A Modern Dilemma for Chemistry and Civic Responsibility: The Tragic Life of Clara Immerwahr

Abstract

Clara Immerwahr was a talented chemist born at the end of the 19th century. In 1900, she received the first doctorate in chemistry awarded to a woman candidate at Breslau University, Germany. She married Nobel Laureate Fritz Haber and vehemently opposed his wellknown work on chemical warfare during WWI. Popular works, includ-* Dr. S. V. Meschel

Women in chemistry: a life devoted to science

“…I admire their colors and glitter, but I get no further'' -he wrote. 25,26 Clara felt that her husband sought to turn her into a housewife, depriving of her the opportunity to do research. In 1909 she wrote: ''It has always been my attitude that a life has only been worth living if one has made full use of one's abilities and tried to live out every kind of experience human life has to offer.…”

“…Everyone has the right to live their own life, but in my opinion to nurture one's own quirks while exhibiting a supreme contempt for everyone else and more common routines of life -I think that even a genius is not justified in such behavior, only if he is alone on a desert island''. 25…”

ZAAC – Conciliating Tradition and Modernity

“…[8] Particularly worth reading are John Goodenough's "Reflections on Sixty Years of Solid State Chemistry" [9] or Gérard Férey's exciting review on "Swelling Hybrid Solids". [10] The new format of Historical Reviews started excellently with Philip Gütlich appraising "Fifty Years of Mössbauer Spectroscopy in Solid State Research" [11] and Susan Meschel addressing Clara Immerwahr's fate against the background of civic responsibility, [12] demonstrating the large span we like to cover.…”