Günter Wirths
Encyclopedia
Günter Wirths was a German
chemist
who was an authority on uranium
production, especially reactor-grade. He worked at Auergesellschaft in the production of uranium for the Heereswaffenamt and its Uranverein project. In 1945, he was sent the Soviet Union
to work on the Russian atomic bomb project
. When he was released from the Soviet Union, he settled in West Germany
, and worked at the Degussa company.
, who was the director of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft
. Auergesellschaft had a substantial amount of “waste” uranium
from which it had extracted radium
. After reading a paper in 1939 by Siegfried Flügge
, on the technical use of nuclear energy from uranium, Riehl recognized a business opportunity for the company, and, in July of that year, went to the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) to discuss the production of uranium. The HWA was interested and Riehl committed corporate resources to the task. The HWA eventually provided an order for the production of uranium oxide, which took place in the Auergesellschaft plant in Oranienburg
, north of Berlin
. It was this that got Wirths involved with the production of uranium metal, which Auergesellschaft did for the Uranverein
project of the Heereswaffenamt.
, as American, British, and Russian military forces were closing in on Berlin, Riehl and some of his staff moved to a village west of Berlin, to try to ensure occupation by British or American forces. However, in mid-May 1945, with the assistance of Riehl’s colleague Karl Günter Zimmer
, the Russian nuclear physicists Georgy Flerov
and Lev Artsimovich
showed up one day in NKVD colonel’s uniforms. The use of Russian nuclear physicists in the wake of Soviet troop advances to identify and “requisition” equipment, material, intellectual property, and personnel useful to the Russian atomic bomb project is similar to the American Operation Alsos
. The military head of Alsos was Lt. Col. Boris Pash
, former head of security on the American atomic bomb effort, the Manhattan Project
, and its chief scientist was the eminent physicist Samuel Goudsmit. In early 1945, the Soviets initiated an effort similar to Alsos (Russian Alsos
). Forty out of less than 100 Russian scientists from the Soviet atomic bomb project’s
Laboratory 2 went to Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in support of acquisitions for the project.
The two colonels requested that Riehl join them in Berlin for a few days, where he also met with nuclear physicist Yulii Borisovich Khariton
, also in the uniform of an NKVD colonel. This sojourn in Berlin turned into 10 years in the Soviet Union. Riehl and his staff, including their families, were flown to Moscow on 9 July 1945. Wirths either flew out with Riehl or was later sent to join Riehl in Russia as a member of his group. Eventually, Riehl’s entire laboratory was dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union.
From 1945 to 1950, Riehl was in charge of uranium production at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'
(Электросталь). German scientists, who were mostly atomic scientists, sent by the Soviets, at the close of World War II, to work in the Riehl group at Plant No. 12 included Alexander Catsch
(Katsch), H. J. Born, Ortmann, Przybilla, Herbert Schmitz, Sommerfeldt, Herbert Thieme, Tobein, Günter Wirths, and Karl Günter Zimmer.
Three major technological upgrades were made at Plant No. 12 in the production metallic uranium, two of them involved Wirths as a principle driving force:
For their work at Plant No. 12, in contribution to the Soviet atomic bomb project
, Wirths and Thieme were awarded a Stalin Prize, second class, and the Order of the Red Banner of Soviet Labor
, also known and the Order of the Red Flag.
In preparation for release from the Soviet Union, it was standard practice to put personnel into quarantine for a few years if they worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project, as was the case for Wirths. Additionally, in 1954, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, German Democratic Republic) and the Soviet Union prepared a list of scientists they wished to keep in the DDR, due to their having worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project; this list was known as the “A-list”. On this A-list were the names of 18 scientists. Nine, possibly 10, of the names were associated with the Riehl group which worked at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'. Born, Catsch, Riehl, Wirths, and Zimmer were on the list.
and took a job at Degussa as an authority in the production of reactor-grade uranium.
