Plaque in Protest of Chemical Weapons

As a critical counterpoint to the tribute paid to Fritz Haber (1868–1934) and Carl Bosch (1874–1940) for developing ammonia synthesis, another plaque probably in 1991 was affixed to the synthesis reactor, which had just recently been erected on the Karlsruhe University campus as a technical monument. This plaque is made of cast iron and was secured to the reactor column with a heavy chain. Its weight of 44.5 kg alone demonstrates the gravity of its message, allegedly authored by an activist university peace group at the time. The text mirrors the inscription on the bronze plaque already attached to the reactor column honoring Haber and Bosch. But on this one, after the names of each scientist, there follows information about the consequences of their objectionable activities — in Haber’s case, the thousands killed and wounded by poison gas, and in Bosch’s, the mass-production of explosives based on ammonia. This postscript “simultaneously” makes the reactor column a portent “memorial against the worldwide use of chemical weapons.” This plaque is not the sole evidence of critical views on Fritz Haber’s work at his former workplace, notwithstanding the merits of ammonia synthesis. There are also traces of a paint-bag impact on the reactor column and an almost completely faded, decades old inscription in white paint under a skull and crossbones, reading “MURDERER.” Haber’s name has been repeatedly crossed out in thick black pen on the nearby “Fritz-Haber-Weg” street sign. At an unknown point in time, the memorial plaque and its critical rebuttal were both removed from the ammonia reactor. This action can be regarded as a concession that a historical account solely directed at accomplishments is no longer defensible. kn