FATE WAS KIND TO HER

Chronicle (Levin), 11 March 1946, Page 8

FATE WAS KIND TO HER

ATOM BOMB RESEARCH WOMAN'S BIG PART One brief mention of the name of Lise Meitner in a press cable, shortly after the big news of the atpm bomb, was the only indication g'iven i-n New Zealand that a woman had played an important part in atom research. Lise Meitner is now 67 years old. She escaped from Gennany under the most amp,zing circumstances and has since carried on her work at the Nobel Institute in Sweden. Many are the stories which have' eireulated recently as to the precise uature of Professor Meitner 's -discoveries. Oue has it that as far back as 1938 she had found the secret of harnessing atomic energy and fled from: Gennany so tliat the Nazis should not foree lier to use her knowledge for their ends. Her. own version of the story is a Jittle different. Born in Vienna of Jewish parents, her father a well-lcnown lawyer, Lise .Meitner studied at the University of Vienna and gained the degree of Doetor of Physics. Lat r she moved; to* B'erlin where slie became assistant to Professor Max Planck. It was ag long ago as 1917 that she was made head of the physics department at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and here she worlced' side by side with the famous Professor Otto Hahn. Together they made many discoveries bearing 011 the liberation of atomic energy. From the earliest days of her eareer • Lise Meitner ;s whole life was given to her research work. She hardly noticed! the political changes in Germany. When the Nazis came to power they realised the value of her wor.k and, although a Jewess, she was permitted to retain her position and was not subjeeted to the usual persecution. But the shadow was gro-wing dark-er and darker and -when in 1938 the persecution of Jews was intensified she decided that she must leave Germany before it was too late. It was aimost too late then as no exit visaswere beino-■g-ven to"seientists. So she left wi-thout a visa, took a train to Holland on the pretext that she wislied to spend a w'eek ;s holiday there, handed to the* Nazi military patrol- at the bor.der her Austrian passport which had long since 1 expired, and by some kind fate had it returned to her without conunent. But there were ten very grim miuutes while she waited for its return. Once in Holland her fellow scientists arranged for her to pto to Swed'en — taking her secrets with her, And now the world;s newspapers rush to interview' Professor Lise- Meitner who is reported to have said the other day that the atomic bomb was as much a surprise to her as it was to everybody else. She didn't even lcnow what an atom bomb looked like — let alone llaving designed one,. which it appears is one of the things with which she has jbeen credited. | Whatever secrets of atomic science

Professor Meitner carried with her f'rom" Berlin to the laboratories in Sweden we are not likely to know. The value of her part in research is now recognised throughout the w'orld. Slie is cpnsist-|v eutly refusing offers of large sums off| money to earry out her research wcrk ' in other countries, but she appears to liave no interest in making money from her knowledge. At 67 years of age she still chooses to worlc very hard, for the joy of working, ancl to lead a very si'mple life. She can't understand why people are suddenly making a fuss over her. "The great studies of atomie science are the eombined efforts of all atom workers, ; ' she comments.