Science: Physicist for Russia

• Share

When the allied armies raced toward Berlin in the spring of 1945, control of German territory was not the only big prize. Quietly but fiercely they competed with each other for the leaders of German science. One of those who disappeared into the silence of Soviet hospitality was Nobel Prizewinner Physicist Gustav Hertz. A few years later his colleagues heard that he had died in Russia.

Last week the New York Times announced that the reports of Dr. Hertz's death were false. Scandinavian and West German scientists, said the Times, have established contact with 64-year-old Physicist Hertz. They have letters postmarked Moscow, have seen pictures in which their old friend looks thinner but healthy.

Dr. Hertz's letters carry no complaints. They say that Premier Stalin has converted an old Czarist mansion in" the Caucasus into a modern physics laboratory. There, along with some 200 Russian and German experts, Dr. Hertz is continuing his research in atomic energy, radar and supersonics. Scientists who used to exchange information with Dr. Hertz believe the Times's report. But after long collaboration with the German physicist, they have little hope of ever again sharing any technical information. Further communication with Dr. Hertz must be addressed "c/o General Delivery, Moscow."