Klaus Fuchs

Description: (Theoretical Physicist and Atomic Spy)

Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and one of the most effective atomic spies of the Soviet Union. He transferred crucial information from the British, American and Canadian ‘Manhattan Project’ to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and thereafter. He was inducted as assistant of Rudolf Peierls in the atomic bomb project of Britain, the ‘Tube Alloys’. There he started spying for the Soviet Union and through Ruth Kuczynski passed on significant project information. He accompanied Rudolf Peierls to New York and worked on the ‘Manhattan Project’ at the ‘Columbia University’. Here in ‘Los Alamos National Laboratory’ he worked at the ‘Theoretical Physics Division’. He was involved in several important theoretical calculations associated with first nuclear weapons and hydrogen bomb. Post war, he served as the head of the ‘Theoretical Physics Division’ in the ‘Atomic Energy Research Establishment’ in Harwell, UK. He was later convicted for his espionage that he confessed and was sentenced to an imprisonment of fourteen years. His British citizenship was terminated. After nine years of confinement he was released and sent to East Germany. He was elected to the central committee of the ‘Socialist Unity Party of Germany’. Later he served the ‘Institute for Nuclear Research in Rossendorf’ as its deputy director. He is the recipient of ‘Order of Karl Marx’, the ‘National Prize of East Germany’ and the ‘Patriotic Order of Merit’.

Overview

Birthday December 29, 1911 (Capricorn)
Alternative names Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs
Died on January 28, 1988
Spouse/Ex- Grete Keilson (1959–1988)
Parents

Did you know

What was Klaus Fuchs' role in the atomic bomb project? Klaus Fuchs was a German physicist who played a key role in the development of the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.
What was Klaus Fuchs accused of and convicted for? Klaus Fuchs was accused of espionage for passing classified information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union and was convicted of espionage in 1950.
Where was Klaus Fuchs born and raised? Klaus Fuchs was born in Germany and later moved to the United Kingdom, where he became a naturalized British citizen.
What was the significance of Klaus Fuchs' espionage activities? Klaus Fuchs' espionage activities were significant as they provided the Soviet Union with valuable information on the development of the atomic bomb, which helped them accelerate their own nuclear weapons program.
What was the outcome of Klaus Fuchs' espionage case? Klaus Fuchs was sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage and was later released after serving 9 years. He then moved to East Germany where he continued his scientific work.
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