Nuclear Age (1945–1957): Reconstruction under Regional Fragmentation

Abstract

The focus of this first chapter is astrophysics in the first decade following World War II, when the discipline was embedded in the promises of the 'nuclear age' and, in West Germany, the hardship of reconstruction and Allied restrictions. A key element at the time was the ambiguity of the term 'nuclear' physics, which tacitly implied the potential of nuclear energy and weapons, while also connoting a disparate array of scientific subjects, in addition to the atomic nucleus, such as fusion and plasmas, cosmic rays, and subatomic particles. This ambiguous overlap enabled astrophysicists to obtain financial and political support for any research signaling future expansion into the relevant applied fields, while yet respecting postwar prohibitions. The backdrop to this support was, in essence, the regionally focused competition between the Allies, which played out in the various occupation zones and nascent states of West Germany. Scientists rooted in diverse scientific traditions and political orientations adapted to the different regional interests and the priorities of the Allied occupiers. It was the strength acquired in this decade, partly as a result of competition among these different factions, that assured the Max Planck Society a good headstart after Sputnik, when the 'space age' took center stage. Postwar Scientific Traditions in GöttingenA community of scientists converged in Göttingen, in the aftermath of World War II, to become part of what was to become-at the initiative of the famous physicist Werner Heisenberg-the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics, the primary hub and powerhouse of the young Max Planck Society. This chapter focuses on its trajectory during the early post-war nuclear age, until the move to Munich in 1958. Göttingen was the birthplace of the research tradition rooted in the theoretical plasma astrophysics led by the astrophysicist Ludwig Biermann and his disciples, who were able to make contact and collaborate closely with scientists working on nuclear fusion in the United States.