The Name of Fritz Haber, today stands as an example for the Triumph and the failure of science in the twentieth century. He and Carl Bosch developed the industrial process for the synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and air, opened the fertilizers the way to the virtually unlimited production of Art. It backs up to today, the diet of the growing population of the earth. The Haber-Bosch process, however, is not only for “bread from air”, it is also a method, the materials, the mass production of explosives, and the European disaster of the First world war, with its millions of war dead, enabled.
His Motto, “In peace for mankind, in war for the Fatherland” was commander-in-chief to be Emperor-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin-Dahlem during the First world war unreservedly at the service of the German war leadership. The development of new and more effective explosives in the center, first of all, it soon became the centre for the development of poison gases. Commander-in-chief hoped to end the war, and the war quickly. The commander-in-chief decisively organized the first German gas attack on 22. April 1915, in front of Ypres, has not brought the hoped-for success. Although it led to a cruel and painful death of thousands of soldiers. However, when all the warring parties to Upgrade, then began a race to be the first weapon of mass destruction of humanity.
thousands of soldiers suffocated in agony
For the commander of the First world war was doubly bitter. He was not banned only as a “war criminal”, but also lost his wife Clara, and born to be always true. As the first woman, she had her doctorate at the University of Wroclaw, could not continue their scientific career but as Haber’s wife. A few days after the gas attack in Ypres, shot – broken at the selfishness of her husband, but also to the atrocities of the war that was responsible for her husband with.
As the science of life, to preserve it and improve, but also can destroy the life of Fritz Haber, the 150 years ago on 9. December, 1868, was born in Breslau, as hardly any other researcher. His outstanding scientific career began with a study of chemistry in Heidelberg and Berlin, the son of a well-to-do had begun the Jewish family against the wishes of his father. In 1891 he received his doctorate at the University of Berlin, with average marks in an examination. It was only when he moved in 1894 to the Technical University of Karlsruhe, unfolded to be a chemical Talent. As a self-taught difficult, he loss the still young field of physical chemistry and distinguished himself with studies on the thermodynamics of chemical-technical gas reactions, and gas analysis to one of the leading representatives of the young discipline. In Karlsruhe, where he had the “best years” of his life, he created the scientific foundations of the Haber-Bosch process, in which case he would in 1919, subsequently the Nobel prize in chemistry for the year 1918 was awarded.
From the sea water of the commander-in-Gold
To Berlin in 1911, joined the commander-in-chief. His scientific reputation had qualified him to take over the management of the newly founded Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute for physical chemistry and electrochemistry in Dahlem. In particular, in the years following the first world war, the Institute was a partner to an internationally recognized center of research in the border region of physics and chemistry.
commander-in-chief itself primarily dealt with the issues of reaction kinetics, as well as with the Problem, to win by means of electrochemical method of Gold from sea water: He wanted to spend the to porno Germany a burden of reparations payments. However, the gold content of the world’s oceans proved to be too low. However, there was a scientific value: the in this context developed a highly sensitive method of analysis.
In addition, distinguished himself commander-in-chief in the twenties, as one of the key representatives of the 1910 founded Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft, now the Max-Planck-society. He was one of the key figures in the rebuilding of German science after the devastation and turmoil of the First world war. He is the co-founder of the “notgemeinschaft der deutschen Wissenschaft”, which should be promoted by the organization of donations by war and Inflation in Distress of German science. The successor of the emergency Association, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the most important German research funding institution.
The Nobel prize winner was a Republican
Great merits acquired a partner, even with the resumption of international scientific relations, which were interrupted by the allied science boycott. In contrast to the majority of his colleagues, from today’s perspective, at best, the “reason Republicans”, was commander of a loyal and self-confessed supporters of the Weimar Republic.
Neither Haber’s scientific achievements, his Patriotic conduct during the First world war and his commitment to the stabilisation of German science in the postwar period were able to keep him but against the country with which he felt deeply connected, drove him finally into exile and forced. After the national socialists took over in 1933 to Power in Germany, exerzierten at Haber’s Institute as an example of their anti-Semitic expulsion policy. They dismantled the institution, and destroyed Haber’s life’s work. Haber himself was protected as the front fighter of the First world war, but asked out of self-respect in order to retirement. In the summer of 1933, the Nobel prize winners left Germany accompanied – “” from the Silence and the servile opportunism of his colleagues and fellow citizens.
Sick and on the inside was wrong of the commander-in broken in his last months of restlessly through Europe. In Basel, on the way to Palestine, where the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, had been invited, he died at 29. In January, 1934, of heart failure.
More about
Christopher Clark about the First world war, The century disaster
, Christian Schröder
The author (emer.) Historian of science at the Max-Planck-Institute for the history of science in Berlin-Dahlem. The Fritz-Haber-Institute, held on Monday, the 10. December 2018 from 14 to 18 o’clock in the Harnack-house in Berlin-Dahlem, Ihnestr. 16-20 to life, a Symposium and work of Fritz Haber.
