| Walter Gerlach | |
| |
| Historical Figure | |
| Nationality: | Germany (born in Prussia) |
| Year of Birth: | 1889 |
| Year of Death: | 1979 |
| Cause of Death: | Natural causes |
| Occupation: | Physicist, educator |
| Professional Affiliations: | Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen |
| Military Branch: | Imperial German Army (World War I) |
| Fictional Appearances: | |
| The Man With the Iron Heart POD: May 29, 1942; Relevant POD: May, 1945 | |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct (unnamed) |
| Date of Death: | 1947 |
| Cause of Death: | Shot to death |
Walter Gerlach (1 August 1889 - 10 August 1979) was a German physicist who co-discovered space quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern-Gerlach effect. He served in World War I as a soldier. During World War II, he officially became head of the physics section of the Reichsforschungsrat and Bevollmächtigter of nuclear physics. After the war, he was detained by the Allied Forces, and then returned to academia.
Walter Gerlach in The Man With the Iron Heart[]
Walter Gerlach (1889-1947) was one of several scientists captured by the German Freedom Front in 1946.[1] It had been Reinhard Heydrich's hope that the scientists might build the GFF an atomic bomb. Karl Wirtz disabused Heydrich of that notion.[2]
Nonetheless, Gerlach and his fellows were held in the underground Alpine Redoubt until 1947. When American forces arrived, Heydrich escaped, and ordered Gerlach and several other scientists killed.[3]
Literary Comment[]
Gerlach isn't specifically named in the text, but the majority of the remaining scientists are named. There is no reason to think that the Point of Divergence somehow changed the composition of the group.
References[]
- ↑ The Man With the Iron Heart, pg. 202-204.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 227-228.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 467.
| |||||||||||||||||
