organic and polymer chemistry he represented was considered to be of importance
to the war effort in 1940, something that Staudinger’s pupil Gerhard Bier had
already benefited from, as has been indicated. Staudinger seized the opportunity
and never tired of emphasising that he could – and wanted to – be of use to Germany
in the war. In the spirit of the Nazi policy of self-sufficiency, he tried to convince
the authorities of his ability “to supplement the chemical arsenal by adding plastics
and substitute materials” ([35], p. 604; cf. [19], p. 397 and [17], p. 115). He was also
willing to make his laboratory available for the promotion of what was known as
defence chemistry. As early as 5 September 1939, 4 days after the attack on Poland,
he wrote to the Freiburg vice-chancellor Mangold:
A number of projects of importance to the war effort have been carried out at the chemical
institute here for years now, e.g. in connection with the gas protection department at the
Ministry of War and with Draeger-Werke in Lu ¨beck. At the suggestion of the latter, work
has been done about mustard gas protection (the original name for the chemical weapon
yellow cross was “Lost” [. . .]) and I am involved in developing a reaction for the detection
of traces of Lost. Studying cellulose and nitrocellulose have prompted visits to explosives
factories, so that I have become acquainted with problems faced by the explosives industry.
(Quoted from [39], 222)
On 19 October 1939, Staudinger drew attention to the importance of his work to
the war effort and the country in a letter to Rudolf Mentzel (1900–1987), President
of the German Research Association (DFG) and a member of the Nazi party since
1925: “He stressed that the findings about the structure of cellulose, e.g. the
identification of imperfections in the molecule, are of significance with respect to
the production of gun cotton and nitrate powders and emphasised the general
importance of his work in relation to the constitution of Buna and chlorinated
rubber, which is used as a rust-proofing agent. He quoted projects about an agent
providing protection against weapons and a new gas mask as examples of work
done by his institute that was of special importance to the war effort. The production of synthetic pepper, which came onto the market in Germany in the First World
War, had been started again too. (Peter Adolf, editor’s note) Thiessen (1899–1990,
director of the Kaiser Wilhelm institute for physical chemistry and electrochemistry
and a member of the Nazi party since 1925; editor’s note) acknowledged that
Staudinger’s work was important to the war effort and the country, with the
argument that although Staudinger’s research was not of direct importance to the
war effort, it was of considerable significance to the raw material situation, because
it could at any time lead to practical consequences for the cellulose manufacturing
industry, the plastics field etc.” [19, pp. 411–412]
“Staudinger also carried out a research project for the Reich Ministry of Aviation
and the commander-in-chief of the air force that focussed on ‘Investigations into
nitrocellulose’” [19, p. 412], which – according to Gerhard Bier, his pupil at the
time – was the area of operation of greatest relevance to the war effort:
Nitrocellulose was an industrial product, the raw material for celluloid [. . .] and for civil
and military explosives as well as for civil and military ammunition fuels. Problems of
storage stability arose in the large-scale production of nitrocellulose during the war. For
unknown reasons, nitrocellulose or a mixture containing nitrocellulose degenerated
122
M. Weber and G. Deussing
to the war effort in 1940, something that Staudinger’s pupil Gerhard Bier had
already benefited from, as has been indicated. Staudinger seized the opportunity
and never tired of emphasising that he could – and wanted to – be of use to Germany
in the war. In the spirit of the Nazi policy of self-sufficiency, he tried to convince
the authorities of his ability “to supplement the chemical arsenal by adding plastics
and substitute materials” ([35], p. 604; cf. [19], p. 397 and [17], p. 115). He was also
willing to make his laboratory available for the promotion of what was known as
defence chemistry. As early as 5 September 1939, 4 days after the attack on Poland,
he wrote to the Freiburg vice-chancellor Mangold:
A number of projects of importance to the war effort have been carried out at the chemical
institute here for years now, e.g. in connection with the gas protection department at the
Ministry of War and with Draeger-Werke in Lu ¨beck. At the suggestion of the latter, work
has been done about mustard gas protection (the original name for the chemical weapon
yellow cross was “Lost” [. . .]) and I am involved in developing a reaction for the detection
of traces of Lost. Studying cellulose and nitrocellulose have prompted visits to explosives
factories, so that I have become acquainted with problems faced by the explosives industry.
(Quoted from [39], 222)
On 19 October 1939, Staudinger drew attention to the importance of his work to
the war effort and the country in a letter to Rudolf Mentzel (1900–1987), President
of the German Research Association (DFG) and a member of the Nazi party since
1925: “He stressed that the findings about the structure of cellulose, e.g. the
identification of imperfections in the molecule, are of significance with respect to
the production of gun cotton and nitrate powders and emphasised the general
importance of his work in relation to the constitution of Buna and chlorinated
rubber, which is used as a rust-proofing agent. He quoted projects about an agent
providing protection against weapons and a new gas mask as examples of work
done by his institute that was of special importance to the war effort. The production of synthetic pepper, which came onto the market in Germany in the First World
War, had been started again too. (Peter Adolf, editor’s note) Thiessen (1899–1990,
director of the Kaiser Wilhelm institute for physical chemistry and electrochemistry
and a member of the Nazi party since 1925; editor’s note) acknowledged that
Staudinger’s work was important to the war effort and the country, with the
argument that although Staudinger’s research was not of direct importance to the
war effort, it was of considerable significance to the raw material situation, because
it could at any time lead to practical consequences for the cellulose manufacturing
industry, the plastics field etc.” [19, pp. 411–412]
“Staudinger also carried out a research project for the Reich Ministry of Aviation
and the commander-in-chief of the air force that focussed on ‘Investigations into
nitrocellulose’” [19, p. 412], which – according to Gerhard Bier, his pupil at the
time – was the area of operation of greatest relevance to the war effort:
Nitrocellulose was an industrial product, the raw material for celluloid [. . .] and for civil
and military explosives as well as for civil and military ammunition fuels. Problems of
storage stability arose in the large-scale production of nitrocellulose during the war. For
unknown reasons, nitrocellulose or a mixture containing nitrocellulose degenerated
122
M. Weber and G. Deussing