 After his release from an American prisoner of war camp in 1946, Dehmelt returned to his study of physics at the University of Göttingen, where he supported himself by repairing and bartering old, pre-war radio sets.He completed his master's thesis in 1948 and received his PhD in 1950, both from the University of Göttingen.He was then invited to Duke University as a postdoctoral associate, emigrating in 1952.