Preface

I came across Lise Meitner for the first time in the early 1990’s on the German TV- The first chapter of nuclear physics concludes with uranium nuclear fission. It cata- show „The End of Innocence.“ Since then, Meitner had been on my mind until three pulted mankind within a short time into the possibility of destructive omnipotence, years ago when I received an offer to make an audio book out of her story. Then which until then had been reserved for natural disasters or supernatural powers. when I found out in the course of my research that her birthplace in Vienna‘s Heine- Seen in this way, the glittering path that led to its discovery, paved with the stun- straße is only five minutes from my studio, I saw it as serendipity. ning successes of Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg and many others, becomes a fateful In this audiobook, I wanted to approach her in a context that adds essential details twist. The honorable goals of science were dimmed by human hubris. to the existing biographical knowledge of Lise Meitner. Above all, I wanted to expand the subjective-emotional approach and let the protagonists speak for themselves – Perhaps ironically, the isolation of her exile spared Lise Meitner from direct involve- not in the conversational tone of everyday life, but in the exceptional situation of ment. The theoretical interpretation of nuclear fission was, in a sense, her dowry, her life’s turning point: her escape into exile. which she was able to pass on to those who came after her, before her interpretation From then on, the written language became an umbilical cord of interpersonal com- was overwritten by further knowledge. But soon she was rediscovered: first, by the munication. At the same time, these letters almost fully document the discovery Americans who falsely celebrated her as the „mother of the bomb,“ and later by the of nuclear fission as one of the central events of the 20th century. In the back and physicists of the younger generation, who recognized in her decade-long work as forth dispatches of the winter of 1938-39, the true scope of Lise Meitner‘s author- a nuclear physicist tremendous continuity, quality, and resistance. In the end, she ship is revealed. At this point, Meitner‘s life turns from the purely private to the became the model for many – and in this audio book the center of these events. public interest.

2 The Life and work ... daughters, to benefit from the possibilities to physics. He may have thought of the theory, whom she had recently met in Vi- for educational and professional advance- many uses of applied physics in indust- enna. … of Lise Meitner have already been amply ment in the thriving metropolis of Vienna. ry and business and of the prospects for described in several biographies (inciden- They all received excellent educational op- his daughter to find a position that would Berlin tally, all of them written by women). They portunities and were allowed to choose for enable her to lead an independent and ful- draw a vivid picture of her personality as themselves their main interests of study. filling life. Planck was skeptical at first. He was op- well as of her work. posed to free university access for women Well aware of the focus of these books, I Lise‘s passion came to light early on: she Yet Lise‘s passion lay more in the direction and he exclaimed to Meitner: „You alrea- limited the scope of this audiobook to the was fascinated by mathematical and sci- of pure research. dy have a doctorate!“ – nevertheless, she most important biographical information entific phenomena and by questions de- persisted. This ambition coupled with her and to the milestones of her career within scribed in the books of her father‘s library. At the time, physics was facing a major obvious giftedness impressed Planck so the scientific world, honing in on the emo- She immersed herself in her own obser- upheaval. It had only been a short while much that he eventually hired her as his tions brought about by this distinct period vations until late at night, trying to find since Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen had disco- assistant and even gave her permission to of time from 1938-1945. her own solutions. To her it was clear that vered x-ray imaging, and people were ama- attend lectures and work in the labs. Still, she wanted to become a scientist. To fol- zed by this sudden ability to see through she was only allowed to enter through the low this path, however, she first had to the human body. Soon afterwards, Henri back door . Vienna complete the compulsory school for girls Becquerel in Paris identified the element and teacher training. Only at that point uranium as the cause of further types of At about the same time, a young chemist would she be able to register for the ge- radiation. Marie and Pierre Curie, the wife Lise Meitner was born on November 7th, by the name of Otto Hahn, a few months neral university entrance exam. At the and husband research couple, succeeded in 1878, the third child of a liberal Jewish younger than Meitner, approached Planck end of the nineteenth century, this was endless test series to provide an exact de- home in the second district of Vienna, an and asked him whether he knew of an ex- only possible for girls through self-study scription of these rays as well as their ef- area which at the time was the center of perienced physicist to work with him on his because the academic high schools of the fects. The age of radioactivity had dawned, Jewish life within the Imperial Austrian radio-chemical experiments. Planck recom- monarchy were still reserved for boys only. and Lise Meitner was confronted with it for capital and residence. Lise’s father, Philipp mended Lise Meitner, a recommendation Thus, Lise studied intensively with a priva- the first time while studying in Vienna. She Meitner, a respected lawyer with excellent that set the foundation for what would te tutor to prepare for the exam. Finally, in had already completed a number of radio- contacts within the distinguished circles of become a fruitful and long working rela- 1898, before what was, naturally, a purely physical experiments and papers when she the Viennese bourgeoisie and nobility, was tionship and friendship between Meitner male committee, she presented herself as decided, after finishing her studies and a man with an unshakable belief in the fu- and Hahn. one of over twenty external applicants to doctorate in 1906, to devote herself entire- ture and much love for his family. His wife take the Matura school-leaving exam. She ly to this new subject. In Vienna, however, Hedwig and he came from old Slovak-Mora- The two quickly meshed into a team of passed with flying colors and the door to this path seemed less promising; after an vian families and they had settled in Vien- equals, each coming from different disci- higher studies was open. Her father ad- unsuccessful application to Curie‘s institu- na, where Philipp Meitner ran a successful plines, who came together within the new vised her as to which major to choose. She te in Paris, Meitner took courage and set law firm. As progressives, Lise’s parents common field of radiation research. They initially leaned toward mathematics, but out on her own to Berlin to apply to study enabled all of their children, including their published substantial results in rapid suc- her father convinced her to devote herself under Max Planck, the founder of quantum cession, which increasingly attracted the

