Zuse_1993">{{cite book |title=The Computer, My Life |author-first=Konrad |author-last=Zuse |author-link=Konrad Zuse |editor-last=Wössner |editor-first=Hans |date=1993 |publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]] |publication-place=Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany |isbn=978-3-540-56453-9<!-- {{ISBN|0-387-56453-5}} --> |pages=12–13, 75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ro5JOskbChAC&q=konrad+zuse,+z4&pg=PA75 |quote-pages=12–13 |quote=The only problem was that the progressive spirit at our school did not always correspond to my parents' ideas. This was particularly true for religious instruction, which now and again seemed even to us pupils to be rather too enlightened. After the 'Abitur' my parents wanted to go to communion with me; it was a terrible disappointment to them when I wouldn't go. They had lived under the illusion that I was a good student when it came to religion, too, which wasn't the case. […] I remember a poem presented by a student, which made a great impression on me. The essence of the poem read, "Basically, you are always alone". I have forgotten the name of the poet, but have often experienced the truth of these words in later life.}}</ref>
<ref name="Eibisch_2016">{{cite book |title=Selbstreproduzierende Maschinen: Konrad Zuses Montagestraße SRS 72 und ihr Kontext |language=de |location=Mountain View, California, USA |publication-place=Wiesbaden, Germany |author-first=Nora |author-last=Eibisch |publisher=[[Springer Vieweg]] / [[Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH]] |series=Research |date=2016 |type=Thesis |isbn=978-3-658-12941-5 |doi=10.1007/978-3-658-12942-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nluhCwAAQBAJ}} (272+4 pages)</ref>
<ref name="Böttiger_2011">{{cite book |title=Konrad Zuse: Erfinder, Unternehmer, Philosoph und Künstler |language=de |chapter=Der Philosoph - Die technische Keimzelle |author-first=Helmut |author-last=Böttiger |author-link=:de:Helmut Böttiger (Autor, 1940) |editor-first=Adolf |editor-last=Rabenseifner |date=26 October 2011 |edition=1 |isbn=978-3-86568-743-2 |publisher=[[Michael Imhof Verlag]] |location=Petersberg, Germany |pages=69–75 [70–71]}} (128 pages)</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* Zuse, Konrad. Direction-bound engraving tool with program control. U.S. Patent 3163936
* U.S. Patents 3234819; 3306128; 3408483; 3356852; 3316442
* Jürgen Alex, Hermann Flessner, Wilhelm Mons, Horst Zuse: ''Konrad Zuse: Der Vater des Computers''. Parzeller, Fulda 2000, {{ISBN|3-7900-0317-4}}
* Raul Rojas (ed.): ''Die Rechenmaschinen von Konrad Zuse''. Springer, Berlin 1998, {{ISBN|3-540-63461-4}}.
* Wilhelm Füßl (ed.): ''100 Jahre Konrad Zuse. Einblicke in den Nachlass'', München 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-940396-14-3}}.
* Jürgen Alex: "Wege und Irrwege des Konrad Zuse." In: ''Spektrum der Wissenschaft'' (German edition of ''Scientific American'') 1/1997, {{ISSN|0170-2971}}.
* Hadwig Dorsch: ''Der erste Computer. Konrad Zuses Z1 – Berlin 1936. Beginn und Entwicklung einer technischen Revolution''. Mit Beiträgen von Konrad Zuse und Otto Lührs. Museum für Verkehr und Technik, Berlin 1989.
* Clemens Kieser: "'Ich bin zu faul zum Rechnen': Konrad Zuses Computer Z22 im Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe." In: ''Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg'', 4/34/2005, Esslingen am Neckar, S. 180–184, {{ISSN|0342-0027}}.
* Mario G. Losano (ed.), ''Zuse. L'elaboratore nasce in Europa. Un secolo di calcolo automatico'', Etas Libri, Milano 1975, pp.&nbsp;XVIII–184.
* Arno Peters: ''Was ist und wie verwirklicht sich Computer-Sozialismus: Gespräche mit Konrad Zuse''. Verlag Neues Leben, Berlin 2000, {{ISBN|3-355-01510-5}}.
* Paul Janositz: Informatik und Konrad Zuse: "Der Pionier des Computerbaus in Europa – Das verkannte Genie aus Adlershof." In: ''Der Tagesspiegel'' Nr. 19127, Berlin, 9. März 2006, Beilage Seite B3.
* Jürgen Alex: ''Zum Einfluß elementarer Sätze der mathematischen Logik bei Alfred Tarski auf die drei Computerkonzepte des Konrad Zuse''. TU Chemnitz 2006.
* {{cite book |author-first=Jürgen |author-last=Alex |title=Zur Entstehung des Computers – Von Alfred Tarski zu Konrad Zuse […] – Tertium non datur |publisher=[[VDI-Verlag]] |location=Düsseldorf, Germany |date=2007 |isbn=978-3-18-150051-4 |issn=0082-2361}}
* Herbert Bruderer: [http://www.oldenbourg-verlag.de/wissenschaftsverlag/konrad-zuse-und-schweiz/9783486713664 ''Konrad Zuse und die Schweiz. Wer hat den Computer erfunden? Charles Babbage, Alan Turing und John von Neumann''] Oldenbourg Verlag, München 2012, XXVI, 224 Seiten, {{ISBN|978-3-486-71366-4}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130209080726/http://zuse.zib.de/ Konrad Zuse Internet Archive]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070610131817/http://irb.cs.tu-berlin.de/~zuse/Konrad_Zuse/en/index.html Konrad Zuse and his computers, from Technische Universität Berlin]
* [http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Zuse.html Konrad Zuse]
* [http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/zuse.html Konrad Zuse, inventor of first working programmable computer]
* [http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/digitalphysics.html Zuse's thesis of digital physics and the computable universe]
* [http://www.dtmb.de/Aktuelles/Sonderausstellungen/Zuse_Ausstellung/index.html Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601085131/https://technikmuseum.berlin/ |date=1 June 2020 }}
* [http://www.konrad-zuse-computermuseum.de/ Konrad Zuse Museum Hoyerswerda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601085129/http://www.konrad-zuse-computermuseum.de/ |date=1 June 2020}}
* Computermuseum Kiel [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725133821/http://www.museen-sh.de/ml/pi_485_0489AB_s2.html Z11]
* Computermuseum Kiel [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725133829/http://www.museen-sh.de/ml/pi_485_0488ABCDEF_s2.html Z22]
* Computermuseum Kiel {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725133850/http://www.museen-sh.de/ml/pi_485_0490ABCDEF_s2.html |date=25 July 2011 |title=Z25}}
* [http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/first-steps-lectures-from-the-dawn-of-computing/ Video lecture by Zuse discussing the history of Z1 to 4]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20210308051719/https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/exhibitions/communication/computers/films/#c31605 Video showing the model of the helix tower in action]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418164050/http://www.epemag.com/zuse/ |date=18 April 2010 |title=The Life and Work of Konrad Zuse }} – By [[Horst Zuse]] (Konrad Zuse's son); an extensive and well-written historical account
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Zuse}}

{{Konrad zuse computer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuse, Konrad}}

[[Category:Konrad Zuse| ]]
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Berlin]]
[[Category:Cellular automatists]]
[[Category:Computer designers]]
[[Category:Computer hardware engineers]]
[[Category:German atheists]]
[[Category:20th-century atheists]]
[[Category:German civil engineers]]
[[Category:German computer scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century German inventors]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:Programming language designers]]
[[Category:Technische Universität Berlin alumni]]
[[Category:Werner von Siemens Ring laureates]]
[[Category:Engineers from Berlin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cothenius Medal]]