immediately following helps to elucidate the motivation. Although living and
working in peaceful Switzerland at ETH Zurich, this country was completely
surrounded by warring nations. Moreover, his private and scientific ties to Germany
were very strong. As the war started, Germany was almost completely cut off from
all external supplies of raw materials, foodstuffs and the like; so was Switzerland,
despite its status as a neutral country. In consequence, H.S. started research
activities with his students and coworkers to find Ersatzstoffe (surrogates) that
could replace natural products in times of need. He found an artificial coffee
aroma and a replacement for pepper. More importantly, he witnessed the death of
tens of thousands of soldiers in the trenches and military camps of the war – not
killed by enemy action but by contagious diseases, most of them transmitted by
insect bites from bugs, mites, lice, and fleas. The spotted fever (typhus
exanthematicus) was the most dangerous and life threatening of the diseases. In
the light of this situation he convinced his brilliant coworker Leopold Ruzicka
(1887–1976, Nobel Prize 1939) to start research on insecticides. Ruzicka identified
the active substance in the so-called Pyrethrum or Dalmatian insect powder
obtained from a chrysanthemum species and he showed the way to its synthesis.
A series of brilliant papers, published between 1924 and 1926 with H.S. as a
co-author, originated from this effort.
A most serious situation affecting the population in Central Europe was the lack
of supply of raw materials for textiles. Prior to 1914, 98% of all material for fiber
spinning and further production of textiles was imported. The cut-off from
resources caused tremendous suffering among the population for lack of proper
clothing. Similarly, the lack of supply of natural rubber was a serious drawback for
the increasingly important motorization, firstly for the military but for the civilian
sector as well. Certainly, the debate on the chemical nature of cellulose, the most
important natural fiber, and on the structure–property relationship of natural rubber
had been started long before [1]; however, the pressing need due to the lacking
supply of the natural products was a strong driving force for scientific attention.
There is little doubt that H. S. drew his motivation from this situation. This was
certainly enhanced by a widespread general discussion in Germany between 1914
and 1920 on how to organize research activities in order to reduce the dependence
on external supplies and thereby increase the competitiveness of the German textile
industry. It should be recalled that the production of textiles was a very important
sector of industry at the time, only rivaled by the steel industry.
During the war, the (German) textile industry pressed for more research in terms
of a centralized institute solely dedicated to fibrous materials and their processing.
Eventually, and after much public debate [5], the central government and parliament
agreed in 1919 to give the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft (KWG) the mandate to
found a new institute to be named the Institut fu ¨r Faserstoffchemie (Institute for
Chemistry of Fibrous Materials) in Berlin. The new institute was to be supported
both by public and private, industrial funds. An organizing committee was formed
with the following members: Fritz Haber (chemist), Carl-Dietrich Harries, Reginald
Oliver Herzog, Walter Nernst, and Richard Willsta ¨tter. The new institute started
Hermann Staudinger: Aspects of Fame and Memory, Motivation and Impact
45
working in peaceful Switzerland at ETH Zurich, this country was completely
surrounded by warring nations. Moreover, his private and scientific ties to Germany
were very strong. As the war started, Germany was almost completely cut off from
all external supplies of raw materials, foodstuffs and the like; so was Switzerland,
despite its status as a neutral country. In consequence, H.S. started research
activities with his students and coworkers to find Ersatzstoffe (surrogates) that
could replace natural products in times of need. He found an artificial coffee
aroma and a replacement for pepper. More importantly, he witnessed the death of
tens of thousands of soldiers in the trenches and military camps of the war – not
killed by enemy action but by contagious diseases, most of them transmitted by
insect bites from bugs, mites, lice, and fleas. The spotted fever (typhus
exanthematicus) was the most dangerous and life threatening of the diseases. In
the light of this situation he convinced his brilliant coworker Leopold Ruzicka
(1887–1976, Nobel Prize 1939) to start research on insecticides. Ruzicka identified
the active substance in the so-called Pyrethrum or Dalmatian insect powder
obtained from a chrysanthemum species and he showed the way to its synthesis.
A series of brilliant papers, published between 1924 and 1926 with H.S. as a
co-author, originated from this effort.
A most serious situation affecting the population in Central Europe was the lack
of supply of raw materials for textiles. Prior to 1914, 98% of all material for fiber
spinning and further production of textiles was imported. The cut-off from
resources caused tremendous suffering among the population for lack of proper
clothing. Similarly, the lack of supply of natural rubber was a serious drawback for
the increasingly important motorization, firstly for the military but for the civilian
sector as well. Certainly, the debate on the chemical nature of cellulose, the most
important natural fiber, and on the structure–property relationship of natural rubber
had been started long before [1]; however, the pressing need due to the lacking
supply of the natural products was a strong driving force for scientific attention.
There is little doubt that H. S. drew his motivation from this situation. This was
certainly enhanced by a widespread general discussion in Germany between 1914
and 1920 on how to organize research activities in order to reduce the dependence
on external supplies and thereby increase the competitiveness of the German textile
industry. It should be recalled that the production of textiles was a very important
sector of industry at the time, only rivaled by the steel industry.
During the war, the (German) textile industry pressed for more research in terms
of a centralized institute solely dedicated to fibrous materials and their processing.
Eventually, and after much public debate [5], the central government and parliament
agreed in 1919 to give the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft (KWG) the mandate to
found a new institute to be named the Institut fu ¨r Faserstoffchemie (Institute for
Chemistry of Fibrous Materials) in Berlin. The new institute was to be supported
both by public and private, industrial funds. An organizing committee was formed
with the following members: Fritz Haber (chemist), Carl-Dietrich Harries, Reginald
Oliver Herzog, Walter Nernst, and Richard Willsta ¨tter. The new institute started
Hermann Staudinger: Aspects of Fame and Memory, Motivation and Impact
45