3 interest of experts. The First World War sent Hahn as an officer in the „poison gas battalion” to the Western Front and Meit- ner as a nurse and radiologist to the Aust- rian Eastern Front – but even this did not jeopardize their cooperation. Quite the op- posite: in 1917, Meitner and Hahn had their breakthrough as a research team with the discovery of the element Protactinium. For the first time, they were cited internatio- nally, and by the end of the First World War, they were both established as scientists. Shortly thereafter they parted as a team, but as colleagues and friends they remai- ned in very close connection until the end.

Lise Meitner’s growing reputation was re- flected above all in the fact that she was entrusted with the management of her own „Radio-physical Department“ at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute from 1917 onward, and in 1922 as the first woman professor at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Ber- lin. She had professional exchanges with the leading physicists of the time and was regarded internationally as an excellent experimental scientist and a luminary of theoretical interpretation. Many future sci- entists were students at her institute and Lise Meitner with Otto Hahn in their laboratory, 1909 she co-authored numerous publications.

The 1920‘s and early 1930‘s were Lise Meitner‘s most fertile and rewarding time.

4 Lise Meitner (front row) among colleagues at a conference in Copenhagen, 1937. (See names indicated below)

5 under the ns-regime Within these protective walls, she approa- Reich, lost all rights; she was no longer had succeeded and was safe. But she had ched her old colleague and friend Otto allowed to work, could no longer leave the lost everything. Meanwhile, „radio-physics“ had advanced Hahn in 1934 with a promising series of country, and could be imprisoned at any to „nuclear physics“ and had become a experiments. The Italian physicist Enrico time. Despite the many signs of what was separate branch. In the 1930‘s, new disco- Fermi had recently succeeded in using neu- happening, the events hit her complete- new start from veries continued, the most important of trons as projectiles for the bombardment ly unprepared, and she was forced to act. scratch which was, without a doubt, that of the of heavy elements, and Meitner wanted Not even the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute to apply this method to the production of could protect her. A secret initiative to neutron in 1932 by James Chadwick. Yet, At first, she stayed with Dirk Coster, a col- „transuranic elements“ – elements that save Lise Meitner was started. the more quickly physics approached a league and good friend, who also provided have heavier cores than uranium, which new era, the more it found itself affected her with the essentials and a little cash. at that time was the heaviest known ele- She seriously blamed herself for not ha- by political developments. In late July she flew to Sweden, where ment. Otto Hahn agreed, and the two re- ving emigrated much earlier when it was she was received by her longtime friend sumed their previous teamwork. still possible without danger. She was In Germany, Hitler was made Chancellor Eva von Bahr-Bergius, and soon after Lise forced to leave everything behind: her following the elections of January 1933. Meitner came to Stockholm to take up her They were not the only ones. Marie Curie‘s work, her friendships, and her furniture, From the start, the Nazi regime made no appointment at the Nobel Institute under daughter Irène Joliot-Curie and her hus- including books and records; she was hea- secret of its intentions to remove unwan- the direction of Manne Siegbahn. ted, and above all Jewish scientists from band Frédéric, as well as teams in England ding into an uncertain future. Otto Hahn and the USA, were feverishly searching was very committed to helping her and universities and other scientific organi- She had to be relieved to have found so- for the transuranic elements. Yet Hahn tried all available contacts to colleagues zations. Some scientists, such as Albert mething in the short term, but she was and Meitner also had, besides their sci- abroad. However, in addition to the or- Einstein, immediately left of their own in fact devastated by the working condi- entific drive, another reason for entering ganization of Meitner’s escape itself, the accord. They knew what the future had tions: the equipment was poor, and wha- into this time-consuming international bureaucratic hurdles and the employment in store. However, most of them, because tever money was available was invested competition: in full worldwide public view, opportunities for Meitner proved proble- their attachment to their homeland, mainly in large-scale technical equipment, this research represented a kind of life matic. Ultimately, a position was arranged friends, and families was too great, left not in basic research. For Meitner, it was a insurance for them and their work, since for her in the Nobel Institute of Stock- only once they were forced to resign their regression to her time as an assistant 30 both were already regarded with suspicion holm, where she would flee to via the posts and emigrate for „racial reasons.