Figure 1.--. |
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It is widely assumed that the Germans did not produce an atmoic bomb during World War II because they lacked the resources to devote to the project during the War. The actual reason is much more complicated. Actually tremendous resources were avaoilable to the NAZIs. Many were poorly utilized. Some claim that the leading German scientidsts led the research now a fruitless path on purpose. There is little evidence to substantiate this claim. We do know that other factors affected
the NAZI bomb program. Driving out leading physicists because they were Jews or sympathetic to the Jews deprived the NAZIs of some of the greatest minds in physics. The failure to use the sciences of captive narions and the view of nuclear physics as Jewish scince were other factors. Also Hitler was uninterested in long-term projects.
Germany in the early 20th century had the strongest scientific establishment in Europe. German scientists rotinely received the largest number of Nobel prices in scientific fields. This did ot chnge until the NAZI's seized power in 1933. After the NAZI seizure, Jewish scientists as well as anti-NAZIs their position. After 1933, America became increasingly dominate in Nobel scientific awards. Despite a decline in German scientific dominance, the NAZIs still had access to a huge scientific establishment for their weapons and armament program.
German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute demonstrated the phenomenon of nuclear fission. Lise Meitner (1878-1968), an eminent scientist who became famous working at the neutron bombardment experiments with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann (who both got the Nobel prize for physics, while Meitner did not). Meitner who was Jewish remained in Germany with her work until it was difficult to emigrate, but with the help of deiends did manage to escape. NAZI Germany had an aggressive military weapons. This discovery by German physicists raised the possibility of a NAZI German nuclear weapons program. This terrified the European scientists that knew Fascism first hand. The Luftwaffe was already the being used to terrify Europe. The consequences of a NAZI Germany armed with nuclear weapons was too terrifying to imagine. One of the ironies of history was that militarily, Hiltler was obsessed with giantism, he wanted the largest tanks, battleships, artillery, and other weapons that could be built. Yet he rejected a major effort to build the largest bomb, in part because he considered nuclear physics "Jewish science" and drove from Germany the very people that could have built him the ultimate weapon.
The NAZI campaign against Jews culminated in Kristallnacht, an brutal explosion of violence against Jews in Germany. Before Kristallnacht, the NAZIs had killed Jews in concetration camps and prisons behind closed doors. On Kristalnacht Jews were attacked and killed openly on the street or in their homes. There intentions cold no longer be doubted. The consequences for the atomic bomb project that among leading pysicists were many Jews or anti-NAZIs. These men recognized the true nature of the NAZI regime more than others the potential danger of a NAZI atomic bomb. After Kristallnacht, even men who might have had moral quams about building an atomic bomb, were prepared to do virtually anything to stop the NAZIs.
NAZI Germany in the first years of the War seemed unstopable. Hitler launches World War II with the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The initial operations were dazzling successes for the Whermacht and Luftwaffe. Poland was smashed in a few weeks (1939). After Denmark, Norway was seized in a daring operation (1940), providing the Germany Kriegsmarine bases that greatly enhanced their operations. Then the stunning offensive in the West seized not only the low countries--but France. The French Army was the bulwark of the Allies war effot and was desimated by the Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht in weeks (1940). The Wehrmacht next lauched a stunning attack on Yugoslavia and Greece (1941). Then Hitler launched the operation he had dreamed of for years, the invasiobn of the Soviet Union which at first appeared to be a huge success.
The Germans initially had some advantages in the race to build an atomic bomb and through 1941 led in the race. The invasion of Norwayi 1940 gave them possession to heavy water plants. They had access to uranium ore. The Germans also posessed a nearly completed cyclotron. Germany despite 10 years of NAZI rule still possessed capable scientists and engineers and what many believed was the world's most important chemical
engineering industry.
There were many factors that doomed the German atomic bomb program. The major factor was that building an atomic was an enormous undertaking requiring the massive allocation of resources. Germany never alocated the needed resources. There were several reasons for this. Perhaps the two greatest were the success in the early years of the War which led the Germans to believe that they were going to win the War without major economic sacrifices or expensive new weapon systems. Also Hitler was never convinced that the atomic bomb was a practical weapon. An important NAZI scientist (Lenard) argued that
nuclear/Einsteinian theory was degenerate "Jewish science" which helped to deny nucear science the huge allocation of reources that would havevbeen needed to build a bomb. Jews were an especially important component of the German physics community. In fact Auto Hahn who won a Nobel Prize had a Jewish woman as a colleague, but because of the NAZIs down played her role. She eventually had to flee the country. The NAZIs thus seriously weakened Germany's abiliy to build a bomb. There were as was common in NAZI Germany, serious internal beaureaucratic struggles.
