Klaus Fuchs: The Man Who Stole the Atom Bomb

by Norman Moss

‘Moss went to great pains to study all the documents relating to Fuchs and interviewed everyone who had contact with him. His spy thriller is better than fiction.’ - LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS German-born Klaus Fuchs escaped the Nazi regime in 1933 and sought refuge in Britain. Regarded as a genius, the introverted physics student hid his communist beliefs from his peers. The scientist’s brilliance led to his recruitment, by the British, to develop the secret atom bomb project. At this point, Fuchs turned spy and began to pass on nuclear research secrets to the Soviet Regime. As time passed, the refugee’s sense of loyalty to his friends and Britain led to him to doubt his actions and he reported less information to Russia. The British arrested Fuchs in 1950, after the FBI had decoded his Soviet messages. In August 1988, the Russians acknowledged for the first time the key role that Fuchs played in the building of their first atomic bomb. Norman Moss gives detailed insight into Fuchs’ extraordinary story, examining his role in the most momentous historical development of this century, his contacts with the Soviet intelligence apparatus, his friendships, the twists and turns of his mind and conscience, and the intelligence work that led to his arrest. Fuchs’s dilemmas reflect some of the fundamental moral and political conflicts of our time. Recommended for fans of Ben Macintyre and John le Carre. Norman Moss is a writer, journalist and broadcaster. Other highly acclaimed titles by the author include Men Who Play the Story of the Hydrogen Bomb; A British/American Dictionary; The Pleasures of Deception; and The Politics of Uranium. Praise for Norman ‘Admirable… It tells an extraordinary story clearly and well, and with just enough analysis to provoke thought’ NEW SCIENTIST ‘A compelling story' INDEPENDENT ‘It probes deeply… well worth reading’ NEW YORK TIMES Men Who Play The Story of the Hydrogen Bomb ‘An important book’ Guardian ‘Full of illumination… fascinating’ New Yorker The Pleasures of Deception ‘Skilful and entertaining’ Sunday Telegraph