“ years earlier. She always had to ask Sieg- by the National Socialist leaders and their Netherlands. Time was pressing. bahn for materials or space to work, and omnipresent bureaucracy. Lise Meitner was also directly affected, as independent research, such as she had On the night of July 13, 1938, a friend she immediately lost her professorship at done at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, was In March 1938, a predictable but no less brought her to the railroad station, from the University. However, as an Austrian ci- not only unwanted but not possible. (does catastrophic event occurred: the indepen- where she was to take a train to Neu- tizen, she was not completely subject to this work for you? “impossible” sounds dent state of Austria was suddenly annex- Schanz on the German-Dutch border. The German legislation and could at least con- wrong here) The language was foreign ed by Germany. Thus, Meitner‘s Austrian Dutch officials had been informed, and tinue her research at the Kaiser Wilhelm to her and the cool temperament of the citizenship became irrelevant and over- the German border guards did not think of Institute. Swedes also affected her; she felt lonely, night she had, as a Jew in the German asking Lise Meitner for her passport. She 6 isolated and deprived of everything that This letter reached her in Kungälv, her ho- was important to her for a meaningful life. liday resort southwest of Stockholm, and In this situation, intensive correspondence Hahn described to her the strange test by mail was her only consolation. Above all, results, with a request to give them some she confided her sadness to Otto Hahn. He thought. Meitner was very careful in for- tried to support her as much as possible, mulating her answer two days later. On but he himself felt responsible, powerless, the one hand, she was aware of the dogma and discouraged. The international situati- that the nucleus could not be split; on the on also made it difficult for him. The next other hand, she did not want to complete- war seemed imminent – and its postpone- ly exclude the possibility of an error. When ment through Chamberlain‘s appeasement her nephew Otto Robert Frisch came to visit policy was palpably just a delay, not a per- the following day, she brooded over Hahn‘s manent solution. Thus, the ongoing experi- letter and shared her thoughts with her mental test series on the transuranic ele- nephew. On a walk together through the ments, which he undertook together with southern Swedish winter landscape, she on his assistant Fritz Strassmann, offered foot, he on skis, they discussed all the pos- both a welcome distraction from outside sibilities and concluded that, in fact, a split- pressure as well as a sense of professional ting of the nucleus MUST have taken place fulfillment. Still, these tests had not produ- – during which an incredibly large amount ced satisfactory results. of energy was released. Nuclear energy had been discovered! In the fall of 1938, the couple Joliot-Curie repeatedly published large parts of their re- Otto Hahn remained preoccupied, despite search results, but something about them the Christmas holidays. Intuitive as he was, did not seem right. Meitner was also kept he subconsciously felt close to a great disco- informed of the progress and discussions very but professionally was not yet willing or by letter. But for her, too, the actual rea- ready to perceive it rationally. Only in his let- sons for the problematic results remained ter of December 28th did he himself arrive unknown for the time being. On the ba- at the idea of a split nucleus and become sis of the research from Paris, Hahn and aware of this sensational discovery. Strassmann continued to design new series of tests, and although they proceeded with The turn of the year 1938 to 1939 is marked the utmost care, inconsistencies persisted – Lise Meitner 1938 in the night of her escape from Germany by a constant back and forth of letters until Hahn once again turned to Meitner by between Berlin and Stockholm. Hahn and letter on December 19th 1938. Strassmann soon published the results in 7 the German scientific journal Naturwis- tablished new ones. She wrote incessantly bombs a technical impossibility, but it was of their country and their culture, for the senschaften because Hahn knew that he to the whole world, to her scattered fa- even more impossible for her