On 19 July 1897 Zermelo, still in Berlin, turned to Felix Klein in Göttingen for advice: Since my doctorate in October 1894 I have been an assistant to Herr Prof. Planck for almost three years at the "Institute for Theoretical Physics" here in Berlin. However, I intend to give up this position at the beginning of the winter semester in order to continue my scientific work in a smaller town and prepare myself for a possible later Habilitation in theoretical physics, mechanics, etc. at some university or technical university. At the same time I plan to complete my practical training in physics.