Wirths spoke English as was featured in the 1988 NOVA television program Nazis and the Russian Bomb. In the program, Manfred von Ardenne
was also featured; he was a German physicist who directed Institute A, in Sinop, a suburb of Sukhumi
. In the documentary, Wirths told a story about the purity of Plant No. 12’s production of uranium. Through espionage, the Soviets has procured a specimen of American uranium and compared it to that at Plant No. 12. The Soviet leaders praised the purity of Plant No. 12’s uranium production. Wirths, indicated that the Americans probably determined had optimized production output by allowing the purity to be less stringent, and said Plant No. 12 was probably “over doing it,” to which one of the Soviet leaders responded, “You damned Germans!”
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
chemist
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
who was an authority on uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
production, especially reactor-grade. He worked at Auergesellschaft in the production of uranium for the Heereswaffenamt and its Uranverein project. In 1945, he was sent the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to work on the Russian atomic bomb project
Soviet atomic bomb project
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb , was a clandestine research and development program began during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project...
. When he was released from the Soviet Union, he settled in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and worked at the Degussa company.
Early years
Wirths was a colleague of Nikolaus RiehlNikolaus Riehl
Nikolaus Riehl was a German industrial nuclear chemist. He was head of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft. When the Russians entered Berlin near the end of World War II, he was invited to the Soviet Union, where he stayed for 10 years...
, who was the director of the scientific headquarters of Auergesellschaft
Auergesellschaft
The industrial firm Auergesellschaft was founded in 1892 with headquarters in Berlin. Up to the end of World War II, Auergesellschaft had research activities in the areas of gas mantles, luminescence, rare earths, radioactivity, and uranium and thorium compounds. In 1934, the corporation was...
. Auergesellschaft had a substantial amount of “waste” uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
from which it had extracted radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
. After reading a paper in 1939 by Siegfried Flügge
Siegfried Flügge
Siegfried Flügge was a German theoretical physicist and made contributions to nuclear physics. He worked at the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Chemie and worked in the German Uranverein...
, on the technical use of nuclear energy from uranium, Riehl recognized a business opportunity for the company, and, in July of that year, went to the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) to discuss the production of uranium. The HWA was interested and Riehl committed corporate resources to the task. The HWA eventually provided an order for the production of uranium oxide, which took place in the Auergesellschaft plant in Oranienburg
Oranienburg
Oranienburg is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.- Geography :Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.- Division of the town :...
, north of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. It was this that got Wirths involved with the production of uranium metal, which Auergesellschaft did for the Uranverein
German nuclear energy project
The German nuclear energy project, , was an attempted clandestine scientific effort led by Germany to develop and produce the atomic weapons during the events involving the World War II...
project of the Heereswaffenamt.
In the Soviet Union
Near the close of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, as American, British, and Russian military forces were closing in on Berlin, Riehl and some of his staff moved to a village west of Berlin, to try to ensure occupation by British or American forces. However, in mid-May 1945, with the assistance of Riehl’s colleague Karl Günter Zimmer
Karl Zimmer
Karl Günter Zimmer was a German physicist and radiation biologist, known for his work on the effects of ionizing radiation on DNA. In 1935, he published the major work, Über die Natur der Genmutation und der Genstruktur, with N. V...
, the Russian nuclear physicists Georgy Flerov
Georgy Flyorov
Georgy Nikolayevich Flyorov was a prominent Soviet nuclear physicist.-Biography:Flyorov was born in Rostov-on-Don and attended the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute Georgy Nikolayevich Flyorov (March 2, 1913 – November 19, 1990) was a prominent Soviet nuclear physicist.-Biography:Flyorov was born...
and Lev Artsimovich
Lev Artsimovich
Lev Andreevich Artsimovich was a Soviet physicist, academician of the Soviet Academy of Sciences , member of the Presidium of the Soviet Academy of Sciences , and Hero of Socialist Labor .- Academic research :Artsimovich worked on the...
showed up one day in NKVD colonel’s uniforms. The use of Russian nuclear physicists in the wake of Soviet troop advances to identify and “requisition” equipment, material, intellectual property, and personnel useful to the Russian atomic bomb project is similar to the American Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos
Operation Alsos was an effort at the end of World War II by the Allies , branched off from the Manhattan Project, to investigate the German nuclear energy project, seize German nuclear resources, materials and personnel to further American research and to prevent their capture by the Soviets, and...
