The Dual Legacy of Fritz Haber: Creator of Life and Death
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“The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.” — Thomas Robert Malthus, An Essay On The Principle Of Population
In the late 18th to early 19th centuries, economist Thomas Malthus made a dire forecast: human advancement would always face limitations. He posited that any increase in food production would inevitably lead to a population surge, which would, in turn, strain food resources, resulting in starvation and a subsequent population decline.
Malthus introduced the concept of the law of diminishing returns, which suggests that adding more resources, such as labor, to a fixed quantity eventually yields lower returns. For example, if you continuously add workers to a farm, there will come a point where additional labor does not correspond to a proportional increase in crop yield.
“The battle to feed all of humanity is over … hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.” — Paul Ehrlich, The Population Bomb
Modern thinkers echoed Malthus’s pessimism, predicting that as the global population climbed, widespread hunger would be unavoidable. Paul Ehrlich, a biologist from Stanford, popularized the term "overpopulation" in his 1968 book, asserting that the planet could support only a limited number of people before catastrophe struck.
However, by 2017, the world population had expanded from 3.5 billion in the year of Ehrlich's publication to 7.5 billion, while average caloric intake per person rose from 2,300 to nearly 3,000 calories daily, according to HumanProgress.org. Alarmingly, only two out of 173 surveyed countries reported an average daily caloric intake below 2,000 calories.
The reason for this discrepancy? The advancement of technology, particularly the synthesis of ammonia.
Synthesis of Ammonia
“What is the most important invention of the twentieth century? Aeroplanes, nuclear energy, space flight, television and computers will be the most common answers. Yet none of these can match the synthesis of ammonia from its elements. The world might be better off without Microsoft and CNN, and neither nuclear reactors nor space shuttles are critical to human well-being. But the world’s population could not have grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to today’s six billion without the Haber–Bosch process.” — Vaclav Smil, Journal Of Nature, VOL 400, 29 JULY 1999
To cultivate crops effectively, nitrates are essential, and natural deposits are limited. Ironically, nitrogen constitutes about 80% of the atmosphere, yet it remains inert and unreactive under normal conditions, making it difficult to extract.
In July 1909, chemist Fritz Haber unlocked this challenge by synthesizing ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen gases in a heated, pressurized environment. Despite initial fears regarding potential equipment failures at high pressure, the project progressed under the guidance of Carl Bosch, who refined the process for commercial use. By 1912, a plant in Oppau, Germany, was capable of producing a ton of ammonia every five hours, ramping up to 20 tons daily by 1914.
This synthesized nitrate proved to be a remarkable fertilizer but also had military applications, including the production of explosives. Germany leveraged these synthesized nitrates during World War I to maintain its military efforts despite British blockades. Ultimately, Haber was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1918 for this groundbreaking discovery.
The Benefits of This Innovation
“Brot aus luft” — a German saying meaning “bread from air”
According to a BBC article, prior to Haber and Bosch’s innovations, the agricultural practices of the time could only sustain around 4 billion people. With the widespread adoption of their nitrate synthesis process, the global population soared beyond 7 billion and continues to rise. A significant portion of this growth can be attributed to crops nourished by fertilizers derived from Haber and Bosch’s techniques. This advancement has allowed agriculture to flourish in previously unsuitable regions, even as global hunger rates decline, according to U.N. reports.
It is likely that the food you consume has been cultivated using fertilizers produced through this revolutionary process. In fact, Popular Science notes that approximately 50% of the nitrogen in the human body originates from the Haber-Bosch method.
Despite his monumental contributions, Fritz Haber’s legacy is not without its shadows. The same innovations that nourished billions also paved the way for devastating consequences.
Deadly Creations
In addition to fertilizers, Haber sought to develop chemical weapons to secure Germany's victory in World War I. He believed that science could create not just sustenance, but also lethal agents.
After conducting experiments with chlorine gas, which resulted in unintended fatalities among German soldiers, Haber persuaded the German military to utilize his invention, despite initial reluctance among the generals. As the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry, he devoted his lab to the German army’s needs. On April 22, 1915, he orchestrated the release of 168 tons of chlorine gas at Ypres, Belgium, resulting in catastrophic casualties among Allied forces.
The horrifying effects of this gas prompted a soldier to liken the experience to drowning on dry land. Approximately 10,000 soldiers were caught in the gas cloud, with half succumbing quickly while others were captured. The use of gas at Ypres became a regular tactic, with Allied casualties exceeding those of the Germans.
For this gruesome success, Haber received a promotion to captain, but his wife, a fellow chemist, was horrified by his actions and took her own life with his service pistol. Undeterred, Haber continued to innovate, developing mustard gas and methods for incorporating it into artillery shells. The resulting chemical warfare led to around 500,000 casualties, leaving many soldiers blind from gas exposure, a theme captured in contemporary art.
Following the war, as Adolf Hitler rose to power, he targeted Haber due to his Jewish heritage and connections to Jewish scientists. Haber eventually relocated to England, where he was viewed as a pariah due to his involvement in chemical warfare.
Though Haber fled, the scientific advancements he pioneered remained in the hands of the Nazis, who utilize