Reichsforschungsrat
Encyclopedia
The Reichsforschungsrat was created in Germany in 1937 under the Education Ministry for the purpose of centralized planning of all basic and applied research, with the exception of aeronautical research. It was reorganized in 1942 and placed under the Ministry of Armaments.
, the Reichsforschungsrat (RFR, Reich Research Council) was inaugurated on 16 March 1937 by Reich Minister Bernhard Rust
of the Reichserziehungsministerium
(REM, Reich Education Ministry). The RFR was set up to centralize planning for all basic and applied research in Germany, with the exception of aeronautical research, which was under the supervision of Reich Marshal Hermann Göring
. General Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
, head of the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) and dean and professor in the faculty of defense technology at the Technische Hochschule Berlin
, was its president (1937 to 1940). After Becker’s death in 1940, Rust took over as president of the RFR. The vice-president was O. Wacker of the REM. In actuality, the direction of the RFR was carried out by Rudolf Mentzel
, the president of the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft
(DFG, German Scientific Research Association), which, as of 1937, was the new name of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
(NG, Emergency Association of German Science). Support for research was decided by the heads of 13 special sections of the RFR (Fachspartenleiter).
Other members of the Council included:
issued a decree for the reorganization of the RFR as a separate legal entity under the Reich Ministry for Armament and Ammunition; the decree appointed Reich Marshall Göring as the president. The reorganization was done under the initiative of Reich Minister for Armament and Ammunition Albert Speer
; it was necessary as the RFR under Minister Rust was ineffective and not achieving it purpose. It was the hope that Göring would manage the RFR with the same discipline and efficiency as he had in the aviation sector. A meeting was held on 6 July 1942 to discuss the function of the RFR and set its agenda. The meeting was a turning point in National Socialism’s attitude towards science, as well as recognition that its policies which drove Jewish scientists out of Germany were a mistake, as the Reich needed their expertise. In 1933, Max Planck
, as president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft
, had met with Adolf Hitler
. During the meeting, Planck told Hitler that forcing Jewish scientists to emigrate would mutilate Germany and the benefits of their work would go to foreign countries. Hitler went into a rant on the Jews and Planck could only remain silent and then take his leave.
Creation
On the initiative of Erich SchumannErich Schumann
Erich Schumann was a German physicist who specialized in acoustics and explosives, and had a penchant for music, as he was a grandson of the classical composer Robert Schumann. He was a general officer in the army and a professor at the University of Berlin and the Technical University of Berlin...
, the Reichsforschungsrat (RFR, Reich Research Council) was inaugurated on 16 March 1937 by Reich Minister Bernhard Rust
Bernhard Rust
Dr. Bernhard Rust was Minister of Science, Education and National Culture in Nazi Germany. A combination of school administrator and zealous Nazi, he issued decrees, often bizarre, at every level of the German educational system to immerse German youth in the National Socialist philosophy...
of the Reichserziehungsministerium
Reichserziehungsministerium
The Reichserziehungsministerium was officially known as the Reichsministerium für Wissenschaft, Erziehung und Volksbildung .-Background:...
(REM, Reich Education Ministry). The RFR was set up to centralize planning for all basic and applied research in Germany, with the exception of aeronautical research, which was under the supervision of Reich Marshal Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
. General Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker was a German weapons engineer and artillery general. He advocated and implemented close ties of the military to science for purposes of advanced weapons development...
, head of the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) and dean and professor in the faculty of defense technology at the Technische Hochschule Berlin
Technical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
, was its president (1937 to 1940). After Becker’s death in 1940, Rust took over as president of the RFR. The vice-president was O. Wacker of the REM. In actuality, the direction of the RFR was carried out by Rudolf Mentzel
Rudolf Mentzel
Rudolf Mentzel was a German chemist and a National Socialist science policy-maker. He was an Undersecretary of the Reich Ministry of Education in the Office for Science. In the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, he was on the advisory board and, during World War II, Second Vice President...
