If one has read the official, secret Farm Hall Transcripts
("Operation Epsilon"), especially the weekly reports made on the crew of
captive physicists, they dovetail nicely with these private letters.
Although censored,the letters are urgently personal in tone, reflecting
the complete uncertainty and powerlessness over their and their families' fate. There is also, however, such hope and fervor directed at the new beginning.
Anyone who wonders what Heisenberg was up to during the war, will find the
congruency of the 'official' record in Farm Hall and his personal
statements pretty conclusive, a hallmark of strength of character,
honesty, and general integrity.
Heidelberg 5/4/45
My Dear
Li,
Today
just these few short lines which I hope I can pass to an American officer.
Yesterday we drove here, a car ride incredibly beautiful in terms of the
landscape, but very cold in the open vehicle. At about 3 in the morning we
arrived. In my feelings the calamity of the past and the view of the endless
destruction are intermingled with the intense happiness about being able to
start anew and to rebuild. For our little circle too life is beginning anew.- From
the outside I am doing extremely well, I am staying in the nicest room in the
fanciest house in Heidelberg, view of the Neckar and
the castle, am getting plenty to eat and am being treated very nicely; albeit
as a captive, for I am not allowed to go out. But that is alright, is obvious
in light of the situation. There is talk that I may be off to America, perhaps San Francisco (that is what Diebner
heard who is also here). In that event I will try to take you along. I for my part, am feeling that for the first time in 12 years I can
do something for Germany and am so fresh and alive as I
have not been in years. May fate grant that I am up to my task.- Stay safe, I will soon come, I think, to visit you and to
discuss all this. I am sending along the food stamps, since I do not need them here. A thousand
greetings!
Yours,
Werner
Heidelberg, 5/7/1945
My dear
Li,
I am
writing to you on the typewriter so that the censor can read the letter more
easily. As of today I know a little more about the plans for the future. First
something sad: it will take a little longer until I can return. Prof. Goudsmith who is here, assumes it
could be eight days or also four weeks. Most likely I will be brought for a
short while to the Paris area. But otherwise all the
prospects for the future are positive. The wishes of the committee here with
respect to our scientific work later on are largely overlapping with my own. We
talked about the issue whether or not I should go to America, but concluded that one ought to
try anew here. If in Berlin or in Hechingen
would need exploration, it also depends on
how much of the Berlin institute remains standing and on whether Debye wants to return, which Goudsmith
deems possible, strangely enough. At any rate, I now have the distinct hope
that already this summer we will move together into our eventual place, and
since everybody is helping, I think, we will be nicely settling in.
My main
worry for these coming weeks is, whether you in Urfeld
should go hungry. It may be best if Schuster discusses the arising difficulties
with the officer in charge. The issue primarily is the bread transports from Lugauer and
delivery of butter and milk from Schermer
which is hampered by the destruction of the bridge
in Schlehdorf. The American agencies themselves have
the utmost interest in getting these things back to order, and besides, the Urfeld population will be just as happy too. I am going to
ask the officer who will kindly deliver this letter to you that he should
inquire after your concerns and if possible be of help. In light of the great
kindness we have been shown here, I have no doubt that help will be given
whenever feasible.
The
conversations with Goudsmith and Kemble
were of such a friendly spirit as if the
last six years had not happened, and I myself am doing so well within and without,
better than in many years. I am full of hope and an enterprising mood for the
future. Naturally, there will be some setbacks, but that must not deter us.
So,
darling, we will really start from scratch
during this year still; if it will be
right away a house with a garden full of roses, I do not know, but it will be
better than before. So do not be too sad if I am l gone a little longer still,
the worst is now behind us.
To you
and the children all my best, yours, Werner
Why don't
you hand the officer a few lines for me?
(Farm Hall) 5/12/45
My dear
Li!