. The military head of Alsos was Lt. Col. Boris Pash
Boris Pash
Boris T. Pash was a United States Army officer.-Biography:He was born in San Francisco, California, on June 20, 1900. His father was Rev. Theodore Pashkovsky , a Russian Orthodox priest who had been sent to California by the Church in 1894...
, former head of security on the American atomic bomb effort, the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, and its chief scientist was the eminent physicist Samuel Goudsmit. In early 1945, the Soviets initiated an effort similar to Alsos (Russian Alsos
Russian Alsos
The Russian Alsos was an operation which took place in early 1945 in Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, and whose objectives were the exploitation of German atomic related facilities, intellectual materials, materiel resources, and scientific personnel for the benefit of the Soviet atomic bomb...
). Forty out of less than 100 Russian scientists from the Soviet atomic bomb project’s
Soviet atomic bomb project
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb , was a clandestine research and development program began during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project...
Laboratory 2 went to Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in support of acquisitions for the project.
The two colonels requested that Riehl join them in Berlin for a few days, where he also met with nuclear physicist Yulii Borisovich Khariton
Yulii Borisovich Khariton
Yulii Borisovich Khariton was a Soviet physicist working in the field of nuclear power...
, also in the uniform of an NKVD colonel. This sojourn in Berlin turned into 10 years in the Soviet Union. Riehl and his staff, including their families, were flown to Moscow on 9 July 1945. Wirths either flew out with Riehl or was later sent to join Riehl in Russia as a member of his group. Eventually, Riehl’s entire laboratory was dismantled and transported to the Soviet Union.
From 1945 to 1950, Riehl was in charge of uranium production at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'
Elektrostal
Elektrostal , known as Zatishye until 1938, is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: 135,000 ; 123,000 ; 97,000 ; 43,000 . Town status was granted to it in 1938.-Industry:...
(Электросталь). German scientists, who were mostly atomic scientists, sent by the Soviets, at the close of World War II, to work in the Riehl group at Plant No. 12 included Alexander Catsch
Alexander Catsch
Alexander Catsch was a German-Russian medical doctor and radiation biologist. Up to the end of World War II, he worked in Nikolaj Vladimirovich Timefeev-Resovskij’s Abteilung für Experimentelle Genetik at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Hirnforschung...
(Katsch), H. J. Born, Ortmann, Przybilla, Herbert Schmitz, Sommerfeldt, Herbert Thieme, Tobein, Günter Wirths, and Karl Günter Zimmer.
Three major technological upgrades were made at Plant No. 12 in the production metallic uranium, two of them involved Wirths as a principle driving force:
- Late in 1945, the United States released the book Atomic Energy for Military Purposes by Henry Smyth. The book was acquired by the Soviets, immediately translated, and distributed to the organizations involved in the Russian atomic bomb project. Riehl read it in one night. From statements in the book, Wirths and Herbert Thieme worked out the ether process, the wet-chemistry extraction process of uranium production, which replaced the low-throughput fractional crystallization method. The ceramic components were obtained from the HermsdorfHermsdorf, ThuringiaHermsdorf is a town in the Saale-Holzland district of the state of Thuringia in eastern Germany. It is especially known for the motorway junction "Hermsdorfer Kreuz" where the two German autobahns A 4 and A 9 meet....
ceramic factory in ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany. A small industrial plant was in operation by February 1946. Its success resulted in a much larger plant being built in 1947, which had a much larger production capacity. It was in operation by the end of 1947.
