The subject of the Nazi nuclear program is relatively well known. It is known that the Germans worked on nuclear weapons and, perhaps, even conducted tests of simple charges. But what did the leader of the Third Reich think about the new technology when it was still just a hypothetical idea? Apparently, he found it ... completely useless.
Frank Joseph, author of Mussolini's War ( Mussolini's War ) quotes the words Hitler was said to have said in a private conversation with an SS officer, Otto Skorzeny. The chat allegedly took place in 1941, shortly after German physicists filed a preliminary patent application for a plutonium bomb. Joseph quotes a very surprising statement by the Führer , who found research on the atomic bomb to be pointless, despite the fact that scientists announced that it would be capable of causing destruction on an unimaginable scale.
This device, if its description is correct, will have very little tactical value because enemy forces are rarely concentrated sufficiently densely and in large enough numbers, whether on land or at sea, to be effectively absorbed by an explosion one and a half kilometers in diameter. Industrial cities could be an exception, but conventional air raids already allow for their quite effective destruction, which was proved by the course of this war so far . Their atomic bomb is basically a strategic weapon, designed to kill large numbers of civilians confined in urban centers, which would intimidate people and induce them to surrender. As such, has less military use than propaganda as an instrument of terror.
Although Hitler did not see the difference between conventional bombing raids and a nuclear attack, he accurately predicted the mechanism functioning in international politics from 1945 to the present day:
Due to its destructive nature, this weapon has an automatic, built-in switch:if we were to cause a plutonium explosion over London it would be only a matter of time before the British would do the same over Berlin. The same line of reasoning prevented all sides, even the Soviets, from using poisonous gas in this conflict. Everyone knows the consequences. Von Weizsäcker and his colleagues should nevertheless continue their research. How wonderful it would be if they could invent a nuclear powered submarine or a cargo plane! I would love to finance it. However, they will not get too many brands from me for a weapon whose only action, at the moment, is the harmful propaganda and useless military cremation of people not taking part in the fights .
Hitler could indulge in such sentiments in 1941, as his troops proudly marched to victory. As you know, within a few years he completely changed his approach. Backed against the wall, he did not hesitate to demolish Warsaw, nor to flood London with V-2 missiles. In 1945, he would also have dropped an atomic bomb on the British capital without hesitation in order to force the conclusion of peace.
The content of the alleged conversation surprises with the detailed judgment, the humanitarian approach of the Nazi leader and the far-reaching view of the uselessness of nuclear weapons in conventional warfare. Did Hitler really say such words? This is not confirmed by any documents from the era, and Joseph, unfortunately, does not cite particularly strong sources ... but who knows. What like what, Führer he has proven to be a gifted prophet more than once.
Source:
- Frank Joseph, Mussolini's War , Helion 2010, pp. 210-219.