Je viens d'apprendre de Jean-Pierre Rivera, ce jeudi 7 mai 2015, la très triste nouvelle du décès le 2 avril 2015 du Prof. Hans Schmid. Je regrette de ne pas avoir pu venir pour son inhumation le 17 avril. Les circonstances personnelles de ma rencontre avec le Prof. Schmid était de l'ordre de l'improbable le plus total. Mais, elle réorienta profondément ma vie personnelle puis professionnelle, comme cela fut aussi le cas pour deux autres personnes, l'une aussi, et je m'étonne, d'origine tchèque et suisse pour l'autre. Après une thèse à Lyon dans des circonstances totalement iniques, scandaleuses et ignominieuses suivie d'un post-doctorat dans des conditions à peine différentes ayant failli même me faire perdre la vie, j'ai été recueilli par l'équipe du Prof. H. Schmid et le Prof. H. Schmid lui-même dans un laboratoire travaillant dans un domaine de recherche qui m'était alors totalement étranger. Et il m'a pourtant accueilli sans m'imposer aucunes contraintes, me suggérant certains sujets de recherche dans son domaine, "presque", voir totalement, abandonnés, en particulier, de E. Asher, A. Janner, de lui-même et d'autres; avec des articles papier enfouis au fond de placards presque sous la poussière. Mes surprises ont alors été grandissantes, et la première a été sa gentillesse, sa tolérance, sa compréhension; choses qui m'étaient alors totalement étrangères dans le milieu scientifique professionnel. Nous parlions peu et restions discrets mais il était toujours disponible avec une telle attention et gentillesse que je ne savais presque comment m'y prendre! Je ne l'ai connu peut-être qu'à peine plus d'un an mais, outre les aspects professionnels, c'est sa bienveillance qui me restera toujours et qui m'a été d'un vrai secours. Et malgré le peu de connaissance que j'avais de lui pendant cette courte période, son décès me peine profondément au delà de ce que j'imaginais. Toutes mes condoléances à Mme Anne-Catherine Schmid-Vischer et toute sa famille dans ces moments douloureux. Jacques L. RUBIN

I was very sad to hear that Hans Schmid had passed away. I did not know him personally but we exchanged numerous e-mail messages, when preparing our common paper on olivines. In all our correspondence there manifested his friendliness, readiness for cooperation, and a really deep knowledge of a magnificent scientists. He will be sorely missed.

Hard sad news that Hans Schmid no longer with us came up to us in Ukraine. ? has got acquainted with Hans Schmid in 1993 at the organized by him the 2nd international conference on magnetoelectric interaction phenomena in crystals (MEIPIC-2) in Ascona (Switzerland). Our train from Zurich came late at night. At the station we, research workers from B.Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering and Donetsk Institute for Physics and Engineering of NASU, were met by Hans Schmid. The conference was organized perfectly. Hans Schmid made shift to expand the idea of involvement magnetoelectric effects to different physical phenomena which, at first glance, have little in common with to the classic magnetoelectric effect, and collected a lot of known and unknown for me scientists from different countries with interesting reports. Little later Hans Schmid invited me together with several researchers from our institute to take part in the joint project. The obtained grant was substantial support us in hard 90s. Multiferroics became in point of fact the main subjects of my forthcoming researches. The next time we met at The NATO Advanced Research Workshop MEIPIC-5 in Ukraine (Sudak, Crimea) in 2003. We discussed possible experiments and he gave for our research group the phosphate crystals of cobalt and nickel, with which later we managed to get interesting results. The language barrier did not given me the opportunity to adequately discuss many issues concerning the history of scientific reaserches in Kharkiv (in particular the shooting down of Shubnikov), the Second world war and the recent events in Ukraine. But I got the impression that he was well aware with our problems and wished success our country, and in his vision of the events was a lot to do with mine. Hans Schmidt was a man who devoted most of his life in science and himself to research magnetoelectric phenomena. Indeed such a position commands respect. It is inherent by the researchers of the classical school which are now can be found very rarely. Work with Hans Schmid was a good school for us. All these years he as if was a member of our research groups. Hans Schmid was highly educated, kind and intelligent man. As I remember him, I always see his face with genuine friendly smile. a member of our research groups. Hans Schmid was highly educated, kind and intelligent man. As I remember him, I always see his face with genuine friendly good smile. All who knew Hans Schmid and whom I was able to send this sorrowful message were joined to the all the good words about him: Irina Chupis and Viktor Eremenko (co-organizers of the conference in the Crimea), Valeriy Fomin, Yuriy Kharchenko, Victor Eremenko, Andrei Yeremenko, Olga Myloslavska, Vladimir.Gnezdilov, Vladimir Kurnosov, Oleksiy Peschanskii from Kharkiv, Ritta Szymczak and Andrzej Szewczyk from Warsaw, Yuri Pashkevich, and Igor Lubczanskii from Donesk. Dear Anna-Katherine, kith and friends of Hans Schmid, we grieve with you. Please accept our sincere condolences. Mykola Kharchenko

Es hat mich sehr betrübt zu erfahren, daß Hans Schmid nicht mehr unter uns Lebenden weilt. In meiner persönlichen Erinnerung nimmt meine Zeit in der Gruppe von Hans 1978 - 1984 eine wichtige Stellung ein. Nicht nur durfte ich sehr viel von ihm lernen, sondern er hat mir auch die Freiheit gelassen, meinen eigenen wissenschaftlichen Weg zu verfolgen. Dafür werde ich ihm ewig dankbar sein. Hans war ein großer Wissenschaftler und ein guter Mensch. Als solcher wird er in meiner - und ich bin sicher, nicht nur in meiner - Erinnerung bleiben. Möge er in Frieden ruhen. Mein Mitgefühl gilt Anne-Catherine und der ganzen Familie.

It is a really sad news. Hans was a great scientist and a very nice, gentle and modest person. He helped me a lot at the very beginning of my career. His advices, encouragement and support were so important for me and I will be forever obliged to him for his generosity and kindness.

I was very sad to hear that Hans Schmid had passed away. He was a magnificent scientist and an even better gentleman. He will be sorely missed. I didn't know him well, but I shared a taxi ride with him after a transport strike in France had put pressure on delegates getting to various airports at the end of a conference. I was a little star-struck at meeting him for the first time, was embarrassed that I had missed his plenary talk and probably babbled nonsense at him for 30 minutes. I did, however, learn more about Bismuth Ferrite than I had learned previously in months of reading literature. Four years later, I needed to know a small detail about the boracite mineral family and decided that there would be noone better to contact than Hans Schmid. I sent him an email and introduced myself afresh, assuming that he wouldn't have remembered me - he must have met so many minor scientists only fleetingly during his time as a world renowned authority. I should have known better - he sent me an email back telling me (telling me !!) that we had met before when we had to share a taxi in Bordeaux and that we'd had a pleasant discussion on Bismuth Ferrite. Wow - what humbling attention and care.

He was a true gentleman, and a superb scientist. His scientific legacy lives on, and many of us will continue along the path that he started with his seminal research on multiferroic crystals.

Permettez-moi de vous accompagner dans ce temps de tristesse. Soyez certain qu'il est present dans la mémoire de tous ceux qui ont partagé avec lui sa passion pour la recherche.

Toutes nos pensées vers vous sont tournées pour vous apporter un peu de réconfort dans l'épreuve que vous vivez. Sachez que dans le deuil vous n'êtes pas seuls puisque vous pouvez compter sur notre sincère amitié. Veuillez accepter nos plus sincères condoléances.