and were not simply an emotional reaction. Clara’s suicide therefore may have
had the effect she desired; Haber carried the guilt of her death for the rest of
his life, a kind of harrowing guilt that only someone so close can ever inflict.
Later, during the war, he recalled; ‘I hear in my heart the words that the poor
woman once said … I see her head emerging from between orders and telegrams
… and I suffer.’
54 Even so, as head of the Chemical Warfare Service, in 1916
and 1917 he was awarded—and accepted—the Iron Cross, Class II and I
respectively.
13.6.4 Haber’s Work Continues at the Institute
Even if Haber’s only ‘flirtation’ with gas warfare had been the organization of
the gas attack at Ypres, it would have been enough to condemn him as a ‘war
criminal’ in the eyes of the international community, even though at the time
the rules regarding this were ‘confused’.
55 But at the time his enthusiasm for
the prosecution of chemical warfare was boundless, and his eventual
involvement with the technology went way beyond Ypres. At the time,
Clara’s death certainly made no impact on him, and neither was he concerned
with decisions under international law that declared gas warfare as inhumane.
His duty as an army officer was to advise and obey those responsible for
higher policy.
56 By ‘obeying his orders’ he saw himself as a patriot, a ‘good
German’ absolved of all the consequences of his actions. His commitment
was total and unquestioning, a position he publicly defended in depth after
the war.
57 But for all Haber’s enthusiasm, some time after Ypres the high
command became disenchanted with the cloud attack method because of the
lack of a strategic advantage and the potential for ‘blow back’ which made it
difficult to co-ordinate an infantry advance with the gas discharge.
Anticipating an Allied response, Haber was therefore asked to concentrate on
the problem of gas defence instead. The planning, preparation, and execution
of gas delivery systems still occupied his Institute during this period, but over
the next six months they also came up with an ingenious respirator that was
issued to the troops in October 1915. The development of the respirator was
a feat of remarkable organization by Haber, involving not only a clever design
in the absence of scarce materials such as rubber, but also the coordinated
efforts of a number of huge German companies such as Bayer at
Wuppertal/Leverkusen, the ‘Auer’ in Berlin and the Dräger Works in Lübeck.
The respirator Haber helped develop had a close-fitting face piece, held in
position with a head harness, incorporating a small lightweight drum or
‘cartridge’ packed with filters containing absorbent material. During the war
13 Haber and the Chemist’s War 1914–18
263
had the effect she desired; Haber carried the guilt of her death for the rest of
his life, a kind of harrowing guilt that only someone so close can ever inflict.
Later, during the war, he recalled; ‘I hear in my heart the words that the poor
woman once said … I see her head emerging from between orders and telegrams
… and I suffer.’
54 Even so, as head of the Chemical Warfare Service, in 1916
and 1917 he was awarded—and accepted—the Iron Cross, Class II and I
respectively.
13.6.4 Haber’s Work Continues at the Institute
Even if Haber’s only ‘flirtation’ with gas warfare had been the organization of
the gas attack at Ypres, it would have been enough to condemn him as a ‘war
criminal’ in the eyes of the international community, even though at the time
the rules regarding this were ‘confused’.
55 But at the time his enthusiasm for
the prosecution of chemical warfare was boundless, and his eventual
involvement with the technology went way beyond Ypres. At the time,
Clara’s death certainly made no impact on him, and neither was he concerned
with decisions under international law that declared gas warfare as inhumane.
His duty as an army officer was to advise and obey those responsible for
higher policy.
56 By ‘obeying his orders’ he saw himself as a patriot, a ‘good
German’ absolved of all the consequences of his actions. His commitment
was total and unquestioning, a position he publicly defended in depth after
the war.
57 But for all Haber’s enthusiasm, some time after Ypres the high
command became disenchanted with the cloud attack method because of the
lack of a strategic advantage and the potential for ‘blow back’ which made it
difficult to co-ordinate an infantry advance with the gas discharge.
Anticipating an Allied response, Haber was therefore asked to concentrate on
the problem of gas defence instead. The planning, preparation, and execution
of gas delivery systems still occupied his Institute during this period, but over
the next six months they also came up with an ingenious respirator that was
issued to the troops in October 1915. The development of the respirator was
a feat of remarkable organization by Haber, involving not only a clever design
in the absence of scarce materials such as rubber, but also the coordinated
efforts of a number of huge German companies such as Bayer at
Wuppertal/Leverkusen, the ‘Auer’ in Berlin and the Dräger Works in Lübeck.
The respirator Haber helped develop had a close-fitting face piece, held in
position with a head harness, incorporating a small lightweight drum or
‘cartridge’ packed with filters containing absorbent material. During the war
13 Haber and the Chemist’s War 1914–18
263