The
external circumstances of our lives have, after a much less pleasant interim,
changed back into the most pleasant forms, and if it weren't for the separation
from you and the worries about you, I couldn't imagine a better existence. We,
that is, the eight most important members of our work group are staying in a
little castle. A section of the park is accessible to us, and so we are for
large parts of time amidst the most glorious early summer. From the festive
dining room one steps out onto a terrace, below which begins a scruffy lawn
with ornamental bushes, not trimmed for ages. To the right corner a gorgeous
climbing rose reaches up to the balcony, the blossoms all large and filled,
much more beautiful than at the corner of the Bozener
Weg, and yet of the finest fragrance I have known in
roses. On the first floor I have a room of my own with a ceiling height window,
whose lower portion is protected by an artfully crafted iron grid, so that it
might be almost a kind of balcony. Here I can work by myself and sleep. Our
circle is guided and guarded by an unusually nice British Major, with whom we
take the meals in the dining hall. This way we are also getting the officer's
rations, which in every respect are equal to the fare on a large Atlantic
steamer. You see that it hardly could be any better physically, and the
temporary loss of freedom is no bother either, after getting used to that
during the last years. The most important remaining wish is that negotiations
and deliberations would begin more quickly. Apparently, for now we are to be safeguarded,
and even if meanwhile a report on the first consultations has reached America, it will take some time again,
until it results in decisions about our future activity.
If I knew
that you all are well, and that you can make it even without my labor in Urfeld, I wouldn't be too anxious about my time of waiting
here. But this way the waiting is harder. We must console ourselves that the
coming weeks will be decisive for the whole future life of our family, that we
are now beginning anew but with much bigger hopes than before. We just must
have patience in this. I hope to receive soon some news from you too. Greetings
to Mama and the children, and stay healthy and brave. Yours, Werner.
(Farm Hall) 8/(6)/45
My dear
Li!
After a
long time we are finally allowed again to write home. But I do hope that you
were informed occasionally by the American officers that I am well, and that my
silence does not mean anything bad. If there were not the separation from you
all, I would be doing quite excellently here. The fact that we are completely
sealed off from the world at large does not bother me, and I am using the time
for scientific work, as well as exercising a lot. So you need not worry about
me in the least. Even though nothing can be said about the date of my return, I
am still optimistic on all counts regarding the plans for the future.
The only
thing really weighing on me a lot is the worry about you all. I have a very bad
conscience that I am not with you in this most awful time, but I really can't
change that. So I am asking you to write to me in great detail what the
conditions are like for you, if you have food, if you have help for the work, where
Mama is living and if you are healthy. So far I have only received a letter
from May 17 from you. The officer who will bring you this letter will also send
back your answer, and since it is possible that he himself will come here
again, it would be good if you gave him a verbal account of what the conditions
in Urfeld are like.
Greetings
to Mama and the children, especially to little Martin,
whose birthday is tomorrow. I hope the separation will not last too much longer
now. All the best! Yours, Werner.
(Farm Hall) 11/?/45
My dear
Li!
When this package reaches you, Christmas will be right around
the corner, and you ought to have at least this greeting and a few little
presents from me as you are joining together under the Christmas tree. And yet,
I have to confess there is still a tiny bit of hope in a corner of my heart
that I may be with you all at Christmas. Because the fundamental questions
about atomic research should have been resolved in Washington, and thus there could also be a
decision made about us. But I no longer dare express such hopes here, so that I
won't be ridiculed by the others who are more pessimistic with regard to the
human sentiments of our political gentlemen. Besides, we are being treated here
very well by the officers; the trinkets in this package too are courtesy of the
friendly Sergeant in charge of us. And according to the newspapers, the
American and British physicists are bravely fighting for the independence and
internationalism of science and thereby for us too. The day before yesterday, I
received your two letters from Frankfurt, and that was again a great joy after such a long time.
That the material difficulties in Urfeld are great, I
already knew; but once the help you were promised is getting in gear, you ought
to be able to live very well, compared to the general conditions in Germany.
