German Nuclear Program

Asking the question about Germany having a nuclear bomb, during World War Two, can be answered quite conclusively. But as the allies collected Germanies scientist after the war, it became clear the Germans were farther ahead with their nuclear research, than most of the world could believe, with two laboratories operating at the Max Plank Insitute, Berlin, and Haigerloch later on.

The official start date of Germanies nuclear research program, was Spetember 26, 1939, when Adolf Hitler sent a letter to Dr. Harteck. Dr. Esau was put incharge under the order of Hitler, to set up and run the program.

Germany also captured Norway, which was critical for producing heavy water, at Vermork. One of their first tasks was to increase the rate at which heavy water is produced, up 5000%. During the war this became a favorite target of allied bombing and commando raids. Even though it was captured, not all of the heavy water produced was accounted for.

During the war, the Germans never gave up on their nuclear research, with Hitler sending Field Marshall Erhard Milch to the Gottow laboratories near Berlin to do an inspection, in 1945, and make sure that the team of scientist, had everything that they needed, while Germany was collapsing. During the inspection, Milch only had one request, that the scientist could build a bomb big enough to destroy London or New York. At the time Hesienber said he would only need a bomb about the size of a pine apple, and that it would be possible to make a few of them by Christmas. Germany still kept pushing, even though they were defeated before they could produce the bomb.

To find out just how far these scientist have come, they were all imprisoned at a maximum security facility in England know as Farm Hall. Here the scientist’s rooms were bugged with listening devices. When the German scientist were informed of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Prof. Oppenheimer, made a remark, that the bomb they used was made in Germany, when he thought none of the guards were listening.

In the 80’s a report was found put together by German Army titled “Energy production from uranium”, which was found to be written in February 1942. It had a lot of classified material, drawing on renown physicist like Hahn, Harteck, Heisenberg and the other scientists. The report mentions how Uranium-235 could produce a bomb a million times more powerful than any other conventional bomb. The report also mentioned how with a working nuclear reactor it would be possible to make plutonium, which could also be used to make a similar weapon. The report did call for a high amount of material to reach critical mass, as compared to what the allies were able to accomplish.

A year early in 1941 a patent was submitted by Von Weizsäcker which showed how with the production of element 94, with a Uranium powered reactor. This report also mentioned how this plutonium could be used to make a bomb 10 million times stronger than an conventional weapon. He mentioned the fission process that happens when you bring plutonium into contact with a high amount of neutron in a tight space. On November 3^rd, 1941 Von Weizsäcker filed a patent titled: “Technical extraction of energy, production of neutrons, and manufacture of new elements by the fission of uranium or related heavier elements”. The report made no mention of using this science for an explosive weapon, by research there. In Spring of 1941 Heisenberg and von Weizsäcker visited Copenhagen to attend a scientific conference about nuclear science, where they were both enthusiastic and loyal to their work. During this conference, they Germans were nervous about foreign spies being there, since they knew that America was working on their on nuclear research. They knew they had to be quiet, especially about the use of this technology being used to create a bomb. The Germans at the time had already built working nuclear reactors and understood about isotope separation. Unfortunately, the Germans separated their teams, with one group working at Gottow directed by Army physicist Kurt Diebner and another group working in Leipzig that was run by Werner Heisenberg.

Both teams had different experiments, and different types of reactors that they were building. Heisenberg used alternating layers of uranium and moderator to build his nuclear experiments. The other team used a superior 3D lattice of uranium cubes embedded in moderator for their reactions. The latter of which proved to be the most successful.

Even the German scientist, didn’t share information completely with each other. This causes a lot of skepticism, and infighting in the German nuclear science field. It got so bad that scientists from Bohr’s institute accused them both of being pro Soviet spies, during the Copenhagen conference in 1941.

However, on November 10, 1944, Deibner, a scientist from Gottow, wrote a letter to Heisenberg. In the letter Deibner mentions and experiment carrier out in Hairgerloch, in southwest Germany. In the letter to Heisenberg, it is stated that even though his experiment with the Uranium cubes was successful, there were many problems with it. Later in 2002 and 2003 an industrial archeology survey was done of the test site, which found traces of radiation that was left over from a nuclear reactor. The survey concluded that the Germans might have been able to sustain a chain reaction, but only for a short period. It’s believed that this experiment ended in a nuclear accident.

After the war, an incomplete document was found, written by an unknown German or Austrian scientist, which had drawings for a supposed German nuclear bomb. While most German documents mention using Urainium for nuclear bombs, this diagram utilizes a 5kg sphere of plutonium, and a neutron reflector to reach critical mass. No other reports in German contain these types of designs, most likely out of fear of having spies steal the information.

The diagram looks as if it was a combination gun device, as the Americans made, with a plutonium core with a neutron reflector like later conventional nuclear bombs would have.

There were also reports circulating that Germans were working on the theoretics to make a hydrogen bomb. Another goal of the German high command was to also create tactical style nukes.