From ALAN WELLS
The title of your article suggests that the German nuclear scientists
were peaceniks, whereas the evidence seems to contradict this: Heisenberg’s
assertion that wartime conditions in Germany made a successful project impossible
is supported by Hitler’s armaments chief Albert Speer, in his book Inside
the Third Reich. Speer believed in 1942 that the project would take till
1947 (or 1945 if other projects such as V2 were scrapped). Since he authorised
a project for uranium-powered submarine motors (the ‘reactor research’ mentioned
by Heisenberg?), presumably he was convinced that this was the more ‘achievable
goal’ which could conclude the war more rapidly.
It would be interesting to know whether this ‘motor’ project was conceived
by the scientists as a red herring to keep them occupied for the duration.
Might they not, however, have believed it to be a viable tool for severing
Allied supplies, thus winning the war (for Hitler) so they could then get
on with making the bomb?
Reading Speer nevertheless suggests that Heisenberg at least may have
practised disinformation: ‘Heisenberg never gave any final answer . . .
whether a successful nuclear fission could be kept under control with absolute
certainty or might continue as a chain reaction. Hitler was plainly not
delighted with the possibility that the Earth under his rule might be transformed
into a glowing star.’ Was there any scientific reason why Heisenberg should
have acted that way when the Manhattan team clearly didn’t?
Alan Wells The Hague, Netherlands
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