quite different than heretofore publicly disclosed (28). The
overwhelming fact is that until now establishment historians have
not had enough information to reach final conclusions about the
German atomic program. Many facts have been concealed and these
facts are only now being brought into the open. One fact is that
there were even more German atomic programs than previously
known, and the fact is that one of these programs was run by the
SS (28).
One establishment historian, Thomas Powers (29), perhaps
unwittingly gives us some insight into the discussion at hand,
Powers concentrates on the historical sequence of the German
atomic program and with the people involved and their
relationships with one another. He also follows the progress of
the many organizations researching atomic physics for the
purposes of energy production and bomb making. Powers documents
six such groups.
One group concerns this discussion. It was run by the
Heereswaffenamt or Army Weapons Department. Its Director of
Research was Dr. Erich Schumann who was also the scientific
advisor to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. Schumann was a
professor of military physics at the University of Berlin. He
also held a commission in the army so with these credentials he
was able to move comfortably in both academic and military
circles. Schumann should be thought of as an administrator
rather than a research scientist (30).
The field of research was left to Dr. Kurt Diebner (31). Diebner
was a physicist for the Heereswaffenamt since 1934 and headed his
own atomic research project. German physics during the war years
was geared towards practical results. During the early phases of
the war it was thought that nuclear weapons were unnecessary.
The thinking at the time was that the war could be won without an
atomic bomb using conventional weaponry. Therefore, work on
atomic weapons was de-emphasized in the early years of the war.
Work on atomic means of energy production was always a high
priority, a priority which only got higher as the war drug to a
conclusion.
Germany always felt more threatened by dependence upon foreign
sources for energy. Therefore, harnessing the energy potential
of the atom for an ongoing source of energy was always a concern
for German atomic scientists, much more so than for the
Americans. This aim is clearly mentioned in discussion among the
scientists involved in the work.
In early 1942 the success of Diebner's reactor experiments lead
him to propose a full-scale effort to develop both powerproducing machines and atomic bombs. He continued to pressure
Schumann who was more pessimistic about the possibilities of
bringing this research to a practical result. Schumann finally
became convinced and agreed to give a presentation to top Nazi
officials of their findings. The text of Schumann's speech was
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