It should be remembered that the American Manhatten Project was an international effort, including not only American and British scientists, but scientists from countries overrun by the NAZIs. [Rhodes] The NAZIs controlled almost all of Europe. This gave them a trenendous industrial and scientific base. The NAZIsfailed, however, to not only use this potential, but did not fully use even Germany's potential until Speer took over control of thececonomy late in the War. The NAZIs did use Czechoslovakia, but while other occupied countries were exploited, they were not used anywherevnear their full capacity. French factories run, for example at only a small fraction of their capacity. The same was true of the scietific community. Neils Bohrs institute in Denmark was not used in the nuclear program. Nor do we know of any effort to use French scientists. Even scientists in Germany's ally Italy werevnot used. American agents contacted Italian nuclear phusicists after the liberation of Rome. Edoardo Amaldi who had worked with Fermi before the War informed them that Heisenberg made no effort to cintact him or other Italian pysicists. He said that he and his colleagues were determined not to work on nuclear fusion and went into hiding after Italy declared war (June 1940). They found , however, that neither the Italian police or the Gestapo were at all interested in them. It is unclear why the Germans did not attempt to conceipt foreign scientists. It may have been Hitler's view of the nuclear project limitedc their resorces. We suspect that the NAZI mind-set did not appreciate the importance of foreign scientists. There may have also been security concerns. What ever the reasons, this significantly limited the German project, especially because the NAZIs had previously depleted Germany's scientific capability by ostricizing Jewish scientists.
Many argue that NAZI Germany simply did not have the resources to wage World War II and build the atomic bomb. This is patently incorrect. The NAZIs devoted enormous resources to a variety of weapns projects. The V-weapon program was one such project. [Overy] It also had to be remembered that after the fall of France in 1940, the NAZIs had the resources of almost all of Western Europe at their disposal. The industrial resources rivaled those of the United States. It was not industrial resources that impaired the NAZIs, but rather the poor utilization of the Germany's industrial and scientific base> The scientific-industrial base available to the NAZIs was significantly expanded by their war-time agressons. The combined scientific and industrial capacity of Belgium, Denmark, France, and the Netherlands was substantial, especially when combined with that of the Reich and Italy. While the NAZIs did utilize the output of industries in those countries, there appears to have been no effort to utilize the scientic establishment in those countries. Here we are unsure as to why the Germans did bot more efficently utilize the potential. The NAZI belief in German superiority was one factor. The belieft that they had essentially won the War until the reverses in the East was another factor. The probably legitimate concern with loyalty was another factor. Not only were the industries of some countries like France poorly incorporated into the NAZI war effort, but the Germans made serious mistakes as to the weapons systems which were allocated resources. The NAZIs after their early successes did not believe that radically new weaoons were needed. When it became clear by1943 that this was not the case, only projects which offered short term results were persued as German resources were shrinking.
Some claim that the chief theoretical physicist (Heisenberg) deliberately persued unproductive directions to prevent the NAZIs from building an atomic bomb. [Powers] This is intensely debated by historians. [Pais] Heisenberg visited noted Danish phyicist Niels Bohr in occupied Denmark (September 1941). This is perhaps the most disputed scientific meeting in history. Bohr and Heisenberg have very different accounts of their meeting. Heisenberg after the War maintained his purpose was to broker a deal between scientists on both sides not to persuecan atomic bomb. Bohr strongly disputes this. Given that the NAZIs were not actively persuing a bomb, many contend that Heisenberg's purpose was espionage. [Corwell] Bohr excaped from Denmark to Sweden (August 1943), and subsequently to London, and on to Los Alamos. An important scientic error also impeded progress.
Not only did Hitler allocate limited resources to the German atomic bomb project, but the program was not coordinated. Heisenberg's group was not the only group working on nuclear weapons. The German Post Office opf all groups also has a nuclear project.
As the War began to turn against Germany, resources became more difficult to obtain and the bomb project required a massive industrial effort. In addition, the allied bombing campaign further complicating any important industrial project. The Allies after the War arrested nine leading German nuclear scientists.
Germany was no where near developing a fission werapon. This does not mean they they did not develop a nuclear weapon. The Germans do appear to have developed a fdirty bomb which does not involve a sophisticated undertaking. Here we do not yet have complete details. We do not know if a dirty bomb was actually assembled and if not why. Nor do we know why it was not used. We do know that the Germans had wprked out the basic principle. The Germans after the War may have hidden their work on a dirty bomb.
