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Florian Schmaltz. Kampfstoff-Forschung Im Florian Schmaltz. Kampfstoff-Forschung im Nationalsozialismus: Zur Kooperation von Kaiser-Wilhelm- Instituten, Militär und Industrie.Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm- Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus. Göttingen: Wallstein, 2005. 676 pp. Illustrations. EUR 39.00 (paper), ISBN 9783892448808. Wolfgang Schieder and Achim Trunk, eds. Adolf Butenandt und die Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft: Wissenschaft, Industrie und Politik im Dritten Geschichte der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft im Nationalsozialismus. Göttingen: Wallstein, 2004. 456 pp. Table of contents. EUR 34.00 (paper), ISBN 9783892447528. Reviewed by Avraham Barkai, Leo Baeck Institute. Published by H-German (January,2007) Belated Confrontation Tw o generations after the fall of the "Third Rürup and Wolfgang Schieder.InJune 2001, the Reich" at the hands of the Allied victors, German president of the Max Planck Gesellschaft (MPG), public opinion, as far as reflected in the media, Hubert Markl, announced its first publications, seems to have faced the uneasy recognition that before an audience that included survivors of Hitler and his regime, its policy, its war and its Auschwitz as invited guests, in a remarkable atrocious crimes were based not only on broad speech, stating: "For way too long, manyquestions consent but also on the willing cooperation and were not asked; for way too long manyquestions welcome of its "benefits" by the greater part of the remained uninvestigated and only dealt with by German people. Since the early 1990s outsiders; ... For too long, colleagues supported governmental, municipal and other public agencies each other by remaining silent and not asking have created commissions that have unearthed questions instead of opening the door to honest proof of such acceptance and have broadened our investigation that was needed. Too manyhad knowledge of this complicity in all venues of collaborated with the Nazi dictatorship, either German society during the darkest period in its actively or passively,tothe point where theywere known history.Business corporations have happytohide their own joint responsibility or even followed the trend, opening their archivesand complicity so that, undisturbed and unburdened, financing the historical research of their past and theycould be part of the new, democratic post-war the uncensored publication of its results. In the era society." The MPG is the successor of the former of economic globalization theymay have been Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft, founded in 1911, motivated, at least partly,bymaterial which became the most important and outstanding considerations, but the knowledge gained and scientific foundation in Germanyduring the last broadly discussed in the media is nevertheless of years of the Wilhelmine Empire, the Weimar great importance. Strangely,howev er, the role of Republic and the National Socialist period. elites in the temples of learning and science during Defining the MPG as a "newinstitution, a the National Socialist regime has been among the democratic organization for research in a newand last to be investigated by the honorable Zunft of democratic Germany,"Markl stressed its German historians. continuity with the KWG and the tradition of its The volumes here under revieware part of "scientific heritage.... Taking possession of an this belated confrontation. The "Presidential inheritance, however, means accepting Committee for the Investigation of the History of responsibility for everything, both the positive ... the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft (KWG) in the and the negative,which means, if need be, Period of National Socialism" was established in admitting guilt."[1] 1998 under the co-chairmanship of Reinhard H-Net Reviews So far the committee has published fourteen Butenandt and the National Socialists and his of eighteen planned volumes in the series on the alleged involvement in its war crimes. Butenandt, KWG’shistory under National Socialism, the rest head of the KWI for biochemistry between 1936 of which will be published in 2007. What appears and 1972, was "without doubt one of the most at first sight as a pretentious, costly venture is prominent figures of the German natural sciences justified by the fact that the KWG was actually a in the twentieth century ... unquestionably the most kind of "holding society" of no less than twenty- successful Wissenschaftspolitiker,not only inside twoKaiser Wilhelm Institutes (KWI). Following the Max Planck Society but in German science the guidelines of its initiator Adolf von Harnack, generally" (p. 7). Butenandt headed this KWI until who served as its president from its foundation in his retirement in 1972. Between 1960 and 1972 he 1911 till 1930, each institute was