to imagine terror they had induced in their neighbors would no longer be able to withhold them. mily, to friends in exile, and even more to that physicists would follow the call to and, the closer the Russians approached, In any case, he was not able to name Lise those who had remained in Germany. construct such a weapon! for the extermination of Jews throughout Meitner as co-author without exposing The onset of the Second World War did not Europe. She was beside herself as she himself as a confidant and organizer of change her situation. Research on nuclear On the other side of the Atlantic, moral learned, bit by bit, what had happened her escape. fission took its own course and played no doubts such as hers had long since fallen in her beloved second home of Germany major role in Meitner‘s life from then on. victim to politics. Since F.D. Roosevelt‘s up until that moment. It was not only the Hahn also quickly realized a positive side decision to implement the Manhattan immediate loss of people who she loved effect of this discovery: it would shield Yet she was unaware what fatal momen- Project, the USA was pursuing the con- and cherished but also the loss of a whole him from attacks by the Nazi regime. He tum the discovery of fission had gathered struction of the first bombs at tremen- culture, which filled her with deep sadness was very gratified to see how the news in the meantime. In 1940, her nephew dous expense and on an industrial scale. and anger. She wrote touching letters to spread like wildfire during a US lecture Otto Robert Frisch and his colleague Ru- A host of emigrated European physicists Hahn, von Laue, and her longtime friend tour by Niels Bohr, the godfather of nuc- dolf Peierls wrote their famous memoran- stationed in the luxurious ghetto of Los Elisabeth Schiemann, but the letters also lear science – news that was always linked dum, which, in theory, proved that it was Alamos, New Mexico played a significant contained hints of reproach for how they to his name: Otto Hahn. actually possible to utilize nuclear energy role in this. On the one hand, they were could have permitted the situation to de- In the meantime, Meitner and Frisch were in explosive devices by dramatically redu- driven by the possibility of a victory over teriorate so far. Later on, the deep rifts still working on their own publication… cing the amount of critical mass of urani- the totalitarian aggressors, from whom created by this conflict could no longer um235 needed. The international race for they had escaped, and on the other, they be completely mended. For Lise Meitner In the wake of Hahn‘s article, all laborato- the construction of the atomic bomb had were simply motivated by scientific ambi- it was clear: Germany could never be her ries worldwide with available radium had begun. tion. Otto Robert Frisch also joined them home again. long since performed the necessary verifi- in 1943. cation experiments. Meitner’s and Frisch’s Otto Hahn and numerous other German publication simply arrived too late, and scientists became involved in correspon- Physically removed from the danger zone, postwar time what was worse was that for the uninitia- ding plans as well. Werner Heisenberg, the but deeply shaken emotionally, Lise Meit- ted observer, the discovery of nuclear fis- dean of the German community of phy- ner saw the end of the war approaching. Lise Meitner first discovered the news of sion was apparently not based on physics sicists, had even been appointed head of Hahn‘s letters to Meitner were becoming the two atomic bombs that were drop- but on the chemistry work of their colle- the German „Uranium Project,“ commis- more and more fatalistic. Her friend Max ped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the ague and friend, Otto Hahn. sioned by the Wehrmacht to explain the von Laue, through regular correspon- newspapers. While still in a state of utter Thus began Meitner‘s scientific exile. possibilities of constructing both a reac- dence, kept her up to date in ever clearer dismay, she immediately began receiving tor and a bomb. terms. Lise Meitner‘s fear for her friends phone calls and photographers were wai- In the meantime, Meitner slowly started and attempts to apportion blame grew ting at her door. Since she was one of the to adapt with iron equanimity to her new Lise Meitner only learned of these activi- and competed with each other. From her few professionals who were reachable at situation in Stockholm. She learned Swe- ties much later, through rumors. She still safe distance, she recognized the respon- this time – some were bound by rules of dish, deepened existing contacts, and es- considered the use of nuclear energy for sibility of the Germans for the destruction military confidentiality, others were in 8 THe Life of Lise Meitner and nuclear physics