We know that they had conceived of the weapon because of the U-234. Germany transferred considerable weapons technology to Japan. Once the War began because of the Royal Navy and later the U.S. Navy's control of the Atlantic this had to be done mostly by U-boat. The U-234 was dispacted to Japan with a cargo of German high-tech equipment (April 1945). The cargo included air defense radars and jet engine equioment as well as German technical experts. In addition there were 50 lead canisters containing Uranium oxide marked "For the Japanese Army". There is very limited cargo space aboard a U-boat. This only items of the highest priority would have been loaded. The only pupose for the uranium oxide given the state of Japanese nuclear research would have been a dirty bomb. Also aboard were two Japanese officers. The U-234 was informed of Hitler's suicide (May 1). Naval Highcommand ordered all German submarines to observe a ceasefire (May 4). The order to surrender was then givem (May 8). The captain of the U-234 at this time arrested the Japanese officers who sibsequently attempted suiside with sleeping pills. The German officers then discussed if they should surrender or proceed to Japan. They decide to surrender and to kill the Japanese who had botched their suiside attempt. This meant that they could not talk to the Americans about the purpose of the uranium oxide. Their bodies were discaded at sea. The captain then contacted naval authjorities in Halifax to arrange a surrender. Finally he decided to surrender to the Americans. The USS Sumter then escorted the U-234 to Portsmouth. The U-234 was interned at Portsmouth (May 19). Ther the Americans learned for the first time that radio-active uranium oxide was aboard. What the Americans did not know was if other U-boats had gotten through to Japan with uranium an nuclear technology. This may have incfluenced the subsequent American decession to use the bomb on Japan.
The NAZI campaign against the Jews began almost as soon as Hitler seized power in Germany. Even respected sientists were quickly dismissed from positions at universites and research institutes. Many of these individuals were able to emmigrte and take up their carrers America, France, and Britain. This significantly increased the pool of talented sientists available tothe American atomic bomb program. Some of the best known were Hans Bethe (Alsatian-German Jew), Albert Einstein (German Jew), Enrico Fermi (Italian with Jewish wife), Lise Meitner (Austrian Jew), Leo Szilard (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), Edward Teller (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), and Eugene Wigner (Hungarian Jew working in Germany). Some like Bethe did not look on himself as a Jew. Some authors believe that the dismissal of competent scientists and appointment of Party hacks was a major reason in the failure of the German bomb program. [Walker] Many of these nuclear scientists emmigrated early in the NAZI era when the NAZIs were primarily concerned with dismissing Jews from universities and other official positions. Fremi came much later and managed to escape with his wife when he was allowed to go to Sweden to accept a Nobel Prize. Lise Meitner (1878-1968), escaped to Sweden just before the War with the help of Niels Bohr (another Nobel laureate). She later continued to work in the United States.
History is full of unintended conseuence. The Jews were essentially an easy target for Hitler and his NAZI thugs. Few expected retribution for their actions against the Jews. There were indeed few adverse domestic consequences. In fact the NAZIs probably gained upport for these actions from anti-Semites as well as those who benefitted from the jobs opened up and the property seized. The NAZI anti-Semetic campaign not only helped President Roosevelt build support for his policies opposing the NAZIs, but help with providing the United States scientific talent which help build the atomic bomb. If the NAZIs had not surrendered in May 1945, the atomic bomb could have been used on Germany.
The American Manhattan Program was the largest weapons development program in history. General Leslie R. Groves (1896-1970), Deputy Chief of Construction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was assigned to oversee the project. The Manhattan Project us named after the New York borough where the first office headquarters was located and began June 1942. Groves had just completed another rush project, the construction of the Pentagon. He considered himself an astute judge of men and chose Robert J. Oppenheimer (1904-1967) to lead the scientific team. Oppenhimer was a respected, but reatively unknown theoretical physicist. Oppenhimer's politics are a matter of extensive debate. It is know that as a Jew, he despised the NAZIs and the attrocities against European Jews.
Corwell, John. Hitler's Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil's Pact (Viking, 2004), 535p.
Goudsmit, Samuel. ALSOS (1947).
Klotz, Irving M. "Captives of Their Fantasies: The German Atomic Bomb Scientists" J. Chem. Educ. 1997 74 204.
Overy, Richard. Why the Allies Won.
Pais, Abraham. Niels Bohr's Times, in Physics, Philosophy and Polity (Oxford University Press, 1991).
Powers, Thomas. Heisenberg's War (Knopf, 1993).
Proctor, Robert.
Rhodes, Richard. The Making Of The Atomic Bomb.
Walker, Mark. "The German Atomic Bomb" from "Heisenberg, Goudsmit and the German Atomic Bomb," Physics Today (January 1990).
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