Stanislav Grof
Czech pychiatrist
Klaus Fuchs
German-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II. He was convicted and served 9 years in prison in the UK before migrating to East Germany, where he resumed his career as a physicist and scientific leader.
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About the Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Emil Julius Fuchswas a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II. While at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Fuchs was responsible for many significant theoretical calculations relating to the first nuclear weapons and, later, early models of the hydrogen bomb. After his conviction in 1950, he served nine years in prison in the United Kingdom, then migrated to East Germany where he resumed his career as a physicist and scientific leader.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, Fuchs attended the University of Leipzig, where his father was a professor of theology, and became involved in student politics, joining the student branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germanycentral committee. He was later appointed deputy director of the Central Institute for Nuclear Physics in Dresden, where he served until his retirement in 1979.
Frequently Asked Questions
Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II.
While at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Fuchs was responsible for many significant theoretical calculations relating to the first nuclear weapons and, later, early models of the hydrogen bomb.
After his conviction in 1950, Fuchs served nine years in prison in the United Kingdom, then migrated to East Germany where he resumed his career as a physicist and scientific leader.
The son of a Lutheran pastor, Fuchs attended the University of Leipzig, where he became involved in student politics and joined the Communist Party of Germany, later fleeing to the United Kingdom.
Fuchs began passing information on the project to the Soviet Union through Ursula Kuczynski, a German communist and major in Soviet military intelligence, while working on the Manhattan Project in the United States.
Fuchs’ chief area of expertise was the problem of implosion, necessary for the development of the plutonium bomb, and he made significant theoretical calculations related to the first nuclear weapons and early models of the hydrogen bomb.
After his release in 1959, Fuchs migrated to the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), where he was elected to the Academy of Sciences and became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, serving as the deputy director of the Central Institute for Nuclear Physics in Dresden until his retirement in 1979.
18 Quotes by Klaus Fuchs
- 1.
At this time I had complete confidence in Russian policy and believed that the Western Allies deliberately allowed Germany and Russia to fight each other to death.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 2.
Before I joined the project most of the English people with whom I had made personal contacts were left wing and affected to some degree or other by the same kind of philosophy.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 3.
I joined the Communist Party because I felt I had to be in some organization.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 4.
In the post war period I began again to have my doubts about Russian policy.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 5.
The Communist Party said that I must finish my studies because after the revolution in Germany people would be required with technical knowledge to take part in the building of the Communist Germany.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 6.
I was lucky because on the morning after the burning of the Reichstag I left my home very early to catch a train to Berlin for the conference of our student organization and that is the only reason why I escaped arrest.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 7.
Shortly afterwards my father told me that he might be going into the Eastern Zone of Germany. At that time my own mind was closer to his than it had ever been before, because he also believed that they are at least trying to build a new world.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 8.
At that time I had complete confidence in Russian policy and I believed that the Western Allies deliberately allowed Russia and Germany to fight each other to the death.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 9.
I was a student in Germany when Hitler came to power.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 10.
The last time when I handed over information was in February or March 1949.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 11.
I was ready to accept the philosophy that the Party is right and that in the coming struggle you could not permit yourself any doubts after the party had made a decision.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 12.
I was in the underground until I left Germany.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 13.
I had therefore, no hesitation in giving all the information I had, even though occasionally I tried to concentrate mainly on giving information about the results of my own work.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 14.
Finally Germany’s attack on Russia seemed to confirm that Russia was not shirking and was prepared to carry out a foreign policy with the risk of war with Germany.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 15.
Since that time I have had continuous contact with the persons who were completely unknown to me, except that I knew they would hand whatever information I gave them to the Russian authorities.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 16.
Since coming to Harwell I have met English people of all kinds, and I have come to see in many of them a deep rooted firmness which enables them to lead a decent way of life.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 17.
I think the one thing that most stands out is that my father always did what he believed to be the right thing to do and he always told us that we had to go our own way even if he disagreed.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)
- 18.
There is nobody I know by name who is concerned with collecting information for the Russian authorities. There are people whom I know by sight whom I trusted with my life.
Klaus FuchsGerman-born British theoretical physicist and atomic spy (1911-1988)