Since my last letter apparently did not get to Urfeld
via courier, but via mail, I do not know whether you received the 1700 Marks
that I included in a sealed envelope. If not, please inquire at Mr. Robertson's
in Frankfurt. Aside from that, I hope that you
managed in Hechingen to have my salary (both from the
K.W.G. and from the Univ. of Berlin) issued to you directly by the K.W.G. at a
percentage rate set by the K.W.G.; I had written to Mr. Menzer
he too should see to it. It is a good thing that you have gotten in contact
with Hechingen; when you need something, the
institute can help, perhaps you can also maintain a
correspondence with Mrs. Wirtz.
But now I want to write about Christmas too. All of the
children will again be assembled up there in Urfeld,
Wolfgang and Maria after the powerful experience of a lengthy stay away in the
children's home and school. Surely those two will be particularly happy, and
you will make music with them, sing carols, play the recorder like last year,
but the circle is smaller than then. You have to distribute the gifts as you
deem right. Our Sergeant who had given all this some thought in his kind
manner, offered this: The box of modeling clay for Woi,
the little sewing basket for Ria, the box of pencils
for Jochen, the coloring pencils for Martin, the
bunny for Barbara and the dog for little Christine. For you there is the edible
portion, which, I am learning just now, will get sent to you separately; but I
may have another gift for you, originally meant for your birthday: In the
little brown suitcase in the attic there is a longish, grey package which you
probably have not yet found, or else you would have written me. Waltraut is supposed to un-wrap it and place it onto your
table. Then I am enclosing a letter for Woi and Ria; they are big enough to read
it themselves. You have to put it on their Christmas gift table.
What you wrote about the positions in Heidelberg and Munich made me very happy; that the
children might grow up in the Munich area would be a tempting thought.
But our future will be decided by the political establishment.
Now, darling, don't be too sad, if I am not with you on
Christmas; let us hope that the next year will bring a good solution for all
difficulties. Greetings also to Waltraut,
to W's mother, and to the acquaintance of Jaegers who is helping so kindly.
Heartfelt wishes to you all! Yours, Werner
Alswede near Minden 1/3/46
My dear
Li!
This is
the first evening back in Germany since the end of the war. Whether
and when this letter will get on its way, I don't know yet, but I do want to
chat with you right away. It was a beautiful flight from England over here, clouds and blue sky in
succession, the sea below us with little waves much like in a calm voyage.
Now I may perhaps, finally, be permitted to tell
you where I have been and where I am now. We got around in Europe quite a bit. First from Heidelberg to Versailles, then we stayed for a few weeks
in a small suburb of Paris, le Vesinet
(?), even saw the city occasionally, in early June we arrived at a manor in
Belgium near Liege, finally in early July -by plane-, to England where we
stayed in a little village near Cambridge at a small country estate. That's
where we remained these last six months, completely closed off from the world outside.
I saw just a few colleagues and friends : Blackett above all has attended to us. Twice I saw Fritz
(ed. note E.F.Schumacher, Elisabeth's brother), as
recently as last night at a meeting of the Royal Institution in London. He was well again - he had been
seriously ill for 6 weeks - and he may come back to Germany. Aside from these few exceptions
we were prisoners; we were treated decently, were cared for excellently in
material terms, it is true, but the fact that we were told nothing about our
future fate and that of our families - the secrecy in this seemed to us totally
absurd -made our life actually quite difficult.
This long
time of captivity seemed bearable only through the scientific work which we did
partly together, partly each on his own, about anything that came to mind. Books
were graciously supplied. We don't know yet what it is going to be like here.
It looks as if we will be much freer. But one has to wait and see. The purpose
of our stay is the following: the highest ranks have determined that all of us
should have our future workplaces in the British occupation zone; why, we do
not know. Perhaps because it is easiest here to have our work supervised for
the long term. We have been told from many sources that the conditions in the
British zone are the most favorable. Thus we have no reason to be mal content.
But no matter: we are now supposed to find here the future location for our
institute. I get the impression that we will eventually either be brought to Hamburg or to Göttingen.