- Riehl was approached by a scientist from the Nauchno-Issledovatel’skij Institut-9 (NII-9, Scientific Research Institute No. 9). Riehl refers to this man as the Platinum Colonel. The Platinum Colonel expressed the opinion that uranium tetrafluoride could be used in metallic uranium production instead of uranium oxide. Riehl believed this information was derived through Russian espionage, while others more recently credit it to the State Institute for Rare Metals (GIREDMET). In any event, Wirths and the chief engineer at Plant No. 12, Yuri N. Golovanov, worked out the technological applications of the uranium tetrafluoride process in the production of uranium, which was superior to the uranium oxide process. The first experiments with the tetrafluoride were conducted in 1946, and the technology was accepted for industrial application in 1947.
- A high-frequency vacuum oven was acquired for the melting and casting of uranium.
For their work at Plant No. 12, in contribution to the Soviet atomic bomb project
Soviet atomic bomb project
The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb , was a clandestine research and development program began during and post-World War II, in the wake of the Soviet Union's discovery of the United States' nuclear project...
, Wirths and Thieme were awarded a Stalin Prize, second class, and the Order of the Red Banner of Soviet Labor
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
, also known and the Order of the Red Flag.
In preparation for release from the Soviet Union, it was standard practice to put personnel into quarantine for a few years if they worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project, as was the case for Wirths. Additionally, in 1954, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR, German Democratic Republic) and the Soviet Union prepared a list of scientists they wished to keep in the DDR, due to their having worked on projects related to the Soviet atomic bomb project; this list was known as the “A-list”. On this A-list were the names of 18 scientists. Nine, possibly 10, of the names were associated with the Riehl group which worked at Plant No. 12 in Ehlektrostal'. Born, Catsch, Riehl, Wirths, and Zimmer were on the list.
Return to Germany
When Wirths was released from the Soviet Union, he fled to West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and took a job at Degussa as an authority in the production of reactor-grade uranium.
Wirths spoke English as was featured in the 1988 NOVA television program Nazis and the Russian Bomb. In the program, Manfred von Ardenne
Manfred von Ardenne
Manfred von Ardenne was a German research and applied physicist and inventor. He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology...
was also featured; he was a German physicist who directed Institute A, in Sinop, a suburb of Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
. In the documentary, Wirths told a story about the purity of Plant No. 12’s production of uranium. Through espionage, the Soviets has procured a specimen of American uranium and compared it to that at Plant No. 12. The Soviet leaders praised the purity of Plant No. 12’s uranium production. Wirths, indicated that the Americans probably determined had optimized production output by allowing the purity to be less stringent, and said Plant No. 12 was probably “over doing it,” to which one of the Soviet leaders responded, “You damned Germans!”
Selected Literature
- A. Böttcher, G. Wirths, and R. Schulten (Title translated from German) Fuel Elements for a High-temperature Reactor a publication of the Research Org Degussa, Frankfurt a.M.; Mannheim, Germany, 5 pages. US DoE OSTI ID: 4262639, Report Number(s) A/CONF.15/P/1005.
- G. Wirths and L. Ziehl (Title translated from German) Special Problems Arising in Connection with the Production of Uranium Metal and Uranium Compounds a publication of the Research Org Degussa Wolfgang near Hanau a.M., Germany, 14 pages. US DoE OSTI ID: 4261942, Report Number(s) A/CONF.15/P/1001.
- G. Wirths Problems of Chemists in the Production of Uranium and Thorium a publication of Research Org Deutsche Goldund Silber-Scheideanstalt, Wolfgang bei Hanau, 471-484. US DoE OSTI ID: 4298940, CODEN: APASA; 0001-6713.
External links
- German Scientists in the Soviet Atomic Project by Pavel Olyenikov, in The Non Proliferation Review, Summer ed. 2000.