German chemistry

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The German chemistry describes a special development of the subject chemistry within the National Socialist scientific system. Comparable to “ German Physics ” or “ German Mathematics ”, attempts were made to base chemistry on the National Socialist ideology .

Goals and content

During the Nazi era , based on the first successes of "German Physics" around 1935, a comparable initiative for the reorganization of science according to racial aspects arose in chemistry, by the journalistic chemists Conrad Weygand , Rembert Ramsauer , Helmut Harms , Karl Lothar Wolf and Robert M. Müller was worn. These scientists, all of whom except Ramsau were university professors, endeavored to develop a theory and systematics of chemistry based on National Socialist ideology and to demonstrate the superiority of their teaching over modern chemistry, which was rejected as rationalistic, mechanistic and too specific. Similar to "German Physics", the approaches of "German Chemistry" were based on the racial conviction that only German researchers can understand nature in its entirety. The focus of the theoretical building, understood as an alternative to the modern atomic model , was the “creative atomic theory” developed by Wolf and Ramsauer and formulated in a textbook by Wolf, which combined the historical atomic theory of the German doctor Daniel Sennert with Goethe's morphology . The “shape” should not be understood as an external form, but as a carrier of the smallest amount of the quality of any material appearance in nature. After the war, Wolf's preoccupation with Goethe led to his being co-editor of his scientific writings in Weimar.

Connection with the National Socialist ideology

This concept was based on the conviction that the most diverse processes and forms in nature can be traced back to the same development pattern (“ shape ”) and are thus connected to one another despite their differences. Through this principle of uniformity and wholeness, the connection between “German chemistry” and the National Socialist ideology succeeded, as the “creative atomic theory” of a holistic and organic image of nature and a hierarchy is similar to the conviction of the holistic nature of the national body and a fixed hierarchy of races ran out of elements. Although Wolf's textbook on the “creative atomic theory” achieved some distribution in the “Third Reich” well into the post-war period, it was ultimately not able to develop a notable influence on the established theories either under National Socialism or in the post-war years.

literature

  • Martin Bechstedt: "Structural atomic theory" - On "German chemistry" in the Nazi state. In: Herbert Mehrtens / Steffen Richter (eds.): Natural science, technology and Nazi ideology. Contributions to the history of science in the Third Reich. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1980, ISBN 3-518-07903-4 , pp. 142-165.
  • Ute Deichmann : Escape, join in, forget. Chemists and biochemists during the Nazi era. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2001, ISBN 3-527-30264-6 .
  • Vonderau, Markus: "German Chemistry". The attempt of a German-like, holistic, form-like natural science during the time of National Socialism. Dissertation University of Marburg, Marburg / Lahn 1994.
  • Helmut Maier : chemist in the "Third Reich". The German Chemical Society and the Association of German Chemists in the National Socialist Ruling Apparatus , Wiley, Weinheim 2015, ISBN 978-3-527-33846-7 .

Web links

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b c d Cf. Bechstedt, Martin: "Gestaltliche Atomlehre" - On "Deutsche Chemie" in the Nazi state. In: Mehrtens, Herbert / Richter, Steffen (ed.): Natural science, technology and Nazi ideology. Contributions to the history of science in the Third Reich. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1980.
  2. ↑ a b See Deichmann, Ute: Flüchten, Mitmachen, Vergessen. Chemists and biochemists during the Nazi era. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2001.
  3. ↑ Cf. Vonderau, Markus: "Deutsche Chemie". The attempt of a German-like, holistic, form-like natural science during the time of National Socialism. Dissertation University of Marburg, Marburg / Lahn 1994.
  4. ↑ Karl Lothar Wolf “Theoretical Chemistry. An introduction from the standpoint of a creative atomic theory. ”First published in 1941, later reprinted three times after the war in a little changed form, last in 1959 by Barth in Leipzig in the 4th edition.