Both of these locations have many positive aspects. For institute and living
spaces the British will be providing. So the next weeks will be spent making
plans and to arrive at agreements. Once we are a little clearer, Blackett will come here and discuss the situation with us.
Before then a very nice British chemist is taking care of us. So I cannot say
anything yet about the positions in Heidelberg and Munich; as far as I can tell I will not
be allowed to take them- which is bitter as far as Munich goes, for one because of Urfeld and because of Sommerfeld.
But this decision seems to be forged by the mightiest gentlemen in this world,
so it will therefore not be easily changed. Besides, both in Hamburg and in Göttingen
I can imagine quite a pleasant life.
Whether I
can come to Urfeld before the eventual move, sort of
on a vacation, I do not know yet. It would probably be easier for you to visit
me here than the other way around. But that too will only be decided in a few
days. I am hoping that starting next week something will really happen with regard
to our future. When discussing the possibilities in Hamburg, I am sure that Mayor Petersen,
Fritz's father-in-law, could help a lot. If I am slated for Göttingen,
I will, of course, also inquire after the Westphals
and our violin. Also, I am living here just 40km away from Osnabrück,
so it may be possible to make a connection there.
We are
staying I a small store- front house in the village of Alswede near Minden. From my room which is facing
south, the view extends over some 5 km of
solidly frozen farmland and behind it the hilly range of the Weser -Bergland.
I am pleased to finally see mountains again, any excursions afar, however, will
be limited by the cold, for we only have summer suits and summer coats with us.
Sunday
night: Meanwhile I have had a conference with two men of the science advisory
board at the British Headquarters. Next week the first trip to Göttingen is scheduled; then we will see about institute
and living spaces. Harteck is going back to Hamburg in a few days; he can explore the
conditions in Hamburg already. We are now permitted to
run around totally free and write letters to our heart's content. You too can
now write me via standard mail, at my address: Alswede
at Lübbeke, Minden County, Westfalia,
c/o Albersmaier. If my stay here lasts much longer,
then you could come visit me some day; but for now there is hope that it will
progress more quickly so that I can come to you all in the not too distant
future.
At any
rate, I will tell you about that then. I am curious, when I will get your first
letters to this place.
Your
Christmas letter still reached me in England. Should the 1700 Marks I sent
you, still not have arrived - I again have had somebody look into that - then
please address in writing the American Military offices in Frankfurt. Until now the people in Frankfurt sent word that the sealed letter
with the money and a private letter were sent off to you in early November.
They might have arrived in Urfeld when you were not
there. So you have to let them know also
if the Urfeld
people have seen the letter, if a courier was there, etc.
So, now I
want to send this letter off as a first dove, who will return, I hope, with an
olive branch. I am hoping that Christmas was nice for you all, and that maybe I
can still participate a little in your festivities vicariously through your
letter.
Now,
here's hoping for a happy reunion soon! Greetings to the children, Yours,
Werner
Alswede 1/9/46
My dear
Li!
Since my
first letter from here not too much else has happened; but I want to use the
opportunity to write to you and to be with you again with all my thoughts for a
short hour. Today we had another rather long negotiation with one of the
British officers, who is also a physicist and who is in charge of setting our relocation
in motion. Once you get to the practical issues and realities, only then you do
see the incredible difficulties that need to be resolved, before we can again
live together reasonably and do work. On Sunday, Hahn and I will drive to Göttingen to investigate the possibilities there. My sense
right now is more that we will eventually end up in Hamburg; for I do not see how we can
obtain living space in Göttingen, whereas in Hamburg it is possibly easier due to its
bigger size. Also there still need to be negotiations with the French as to
whether they will let the institutes leave Hechingen.