day of Birth in Vienna 11/7/1878

finishes compulsory school for girls 1892 finishes training as 1895 Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen by chance discovers primary school teacher for French X-rays 1896 Henri Becquerel discovers radiation of Uranium in Paris 1897 J.J. Thomson detects the electron as first ele- mentary particle 1898 Marie and Pierre Curie discover radium in Paris 1900 Max Planck introduces his concept of the «Wir- kungsquantum» h (quantum of action) in Berlin of goes to successfully completes gymnasium final exams 1901 first Nobel Prize Physics W.C. Röntgen as a non-enrollee; begins studies of physics at as the University of Vienna 1903 Ernest Rutherford classifies radiation Alpha-, Beta- and gamma-rays 1905 Albert Einstein’s 3 essential papers published, among them the ( graduation in Vienna 1906 «spezielle Relativitätstheorie» special theory of relativity); moves to Berlin, begins advanced studies at Max 1907 Planck’s institute; collaboration with Otto Hahn begins discovery of the radioactive recoil («radioaktiver 1909 Rückstoß») with Hahn 1911/13 Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr develop the «planetary model of atoms», having a heavy nuc- in its begins work in the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut Berlin, leus centre First in Brussels at first as unpaid Assistant 1912 Solvay-conference

regular employment at the K.-W.-Institute 1913

1915 Einstein publishes the general theory of relati- takes part in WW I as nurse and radiologist at the 1915/16 vity Austro-Russian Eastern front head of radio-Department at the 1917 Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute discovery of the element Protactinium (with Hahn) 1918 1919 Rutherford succeeds in the first transformation of one element into another (nitrogen – oxygen) the habilitation at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-University, 1922 Wolfgang Pauli detects electron spin Berlin; first lectures external Professorship 1923 1926 wave- and quantum-mechanics established by Er- win Schrödinger, Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac

1932 James Chadwick discovers the Neutron removed from University due to her jewish origin; 1933 of established by begins experiments on the 1934 theory Transuranic elements Enrico in Transuranic elements with Hahn Fermi Rome and discover loses Austrian citizenship due to the «Anschluss»; 1938 Otto Hahn Fritz StraSSmann nuclear in escapes to Netherlands, exile in Sweden, begins fission Berlin work at the Nobel Institute in Stockholm theoretical interpretation of fission 1938/39 by (with her nephew Otto Robert Frisch) 1942 manhattan project authorized F.D.ROosevelt

8/6/1945 first atomic bomb released over Hiroshima, Japan Guest lecturer at several Universities in the USA 1946 woman of the year 1947 professor at the Royal Technical University, Stockholm 1948 Swedish citizenship (but retains Austrian) Medal Pour le Mérite in Germany 1957 opening of the Hahn-Meitner-Institut in Berlin 1959 Moves to Cambridge/UK 1960

dies in Cambridge, shortly after Otto Hahn 10/27/1968

1997 Element 109 named Meitnerium, in her honor captivity – the press rushed to her and invented all sorts of stories about her involvement in the atomic bomb. She was presented to the US public as „Mo- ther of the Bomb“ and was named „Wo- man of the Year.“ She received fan mail and numerous invitations. As a result, Meitner first set off for the US in 1946 to give lectures, receive honors and, fi- nally, to see her family members again. She also met many of her old colleagues, prompting her to make a sober state- ment:

„What a gift Germany has given to America!“

After her stay in the United States, Meitner returned to Sweden despite ongoing reservations and her painful experience in exile there. In Stockholm, as of 1947, she headed the Department of Nuclear Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology, as she had been in char- ge of a similar department in Berlin for nearly 20 years. She received Swedish citizenship and countless honors world- wide, including from Germany and her native Austria, which by then had been restored as a sovereign country.

