The events of July-August 1914 of course were to affect the lives of millions of people throughout Europe and the world. Haber and Le Rossignol
were no exception. For Fritz Haber his role in the coming war was to eclipse
his work on fixation, and re-define his life to future generations. For Clara,
her husband’s influence on the war was to prove both morally obscene and
personally catastrophic. For Robert and Emily too, these were uncertain
times. Their commitment to one-another through marriage in 1910 had
already isolated them in the eyes of the German state. Under the German
citizenship law of 1870
22 and the revised version of 22 July 1913, regulations
specified that German women would lose their nationality by marrying
someone without German nationality—an embarrassing relic of an era when
Germans sought to protect their supposed racial purity. Under the citizenship
laws, naturalization was possible but it required living in Germany, being
economically independent, and without a criminal record. All of this would
have easily applied to Robert but we know that at the time he was still ‘not
quite a real German’—a fact soon to be noted by the German state. Emily
therefore had lost her legal status as a German, and this by extension applied
to John Augustin and little Peter Walter. The Le Rossignols may well have
considered leaving Germany prior to the war. But the family’s position in
terms of citizenship in a country in political and social turmoil—but still
technically ‘at peace’—had to be balanced against their prospect of significant
legitimate financial gain. Europe of course had been simmering for years, but
the repercussions of the events at Sarajevo caught everyone by surprise. As late
as 28 July 1914, Haber felt confident enough to apply to his Minister of
Education for a six-week holiday, with the qualification that;
If the political situation becomes such that our nation is pulled into a war-like
entanglement, then I intend to return from this holiday.
23
He never had his holiday. War was declared just four days later. The Le
Rossignols, completely surprised by the British involvement, were still in
Berlin and Emily was no longer a German.
Notes
1. However, at the same time he was comfortable with applications of Planck’s
quantum theory, the significance of which in chemistry Haber was one of the
first to recognise. It formed the basis of most of his Dahlem work. By
understanding the application of quantum theory to the photoelectric effect
Haber was able to propose a quantum theory of chemical reaction heat. J.E.
12 Berlin 1911–1914
237
were no exception. For Fritz Haber his role in the coming war was to eclipse
his work on fixation, and re-define his life to future generations. For Clara,
her husband’s influence on the war was to prove both morally obscene and
personally catastrophic. For Robert and Emily too, these were uncertain
times. Their commitment to one-another through marriage in 1910 had
already isolated them in the eyes of the German state. Under the German
citizenship law of 1870
22 and the revised version of 22 July 1913, regulations
specified that German women would lose their nationality by marrying
someone without German nationality—an embarrassing relic of an era when
Germans sought to protect their supposed racial purity. Under the citizenship
laws, naturalization was possible but it required living in Germany, being
economically independent, and without a criminal record. All of this would
have easily applied to Robert but we know that at the time he was still ‘not
quite a real German’—a fact soon to be noted by the German state. Emily
therefore had lost her legal status as a German, and this by extension applied
to John Augustin and little Peter Walter. The Le Rossignols may well have
considered leaving Germany prior to the war. But the family’s position in
terms of citizenship in a country in political and social turmoil—but still
technically ‘at peace’—had to be balanced against their prospect of significant
legitimate financial gain. Europe of course had been simmering for years, but
the repercussions of the events at Sarajevo caught everyone by surprise. As late
as 28 July 1914, Haber felt confident enough to apply to his Minister of
Education for a six-week holiday, with the qualification that;
If the political situation becomes such that our nation is pulled into a war-like
entanglement, then I intend to return from this holiday.
23
He never had his holiday. War was declared just four days later. The Le
Rossignols, completely surprised by the British involvement, were still in
Berlin and Emily was no longer a German.
Notes
1. However, at the same time he was comfortable with applications of Planck’s
quantum theory, the significance of which in chemistry Haber was one of the
first to recognise. It formed the basis of most of his Dahlem work. By
understanding the application of quantum theory to the photoelectric effect
Haber was able to propose a quantum theory of chemical reaction heat. J.E.
12 Berlin 1911–1914
237