The strangest thing is that the Americans do not want to let us into the
American zone; and this order comes from the highest ranks. The only reason I
can come up with so far is that there they do not have enough control - the
Americans have left behind very few troops-, and the main concern of the
political entities seems to be that we should not be suddenly abducted by the
Russians; of course, I would be the least bit interested in that myself, but
one is astonished that the Americans apparently do not believe they are safe
from the Russians in their own sector. Eventually for the move, the Americans
will undoubtedly have to allow me into Hechingen and Urfeld once. The transport will, of course, be an
incredible task once again. But
we
are coming from England healthy and well nourished, and
are full of energy for the reconstruction of the institute. If on top of that I
get letters from you-, and this is my great hope as of next week- then the
occasional emotional setbacks will be surmounted more quickly too. - Since you
have probably been asked often whether
I am connected with the "atomic
bomb", I am sending along a copy of a section of a letter of v.Weizsäcker to his wife that describes this problem
exactly right. Of the British and American colleagues who have worked on it, I
know many, some of them are my pupils, and they have my sympathy, because their
names are now tied to this atrocity. That the physicists did not want this use
of their knowledge goes completely without saying, and there may be behind the
scenes of American politics some complications on account of it. But this has
now happened already; and perhaps, when people have calmed down a little again,
then this new threat awakens the sense of togetherness of all people in such a
dangerous world. - If you still have pictures of the children, why don't you
send a few along; and do tell me lots about them, of Christmas and of school.
Give them my heartfelt greetings! Yours, Werner.
Alswede 1/14/46
My dear
Li!
A few
letters of mine should have reached you, I think, since the time we have come
back to Germany. Now that one of the fellows who
previously was looking after us in captivity is traveling to Bavaria, I want to send him to Urfeld - his name is Scholz- he
can also bring your answer back here. Take care of him a little, that is, give
him something to eat or an overnight place if he needs it. Unfortunately, I
cannot send along any packages, since he cannot carry much. I have here a whole
suitcase of children's things which Fritz gave to me in London, in addition some treasures like
tea, coffee, cocoa. Maybe you could visit me here sometime and take the things-, otherwise it will have to wait, till I come to Urfeld, which will probably still be some time off. I know
that travel is now very difficult and so I do not want to impose on you
anything that is not absolutely necessary. In any case, we here would be at
liberty such that we could receive visits from you-, and that I would love to
see you again, I do not have to go into; but why don't you write first what you
think about this possibility. I just spent three days in Göttingen
together with an unusually nice British Officer and have deliberated on the
future of my institute. There are many indications that we all will cometo Göttingen not too far down
the line. They have huge empty institute rooms there, so that the external
givens are not bad. Difficulty: Proximity to the Russians and lack of housing.
With respect to the latter it is not entirely bad either; it looks as if we
could get a flat in a rather ugly house, whose interior, however, would first
be refurbished properly. In the same house many others from the institute would
also be lodging. Life without a garden would be a bit sad for me, but one
cannot have everything right away, besides one can later on improve on it.
Before this plan gets activated, some time will still pass, however; for the
decisions about us appear to be actually made by Mr. Truman himself. Atomic
physicists are regarded as very suspicious people. Perhaps I can come to Urfeld once before the move; but that is unfortunately not
a sure bet at all. In Göttingen I have seen many
acquaintances; to Otto Westphal I spoke on the
telephone. Maria Westphal had a baby ten days ago and
seems to be doing well. Her mother was in Göttingen
too, but I did not meet her, unfortunately. Otherwise things there seemed to be
so- so; everybody was very pleased with the British zone and was complaining
about the Americans who apparently are not very astute. I ask you to write to
me in detail and this time completely candidly about the conditions where you
are. Your letter, going with Mr. Scholz, is no longer
passing through censorship. (A certain caution of expression is nevertheless good;
one can never know who will get to see the letter some day.) Otto Westphal told me, Maria had gotten a letter from you that
depicted the conditions in Urfeld as rather dismal.
But I assumed that that was dated news; for your letter at Christmas had been
quite cheerful. You had received my letter, and the one to Woi
and Ria, and the Christmas
packet, hadn't you? Also you were treated very well by the American officers,
right?