This late recognition of her work was tedly awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in held, along with many other German Lise Meitner with science talent finalists only dampened by the Nobel Prize being Chemistry for the discovery of nuclear physicists, at the estate in Farm Hall. at the Catholic University Washington, awarded to Otto Hahn in 1946. fission. This was during his military Yet, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann D.C., 1946 Hahn learned that he would be bela- captivity in Great Britain where he was remained unmentioned.

10 This was a big blow for her. She was happy for Hahn to receive the prize, but she felt it was a gross omission by the Nobel Prize Committee (to which Manne Siegbahn also belonged) that her and Strassmann’s part received no mention. Nor could she under- stand Hahn‘s behavior; he could have at least mentioned her in his statements. It would have been easy for him to publicly rec- tify this error, but he never did. This rejection by Meitner’s peer and longtime friend, partner and colleague, Otto Hahn, also increasingly coloured her relationship to Germany, a country to which she ascribed historical neglect, repression, and guilt with no conscience.

In 1960, she left Sweden behind and moved to Cambridge, close to her beloved nephew Otto Robert. After more than fifty years of work, she withdrew from active research, but physics remained an important element in her life. She maintained extensive corres- pondence until the very end, and when she died at the age of nearly ninety on October 27th, 1968, she left a plethora of letters and copies of her own texts, having always used carbon copy paper in her typewriter. It seems as if it was important to her to pre- serve her thoughts for posterity – the right decision without which even this audiobook would not have come about.

Lise Meitner in 1960

11 Lise meitner and music Lise meitner and her role as woman

It is striking that many scientists from the late 19th and early Today, Lise Meitner is often held up as a prime example of women’s emancipation. But this picture is 20th centuries were excellent musicians. Max Planck played cello, skewed, as Meitner did not perceive herself that way. Not only was she not a feminist – she was gene- Einstein violin, Werner Heisenberg organ, and Otto Hahn was a rally suspicious of militant advocacy for any ideology. talented and passionate tenor. Lise Meitner herself played the Rather, she was a radical individualist who, beginning with her father‘s support, was afforded the possi- piano throughout her life, as did her nephew Otto Robert Frisch bility of self-realization. Yet, what she made of it is another story that has nothing to do with luck. She (even his mother, Meitner‘s sister Gusti, had been a professional made the best possible use of her opportunities, and thereby had an extraordinary career as a woman pianist and composer). The idea arises that scientific and musical among men, with whom she mostly held her own. She was respected for her achievements and stabili- work are two forms of one and the same expression of creative, ty, and she was able to prevail. Certainly, she was exposed to discrimination, but derived from it neither limitlessly thinking people. Thus, if the scientific work is the pro- an emancipatory dogma nor a special claim. And yet, together with Marie Curie, she represents a new ductively bound side of its creation, the music represents, so to archetype. The female scientist in her day was a harbinger of modernity, and it is significant that her speak, the free and liberal interpretation. Music is balance and “home” was within the very young fields of radio and nuclear physics. Lise Meitner was a novelty as a reflection, escapism, a means of focusing – and undoubtedly also person and was distinguished in both fields primarily by two characteristics: exclusion through gender a social cement. and extraordinary diligence. While the former limited her scope for possibilities in which her life would But within these circles of scientists, this passion applied above play out, the latter provided the means to make the best out of it and to tacitly question those limits. all to the canon of „classical“ music. Neither Lise Meitner nor the Her achievements were not only the result of aspiration, but the awareness of her own predilection and others mentioned a penchant for the emerging jazz, pop, or more an enormous assertiveness. From the time she was first confronted with these limits, namely when exotic genres known at the time. having taken the external Matura exam, she had had to arrange things herself throughout her life, This fact prompted us in this audiobook to work with the expe- even in her happiest period of 1921-33. The patriarchal society was plainly overwhelmed with „public“ rimental and innovative spirit of these scientists’ exploratory women and generally reacted with chauvinism, contempt, and derision. work instead of „their“ highly-canonized music, which was not In science, as in all other hierarchical systems, women will likely continue to have a harder time than even contemporary in their time, and to bring that spirit into our their male counterparts – the fact is, things are made more difficult for them. Yet it is precisely the interpretation. The result was a completely open-ended music. sciences (no, not physics, but the social sciences and gender studies) that have established that the in- Apart from a few miniatures, nothing was composed. We relied clusion of women in the processes of opinion formation and the claim to power in all areas brings better on improvisation and coincidence, given that they also play a results for all in the long term. The systematic exclusion of female thinking – and participation, action central role in physics, as an experimental arrangement for the and leadership – which in many regards still continues to this day, is not only unjust, but also deprives testing of theory in practice. This was coupled with the absolute society of broader and more diverse perspectives and options. This must change. urge to explore new dimensions, singular in terms of time and In her own story, Lise Meitner almost appears as a genderless individual from a time overloaded with therefore unique. The serious difference between physics and traditional values, as a vestal of science who rejected a private life as a wife, lover, or mother. She de- music is factuality. While science is always searching for reality, voted herself completely to her life as a researcher, self-confidently and unselfishly. With all her incon- music is simply true, dream and illusion at the same time. spicuousness, she is for that very reason considered to be an icon.