, the president of the Deutsche Forschungs-Gemeinschaft
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
(DFG, German Scientific Research Association), which, as of 1937, was the new name of the Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft
Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft was founded on 30 October 1920 on the initiative of leading members of the Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften – Fritz Haber, Max Planck, and Ernst von Harnack – and the former Preußischen...
(NG, Emergency Association of German Science). Support for research was decided by the heads of 13 special sections of the RFR (Fachspartenleiter).
Other members of the Council included:
- Kurt DiebnerKurt DiebnerKurt Diebner was a German nuclear physicist who is well known for directing and administrating the German nuclear energy project, a secretive program aiming to built weapon of mass destruction for the Nazi Germany during the course of World War II...
– Head of the RFR nuclear physics experimental site at StadtilmStadtilmStadtilm is a town in the Ilm-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Ilm, 15 km northeast of Ilmenau, and 11 km southeast of Arnstadt....
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....
and director of the Versuchsstelle (testing station) of the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office) in Gottow. - Abraham EsauAbraham EsauRobert Abraham Esau was a German physicist.After receipt of his doctorate from the University of Berlin, Esau worked at Telefunken, where he pioneered very high frequency waves used in radar, radio, and television, and he was president of the Deutscher Telefunken Verband...
– Head of the physics division from 1937 to the end of 1943. Plenipotentiary for nuclear physics from December 1942 to 1943, then plenipotentiary for high-frequency physics. - Walther Gerlach – Replaced Abraham Esau as head of the physics division and plenipotentiary for nuclear physics on 1 January 1944.
- Werner Osenberg – Head of the planning board in the RFR 29 June 1943 to 1945. He also initiated the recall of approximately 5000 scientists and engineers from active military duty on the front so they could devote their talents to research and development. By the end of the war, the number recalled reached 15,000.
- Otto ScherzerOtto ScherzerOtto Scherzer was a German theoretical physicist who made contributions to electron microscopy.-Education:...
– Head of radar finding (1944 – 1945). - Erich SchumannErich SchumannErich Schumann was a German physicist who specialized in acoustics and explosives, and had a penchant for music, as he was a grandson of the classical composer Robert Schumann. He was a general officer in the army and a professor at the University of Berlin and the Technical University of Berlin...
– Plenipotentiary for the physics of explosives (1942-1945). - Peter Adolf ThiessenPeter Adolf ThiessenPeter Adolf Thiessen was a German physical chemist. He voluntarily went to the Soviet Union at the close of World War II, and he received high Soviet decorations and the Stalin Prize for contributions to the Soviet atomic bomb project.-Education:Thiessen was born in Schweidnitz .From 1919 to...
– Head of the division of chemistry and organic materials.
Reorganization
On 9 June 1942, Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
issued a decree for the reorganization of the RFR as a separate legal entity under the Reich Ministry for Armament and Ammunition; the decree appointed Reich Marshall Göring as the president. The reorganization was done under the initiative of Reich Minister for Armament and Ammunition Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
; it was necessary as the RFR under Minister Rust was ineffective and not achieving it purpose. It was the hope that Göring would manage the RFR with the same discipline and efficiency as he had in the aviation sector. A meeting was held on 6 July 1942 to discuss the function of the RFR and set its agenda. The meeting was a turning point in National Socialism’s attitude towards science, as well as recognition that its policies which drove Jewish scientists out of Germany were a mistake, as the Reich needed their expertise. In 1933, Max Planck
Max Planck
Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck, ForMemRS, was a German physicist who actualized the quantum physics, initiating a revolution in natural science and philosophy. He is regarded as the founder of the quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.-Life and career:Planck came...
, as president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science was a German scientific institution established in 1911. It was implicated in Nazi science, and after the Second World War was wound up and its functions replaced by the Max Planck Society...
, had met with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. During the meeting, Planck told Hitler that forcing Jewish scientists to emigrate would mutilate Germany and the benefits of their work would go to foreign countries. Hitler went into a rant on the Jews and Planck could only remain silent and then take his leave.