Overall,
I am very optimistic after my visit to Göttingen, in
spite of all the difficulties still ahead. Sadly, Walter Weigmann
appears to have been let go from the university due to party membership; I did
not learn anything else about him. I also do not know where he is now staying
and living. Destroyed is almost nothing in Göttingen.
That too would be, even with regard to the children, a big plus for Göttingen. If you see Sommerfeld,
then please tell him the following: The Americans have at this time given
orders that we should be in the British zone; a reconstruction of the University of Munich does not seem to get much support
at all. I learned from Jensen that Sommerfeld's
professorship would be offered to Mr. Ganz, as acting
substitute, for now; I think that is a rather good plan, since definitely for
now - that is in the next few years, I will not be allowed to go to Munich. But
Sommerfeld can also get information himself from the American colleagues or
officers; I think he is in very good standing with the Americans. But even he
won't be able to influence any decisions on atomic physics either. Please give Sommerfeld my very best! -
In a few
days Blackett will probably come here and deliberate
with us. Thus there are many who care a great deal about us. I was very
comforted to see that the human relationships between the scientists of
different countries have not suffered on account of the war.
Fritz may
be getting a position in Germany's finance administration; but
that is still uncertain, and I shouldn't probably even mention it. So, I now
have to end, because I have to hand the letter over. I am so happy in
anticipation of an answer from you; maybe the mail will bring something in the
next few days already. Many greetings to the children, also to Waltraut and the other Urfelders!
Yours, Werner.
Alswede 1/20/46
My dear
Li!
This
morning Hahn and I went on a long excursion with Major Blount, from here to the
crest of the Weser Mountains and back. Of course, there was
lengthy talk about our plans for the future. The general plan is as follows:
First the politicians in Washington have to decide that we go to Göttingen, and the French have to agree to release the
institute from there. All this is supposed to happen in the next weeks, but, of
course, takes much longer than one would like. Then we would likely relocate to
Göttingen very soon, would oversee the refurbishing
of the (probably not too ample) living space, and then the move of the families
could ensue. It does not look as if we would get permission to go to, say, Hechingen or Bavaria, before the move.
For the
families the move therefore will be accomplished technically somehow, but the
execution would rest with the women. Just the Hechingen
males can be utilized for help, particularly also our mechanics. About the
details we can confer by letter, also you could come visit me anytime, but
nowadays one will travel - especially if it is as cold as right now- only if it
is unavoidably necessary; so let us wait and see first how it develops.
During
the last week we have had many visitors here and thus learned a few things
about Germany. We had to fill out
questionnaires that resembled to a T those of the Third Reich - except for the premise.
I was reminded of the stupid joke of many years ago, which posited that the
questionnaires of the Fourth Reich would contain the question: Have you ever
been in a concentration camp? If not; why not? The first question is actually
in the questionnaire, just slightly different; only the second one is omitted.
Among the more problematic joys here we count the visits of colleagues who have
very actively and some of them plain awfully acted within the NS ideology, and
who are now seeking our friendship. But all of this is not essential.
Overall I
am doing fine here, because I have the feeling I am working towards the future,
not just for that of our small circle, but for that of our extended cultural
community. I would be glad if that extended cultural community were not only
called Germany, but Europe in the future; however,
unfortunately, politics are not always running the course one would wish. Weizsäcker and I have written a few papers on
Hydrodynamics, a field that I have never dealt with earlier, except for my
dissertation. I believe that these papers turned out quite well. Of course, one
can for the time being not publish anything in Germany, but that will soon change.
Wirtz
and a few others have gone to the circus tonight, which will amuse the village
for a few days. I myself do not yet yearn for this kind of distraction. I am
intently wishing to receive mail from you and am thinking every day there would
be a letter. Maybe also Scholz is soon coming back.
Hopefully you are all well. Could you send me the address of the Jacobis?
Greetings
to the children, Waltraut too, and all the other
housemates!
Yours, Werner