An unprocessed draft manuscript being reconstructed ... - WNLibrary

Eavesdropping on Hitler’s Reich
to work in Berlin on cosmic rays and low temperature physics and be
controlled by an American as well as by a Russian.
“There is a certain trend in the world,” summarised Weizsäcker,
“which is now beginning to appear: let us call it Internationalism.
There are quite a number of people, especially in England and
America who think that way and I don’t know at all whether they’re
doing their countries any good. But they are the people to whom
it is best for us to attach ourselves and we’ll have to support that.
These people who don’t want to keep any secrets about the atomic
bomb are the people who are useful to us.
Heisenberg adopted a narrower approach in his letter to Blackett,
implying that unless they were generously treated by the western
Allies he for one would seriously consider working for the Russians.
“There is a great temptation now, “he explained to Professor
Hahn, “for the Anglo-Saxons to say: ’These people shall, of course,
continue to work. We don’t want to take away all their chances, but
these big technical things are quite out of the question for them.’ . .
That means, we are permanently put on ice, and can do physics on
the Romanian or Bulgarian scale.”
“Then,” Heisenberg continued, emphasising each word, “I
would consider if I shouldn’t go to the Russians after all. . . Up to
now, it is certainly so that in these scientific matters the Russians
are much more generous than the English. . . The Russians have
already learnt the modern way of thinking which the English, of
course, have not up to now.” He recalled the “nice American major”
who told them recently that all the Americans wanted to get home
as fast as possible.
“Well, my God,” said Heisenberg, “if that is what they want,
then we are bound to work with the Russians.”
“Unless,” said Hahn – could the wise old man by now have
guessed that the British were listening? – “Unless the English take
the initiative.”
“They can’t. They are much too weak. They can’t do anything
against the Russians.”
“But of course,” warned Hahn, “it is dangerous to threaten them
0