founded served as president, and from then until his death "around," and headed by,aprominent, outstanding in 1995 as honorary president, of the renamed Max scientist, who conducted basic theoretical research Plank Gesellschaft. This long-lasting continuity in his field of expertise. The natural sciences and was, as we know, not extraordinary in postwar their application in the service of medical therapy Germany, and was evident not only among and the development of newtechnologies for Butenandt’scolleagues in the MPG and other industry and warfare were at the epicenter of the scientific institutions, but also among German KWI’sresearch. It was several years before any elites in the economic, cultural, administrative and institutes for the humanities were added. The ev enpolitical spheres. guidelines of election and decentralization plus the Nonetheless, the "Presidential Committee" massive financial subsidies by governments, the felt obligated to devote this volume to a detailed military,industry and financial corporations and differentiated scrutinyofButenandt’sdeeds enabled these often-brilliant scientists and their and alleged misdeeds in the service of the National staffs to concentrate on research, free from Socialist regime. As a scientist he had been in teaching obligations. This structure explains the close contact with military authorities during the impressive numbers of Nobel and other short-livedWeimar Republic. The applications of distinguishing prizes amassed by scientists his research had also resulted in close and working under the auspices of the KWG. profitable contacts with industrial interests, The same combination of promotion and especially with the IG-Farben chemical complex. financial backing also created an environment in The editors of the series reopened because, in which some of the KWIs became the functional 1984, scholarly publications raised questions about meeting point of scientific and political, military his involvement in experiments performed by Josef and industrial interests. One of the first institutes to Mengele on inmates of Auschwitz. In the opinion be founded was that for physical chemistry and of Schieder and Trunk, Butenandt could easily electrochemistry in Berlin-Dahlem; its director have refuted these accusations, but the fact remains between 1911 and 1933 was Fritz Haber.In1918 that instead of openly confronting them he Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry preferred, with the backing of the managing board for developing a method for creating synthetic of the MPG, to prevent the publication of detailed ammonia. During World War I he played a major evidence (pp. 8f). After his death in 1995, however, role in the development of chemical warfare, these claims were resurrected and, according to the including not only the manufacture of gas masks editors, extremely exaggerated by a number of with absorbent filters, but also of chlorine and authors. Butenandt’sexposed and honored position other deadly gases for use in trench warfare.[2] seems to have motivated the chairmen of the While Haber,aconverted Jew, emigrated in 1933, commission to a more detailed investigation of his the tradition of harnessing scientific genius for activities in the years 1936 to 1945 and his economic profit and military exploitation successful navigation on the wav esofthe proliferated under the Nazi regime in his, as well "Persilscheinkultur" of the late 1940s. This term as in several other KWIs--the central theme of the wasused in an earlier publication by Carola twobooks under review. Sachse, one of the contributors to this volume In volume 7 of the series, edited by (cited on p. 9). Here she deals in detail with Wolfgang Schieder and Achim Trunk, the authors Butenandt’sinv olvement in Mengele’snotorious try to clarify the relationship between Adolf experiments and his efforts to justify,oratleast play them down, after 1945. Her conclusion is -2- H-Net Reviews clear: he and his colleagues have "excused "vorauseilende Gehorsam" of the proud, self- unquestionably amoral transgressions of scientific confident society.Asearly as May 6, 1933, its decencybytheir political ignorance.... Over president Max Planck, then and nowassessed as decades theyfoiled the clearing up of historical having been above suspicion of being a Nazi or truth, practicing a policyofobscuring, ev enasympathizer,assured Adolf Hitler in a downplaying and twisting explanations" (p. 318). personal audience of the society’ssubmissive As noted in the editors’ introduction, the loyalty.Schmaltz contests Planck’slater contributors were not "fixed on a uniform historical explanation that the meeting was an ineffectual evaluation" of their protagonist, but continually effort to rescind the dismissal of the Nobel laureate discussed their results and opinions. In the process Fritz Haber (p. 69f). theyare said to have arrivedatacommon
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