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Nikolaus Riehl – Ein Leben Zwischen Politik Und Wissenschaft

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Nikolaus Riehl – Ein Leben Zwischen Politik Und Wissenschaft Menschen Nikolaus Riehl – ein Leben zwischen Politik und Wissenschaft St. Petersburg, Berlin, Moskau, Sungul, Suchumi – M U T über viele Stationen führte ihn das Leben schließlich A H an die TH München: Am 24. Mai 2012 würde der Phy- © siker Nikolaus Riehl 111 Jahre alt. Nikolaus Riehl, der passionierte Zigar- renraucher. Die Die politischen Umbrüche des vergangenen Jahrhun- Zeichnung stammt derts bestimmten Leben und Wirken des Physikers Niko- vermutlich aus der laus Riehl (1901-1990). Geboren und aufgewachsen im Hand eines Kolle- gen und zierte die zaristischen St. Petersburg als Sohn eines deutschen Einladung zum Kol- Siemens-Direktors und einer russischen Mutter, studierte mit Anwendun- loquium der der junge Riehl in der Weimarer Republik in Berlin Physik gen seltener Er- Münchner Physiker anlässlich des 85. und Physikalische Chemie. 1927 promovierte er am Dah- den, biophysika- M Geburtstags von U lemer Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Chemie von Otto Hahn lischen Fragen, T Nikolaus Riehl. A H und Lise Meitner. Mit dem Nobelpreisträger Hahn war Halbleitern, Iso- © Riehl lebenslang befreundet. latoren sowie der Physik, Che- Riehl wurde wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter der Auer-Ge- mie und technischen Anwendung der Lumineszenz. Auf sellschaft und habilitierte sich 1938. Am »Uranprojekt« diesem Gebiet wurde er berühmt: Riehl zählt zu den Vä- zur Nutzung der Kernspaltung beteiligt, glückte ihm kurz tern der Leuchtstoffröhre. 1975 umfasste sein Œuvre an vor Kriegsende die Produktion metallisch reinen Urans, die 200 Arbeiten. Die Arbeitsgruppen seines großen was dem sowjetischen Geheimdienst nicht verborgen TUM-Instituts befassten sich mit Lumineszenz, organi- blieb. Im Mai 1945 wurde Riehl in die UdSSR zwangsver- schen (protonischen) Halbleitern, kristallinem Eis und pflichtet. Als Leiter des Uranwerks Elektrostal bei Moskau Hämoglobin. war er verantwortlich für die Anreicherung des Urans zum Bau der sowjetischen Atombombe. Der mit Stalinpreis 1. Riehl musste unter zwei Diktaturen arbeiten, doch verab- Klasse und Leninorden hoch dekorierte »Held der sozia- scheute er jeglichen Totalitarismus und wies in seinen le- listischen Arbeit« (»sehr gegen meinen Willen, aber was senswerten Erinnerungen*) auf die Ähnlichkeiten zwi- sollte ich dagegen tun?«) genoss eine Vorzugsbehand- schen Nationalsozialismus und Kommunismus hin. In der lung. Riehl verdiente mehr als viele sowjetische Kollegen, NS-Zeit verbarg er geschickt seine teilweise jüdische Ab- saß jedoch mit seiner Familie »im goldenen Käfig«, wurde stammung und hielt die Hand über verfolgte Kollegen. In auf Schritt und Tritt bewacht. Von 1950 an forschte er in der Sowjetunion bemühte sich der russophile Forscher Sungul im Ural zu nichtmilitärischen Themen. um akzeptable Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen für sei- ne Mitarbeiter, darunter auch deutsche Kriegsgefangene. Schließlich gelang es ihm, nach zweieinhalbjähriger wis- senschaftlicher »Quarantäne« am Schwarzen Meer 1955 Von seinen vielen Schülern wird »Papa Riehl« als leiden- in die DDR entlassen zu werden. Dort schlug er verlo- schaftlicher Forscher, begeisternder Lehrer und humanis- ckende Angebote aus und setzte sich unter Aufgabe der tisch denkender Mensch hoch verehrt. meisten Ersparnisse nach Westen ab. Als Extraordinarius der TH München baute er mit Heinz Maier-Leibnitz den Martin Pabst Forschungsreaktor in Garching auf und amtierte als einer der beiden Direktoren der Reaktorstation. 1961 wurde er zum Ordinarius für Technische Physik ernannt. *) Nikolaus Riehl: Zehn Jahre im goldenen Käfig. Erleb- nisse beim Aufbau der sowjetischen Uran-Industrie, Riehl war nicht nur Uranspezialist. Bei der Auer-Gesell- 1988, ins Englische übertragen vom US-Festkörper- schaft befasste er sich mit angewandter Radioaktivität physiker Frederick Seitz: Stalin’s Captive: Nikolaus beispielsweise zur zerstörungsfreien Werkstoffprüfung, Riehl and the Soviet Race for the Bomb 1996 TUMcampus 2/12 57.
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