14.5 The Haber—Le Rossignol Financial
Arrangements
Following Germany’s economic and military collapse during 1918, the ‘Great
War’ came to an end with the Armistice of 11 November followed by the
Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919—exactly five years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Germany’s dependence on synthetic
ammonia and Haber’s constant lobbying of it’s cause at the highest levels led
to an increasing escalation of royalty payments to him from the BASF over
the period 1914 to 1919. When Robert returned to the UK, he did so with a
financial legacy from Haber that began in 1914 and extended to well after the
war. Throughout the war, and up until May 1920 when Haber [returned
from Switzerland and] finally took control his own legal and financial
arrangements,
71 his affairs had been handled by Max Mayer using accounts at
the Dresdener Depositenkasse and the Württembergischen Vereinsbank
(Chap. 7). Through Mayer, royalty payments from the BASF to Le Rossignol
were made because, ‘in the circumstances, it was felt inappropriate’ that
Robert should be paid directly by Haber (Sect. 14.2.4 and Chirnside’s
conversation with Robert, Chap. 18). When Robert returned to the UK, he
authorized Mayer to be his representative in Germany and Mayer continued
to organise the payments which Robert’s contract with Haber entitled him.
Tracing the movements of monies is a difficult enough task at the best of
times, but during a war when private transactions between individuals are
performed by a third party, it becomes almost impossible. However, through
his conversation with Chirnside, (Chap. 18) we know that Robert received a
first ‘substantial’ royalty payment from Mayer in 1914, although we have no
idea how much it was. But the work of Szöllössi-Janze
47 on the accounts of
Haber and the BASF allows us to construct an ‘audit trail’ for a nominal
period between 1915–1917
72 when ammonia production was reaching a
peak and where accurate figures for production and royalty payments are
available. Such a period provides a good indicator for Robert’s entitlement
and in this respect I am entirely indebted to Prof. Dr. Szöllössi-Janze at
Munich for confirming my understanding of her figures in a series of private
communications in which she was kind enough to answer my questions and
clarify my perceptions.
73 Even so, it is impossible to quantify exactly what
Robert Le Rossignol received from Haber during this period or indeed over
the lifetime of their contract, and neither would it serve any great purpose—
other than to possibly rationalise aspects of Robert’s later life. But the monies
generated by the German fixed nitrogen industry during the war were so
304
D. Sheppard
Arrangements
Following Germany’s economic and military collapse during 1918, the ‘Great
War’ came to an end with the Armistice of 11 November followed by the
Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919—exactly five years after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Germany’s dependence on synthetic
ammonia and Haber’s constant lobbying of it’s cause at the highest levels led
to an increasing escalation of royalty payments to him from the BASF over
the period 1914 to 1919. When Robert returned to the UK, he did so with a
financial legacy from Haber that began in 1914 and extended to well after the
war. Throughout the war, and up until May 1920 when Haber [returned
from Switzerland and] finally took control his own legal and financial
arrangements,
71 his affairs had been handled by Max Mayer using accounts at
the Dresdener Depositenkasse and the Württembergischen Vereinsbank
(Chap. 7). Through Mayer, royalty payments from the BASF to Le Rossignol
were made because, ‘in the circumstances, it was felt inappropriate’ that
Robert should be paid directly by Haber (Sect. 14.2.4 and Chirnside’s
conversation with Robert, Chap. 18). When Robert returned to the UK, he
authorized Mayer to be his representative in Germany and Mayer continued
to organise the payments which Robert’s contract with Haber entitled him.
Tracing the movements of monies is a difficult enough task at the best of
times, but during a war when private transactions between individuals are
performed by a third party, it becomes almost impossible. However, through
his conversation with Chirnside, (Chap. 18) we know that Robert received a
first ‘substantial’ royalty payment from Mayer in 1914, although we have no
idea how much it was. But the work of Szöllössi-Janze
47 on the accounts of
Haber and the BASF allows us to construct an ‘audit trail’ for a nominal
period between 1915–1917
72 when ammonia production was reaching a
peak and where accurate figures for production and royalty payments are
available. Such a period provides a good indicator for Robert’s entitlement
and in this respect I am entirely indebted to Prof. Dr. Szöllössi-Janze at
Munich for confirming my understanding of her figures in a series of private
communications in which she was kind enough to answer my questions and
clarify my perceptions.
73 Even so, it is impossible to quantify exactly what
Robert Le Rossignol received from Haber during this period or indeed over
the lifetime of their contract, and neither would it serve any great purpose—
other than to possibly rationalise aspects of Robert’s later life. But the monies
generated by the German fixed nitrogen industry during the war were so
304
D. Sheppard