Essay Questions

On what event is the play based upon, and what is the significance of this event?

The play is based on a meeting which took place between Heisenberg and Bohr in 1941, during the Second World War. At that time, Bohr’s home country was under German occupation but Bohr made it clear he was not on the German’s side. Bohr collaborated with the American forces and this made him in the eyes of many a dangerous person. Heisenberg on the other side was the head of the German nuclear energy project which had the main purpose to create nuclear weapons. The Germans abandoned soon the project mainly because most of their scientists ended up joining the war and because they did not believe nuclear weapons could have an impact on the outcome of war. During this time, Bohr gave lectures about the possibility of creating nuclear weapons using uranium, topic which attracted the attention of Heisenberg who in 1941 traveled to Copenhagen and had a private discussion with Bohr. No one knows what was discussed then but the meeting remained in the minds of the people who theorized about the possible subjects discussed there. This uncertainty is the main theme in the play and the characters try to present what happened during that meeting.

Why was Heisenberg questioned by his own government and why he was being followed by Nazi officers?

Heisenberg had close ties with foreign scientists, ties which began to exist even before the war. He was never presented as a Nazi but rather as a brilliant scientist whose only purpose in life was to study. He traveled abroad because of his studies and as a result he was influenced by different political ideas. Heisenberg was no popular in his own country and he was even labeled a "White Jew’’ by a Nazi group, these allegations appearing in the press as well. Heisenberg was investigated during that time by three SS officers and after an intervention from Himmler, it was decided that Heisenberg’s knowledge was too precious to be lost. This however did not meant that Heisenberg was no longer under supervision. In the play it is implied that Heisenberg had troubles getting a permit to leave the country and he was constantly followed and his house filled with microphones. In modern times, many speculated that could have something to do with Heisenberg’s refusal to admit that the atomic bomb could be used to end the war and give Germany an advantage over the other countries. Many even speculate that Heisenberg presented his findings in such a way no one would be interested to fund the project.

What are the race laws referenced in the play?

The race law refers here to the laws imposed by the Nazi concerning the groups of people they deems as being inferior. Among the nationalities included in those laws were the Jews, Russians, gypsy people as well as people who were seen as the enemy of the state. Through these laws, the people labeled as being outside of the superior race were often forced to live separate from the rest of the community and had a large number of rights taken from them. In countries like Germany and Poland, these laws were more strictly enforced when compared with the countries occupied towards the end of the war and so some people had to suffer a lot more when compared with others.