Genres: History

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 1987

Reviews

[Hunter Goldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Klaus Fuchs: The Man Who Stole The Atom Bomb is a fascinating biography written by Norman Moss. It is the story of Klaus Fuchs, a theoretical physicist and atomic spy who was convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union. Norman Moss is qualified to write a book on Fuchs, as Moss is an experienced author, journalist, and broadcaster who has previously written about and discussed the origins of the atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as the history of uranium. To write this biography, Moss conducted research and interviews in many countries, interviewing Fuchs’ colleagues and friends and researching previously secret U.S. government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (206). Moss writes in detail about Fuchs’ historic role, life, and Soviet intelligence contacts. With over 80 people providing information on Fuchs, Moss was able to write a book on a relatively unknown man who solved calculations essential to atomic weapon development in the U.S., Great Britain, Canada and the Soviet Union.
A new possibility came about during the Second World War to create a bomb that would explode by releasing energy stored inside an atom. This idea was the most important secret in the world, and it was soon to be in the hands of Klaus Fuchs (2). Born and raised in Germany, Fuchs was opposed to Nazism. This, and his expulsion from the German Social Democratic Party led Fuchs to join the Communist Party to fight against Nazism, while also giving him the hope that Communism then offered (11). After the Reichstag fire in 1933, Fuchs fled Germany for England. He earned his PhD at Bristol University and published first-rate papers on quantum mechanics. Shortly after Fuchs earned his degree, England targeted potential “enemy aliens” such as German citizens and shipped them out of England to either Australia or Canada where it was thought they could do no harm. Among them, was Fuchs. He was shipped to Quebec, crammed on a boat with 1,300 internees (22). Several weeks after his arrival in Quebec, Fuchs received a letter from Ruldoph Peierl, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Birmingham University, England. This letter would change Fuchs’ life and change the world.
Fuchs was hired as Professor Peierl’s assistant to work on various matters then unknown to Fuchs. Fuchs was given the task of discovering a method of separating isotopes in uranium for the British Tube Alloys atomic project, which he did successfully (36). During this time, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and Fuchs, still a communist, decided to hand over his work using the GRU network, the Soviet’s Main Intelligence Directorate, to secretly contact German Communists working for the Soviet Military Intelligence. Fuchs explained his motivation: “When I learned the purpose of the work, I decided to inform Russia, and I established contact through another member of the Communist Party’” (38). To Fuchs, helping the cause of Communism meant helping the Soviets (39). Fuchs applied for and was granted British citizenship. Although he pledged allegiance to England, he was still passing valuable secrets to the Soviets.
An Anglo-American collaboration to build an atomic weapon was signed and set for building in New York. Fuchs was asked to help on this endeavor named the Manhattan Project (46). Although Fuchs would lose his Soviet contact in England because of the move to New York, Fuchs decided to use the GRU network again to set himself up with a new agent in the United States (46).
Fuchs would dedicate time for each meeting with his new contact and write upwards of forty pages of mathematical derivations, uranium diffusion calculations, fluctuations and efficiency of diffusion plants, and sets of other extremely useful information that the Soviets would use in their plans to construct a nuclear weapon (55). When the Soviet uranium diffusion plant was built, it was identical to the plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (56).
Fuchs was asked to join the Theoretical Physics Division in Los Alamos, New Mexico to work on the process of imploding plutonium. While he remained in contact with the Soviets during his time at Los Alamos, Fuchs began to disapprove of many Soviet and Communist Party’ policies, as a result he started curtailing his espionage. “He started withholding information from them, no longer telling them every single thing that could be useful” (119).
A trail of suspicion led to Fuchs after the Signal Corps had been intercepting messages between Soviet diplomatic missions in the U.S. and Moscow (129). After many unsuccessful attempts by “friends” to gain Fuchs’ trust and have him confide in them and admit his spying, Fuchs decided it would be right to confess, which he mistakenly believed would allow him to get back to work on nuclear fission and be forgiven. Fuchs confessed to the authorities every detail including information on his contacts, recognition signals, and meeting places (156). The evidence that he provided was used against him in his trial. Since he was tried in England, and all the espionage Fuchs committed was for the Soviet Union, an ally of England, the maximum punishment he could receive, regardless of the amount of information given, was 14 years of imprisonment and the stripping of his British citizenship. He eventually served a nine-year sentence in England and in the end, wound up back in Germany.
Norman Moss’ biography of Klaus Fuchs is unique and original, as his subject was only lightly written on before. His book illustrates an amazing account of Fuchs, a man who was of vital importance not only to the atomic projects of the American, British, and Canadian governments but to the Soviets as well. His espionage alone saved the Soviets years and years of atomic work, leading them to possession of an atomic weapon.

[Mike Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A full and interesting account of the life of Klaus Fuchs, concentrating - obviously! - on his time as an atomic scientist. In addition to great factual detail, his motivations are explored, albeit from a slightly West-centric viewpoint.
A fascinating account of the interaction between politics and science, as seen through the life of a brilliant, but flawed man.

[Margarita Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, easy-to-follow account of the Klaus Fuchs story with some interesting insight into Fuchs's state of mind during his years as a spy.

[Leah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE definitive book on Klaus Fuchs, if you want to understand him and what really happened. Excellent portrayal of a complex man. The only thing it misses is the man's death since it was published two years before he died.

Who was Klaus Fuchs? A regular scientist who was placed by history in a position where he could shape the future of the entire world. Driven by his moral compass yet mentally split into two (a controlled schizophrenia), not thinking through the personal effects of his actions. Master of cognitive dissonance. Had a "very happy childhood" yet he found his mother after she committed suicide. Quiet "penny in the slot" or charming, loyal friend. Obsessive about following the law yet the ultimate traitor. Shaped to an incredible extent by a few short years when he was a college student, forming a path to which he would return late in life. Dry old bachelor yet perhaps a secret romantic? The worst of the spies, yet with a mild punishment and perhaps a happily ever after?

We don't know how Fuchs felt about his life at the very end of it, but we know a lot more of his fascinating story thanks to Moss.

Note:
Moss also barely touches on Fuchs's marriage at the end of his story- after the spying and prison sentence were over- which I think is mysterious and intriguing and I wish Moss had more on it. (In Vassiliev's Yellow Notebook #1 http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.or... which Moss didn't have access to since it came out later- there is a little more info about her.) She met him at the airport in East Germany when he finally returned to the Fatherland he'd fled when the Nazis took over. Was that why he returned to Germany, despite earlier saying that he planned to go to the Third World or elsewhere? Was he waiting for her his entire life? Was that why he was such a confirmed bachelor? So curious...can we ever know?