TLS in German, signed “W. Heisenberg,” two pages, 8.25 x 11.75, Kaiser Wilhelm-Institute of Physics letterhead, September 23, 1947. Letter to Professor Samuel A. Goudsmit, a Dutch-American physicist at Northwestern University, in full (translated): "I am sending you with the same mail some special publications, among them also the one relating to our work with atoms during the war. In connection with this article I want to write a few words to you. In recent times I have read several of your articles in which you report about the uranium research performed in Germany during the war. From these articles I get the impression that perhaps you didn’t know enough about the details of our research and especially, that you were not aware of the psychological situation during the war for those of us who lived in Germany. Not long ago I discussed this matter at length with [Niels] Bohr and he suggested that I should personally write to you about it. As I told you that time in Heidelberg the mood among us was entirely different. From the very beginning we were convinced (as I vigorously emphasized during official meetings in Germany during the war) that America would be able to resolve the uranium problem much faster and better because of its incomparably superior equipment (for instance, 24 cyclotrons versus none in Germany)—as long as it was officially decided to do so. Therefore we never considered a serious competition. We just thought it possible that this problem might perhaps not be tackled at all in America because we imagined that it would be of little importance to the war effort. And so, when you told me in Heidelberg that the American physicists had worked mainly for the war effort and that they didn’t pursue the questions pertaining to atoms (naturally, you had to give me such an answer then) I felt that this was plausible, and to that extent we rejoiced that we apparently had done reasonably good work for peace.
Your portrayal of a ‘race among scientists’ therefore, does not correctly describe the atmosphere of our research, but I understand quite clearly that it has to be very difficult for you to imagine our psychological situation during the war. The problem was that, after all, we knew only too well what terrible consequences a victory of National Socialism in Europe would entail but that, on the other hand, we had no illusions about the results of a total German defeat because of the hate National Socialism had sown. Such a proposition leads naturally to a more passive and modest attitude, and one would be happy to be content with saving, wherever possible, that which can be salvaged in a small circle of influence, and to hope that later, perhaps some useful work can be done again.—Maybe there will be an opportunity, not too far in the future, when we can talk about these issues more thoroughly than was possible at that time in Heidelberg. Regarding the details of the uranium research in Germany, I think the article in Science contains the essentials, in some places even more precise than what you had learned in that by-gone time. If you have additional questions or doubts in connection with this, I would welcome it if you wrote to me about them. In August I visited Bohr for eight days in Tisvilde and I was very happy about the chance to be in touch with Bohr and the other physicists in Copenhagen and to learn more about the progress that had been made in physics, for instance in the area of cosmic radiation. With best regards, also from the other physicists of our group.” In fine condition, with minor paper loss to the top edge. Accompanied by a full English translation.
For his ‘creation of quantum mechanics’ and subsequent ‘discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen,’ Heisenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 1932, an honor that elevated him as the leading spokesman for physics in Germany. The ensuing 1938 discovery of nuclear fission and rapid emergence of World War II earned Heisenberg membership into the German nuclear weapon project Uranverein. He was dispatched to the Army Weapons Bureau in Berlin, and, in two months time, he completed an analysis of chain reactions that affirmed their potential use in the construction of an atomic bomb. On May 3, 1945, Heisenberg was one of ten German scientists captured in Urfeld by Operation Alsos, which the recipient of this letter, Samuel Goudsmit, served as chief scientific advisor. In 1947, Heisenberg, now the director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics, published two articles on the failure of the Uranverein in the journals Die Naturwissenschaften and Nature. In addition to stating that it was the lack of resources and technical support that stymied the German effort, Heisenberg insisted that their research was constricted to the investigation of peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Goudsmit dismissed Heisenberg’s claims of any sort of benevolent research, maintaining that the Uranverein’s main objective was to build weaponry, but that they simply were unable. A revealing letter from Heisenberg to his most outspoken critic.
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