12 Epilogue

This audiobook is the second part of a loose series of biographies of important but underappreciated women and their works. The first episode in 2014 was the audiobook „The Unknown Soldier“ about the Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner – the pioneer of the United Nations, tireless fighter for a world without war and initiator of the Nobel Peace Prize, which she herself received in 1905 as the first woman. Suttner and Meitner united a profoundly humanistic worldview shaped by an unshakable belief in the goodness of man, and they were both extremely strong-minded and visionary. As a result, they are considered the protagonists of a new female perspective, at a time when women were only afforded the roles of wife, mother, or mistress. But their achieve- ments and their perspectives demonstrate just what a valuable and sustainable impact this „other view“ has on the world. These two books are for those who, through the deeds and ideas of others, seek to be inspired to contribute in making the world a little better. The present time needs you!

Credits the author

Lise Meitner – Kate Reading This is the English version of the audio I thank everybody who helped to im- Born in 1977 in Rosenheim/Bavaria, Otto Hahn – Brian Hemmingsen book “Deine Lise”, published 2018 by the plement this audio book. It was a long lives and works in Vienna/Austria as a Max von Laue – Stephen McLaughlin Buchfunk Verlag, Leipzig. road, where I met a lot of interesting and freelance musician, artist, producer and Otto Robert Frisch – Henry Kramer It has been made possible by the ge- mind-opening people, and among those lecturer. Werner Heisenberg – Henry Kramer nerous donation of NENI© and the Aust- some I do not usually meet – such as Max Planck – Stephen McLaughlin rian Cultural Forums in Washington, D.C. nuclear physicists, diplomats, business- Some publications/releases: and Ottawa. women, professors. I enjoyed to talk and Narrator – Michael Kramer work with them and I thank them for the Morgen es wird schoen – “capriole” (LP) Pictures used by kind permission of exchange of ideas: 2017, „false stars“ (EP) 2012 Isabelle Duthoit – clarinet, voices Churchill Archives, Cambridge/UK and “Der unbekannte Soldat” (“the unknown Franz Hautzinger – trumpet Philip and Anne Meitner. Walter Kutschera, Eva Schöfer, Ellen, soldier”), audio book 2014 Lukas Lauermann – cello Lilian, the people at Churchill Archives, Stefan Frankenberger – the rest Bibliography (extract): Jennifer and Michael, Haya Molcho, my see more on Ruth Lewin Sime, a life in physics (1995) family and the great narrators and musi- www.studio77.at Arranged and mixed at studio77, Vienna Patricia Rife, Lise Meitner and the dawn cians who took part in this production. www.metropa.eu Translation: Lilian Gartner and Ellen Lewis ot the Nuclear Age (1990) Otto Robert Frisch, what little I remem- Stefan Frankenberger Design/Layout: ber (1981) Jule Demel, Stefan Frankenberger Richard von Schirach, the night of the physicists (2014)

13 Lise Meitner with students at Bryn Mawr College, 1959 © 2019 by studio77 and Stefan Frankenberger