In 1906, Laue became a
Privatdozent at the
University of Berlin. There, he met
Albert Einstein for the first time; their friendship contributed to the acceptance and development of Einstein's
theory of relativity. At Berlin, he worked on the application of entropy to radiation fields and on the thermodynamic significance of the coherence of light waves. In 1912, Laue became Professor of Physics at the
University of Zurich, and in 1914 was appointed Ordinarius Professor of Theoretical Physics at the
University of Frankfurt. From 1916, he was engaged in
vacuum tube development at the
University of Würzburg for use in military
telephony and
wireless communication. Meissner published a biography on him in 1960.
Opposition to Nazism Laue opposed
Nazism in general, and
Deutsche Physik in particular; the former persecuted the
Jews, and the latter, among other things, put down the
theory of relativity as "Jewish physics", which he saw as ridiculous: "science has no race or religion". He and his close friend,
Otto Hahn, secretly helped scientific colleagues persecuted by Nazi policies to emigrate from Germany. He also openly opposed
antisemitism. An address on 18 September 1933 at the opening of the physics convention in
Würzburg, opposition to
Johannes Stark, an obituary note on
Fritz Haber in 1934, and attendance at a commemoration for Haber are examples that clearly illustrate Laue's open opposition that earned him multiple government reprimands. • Laue, as Chairman of the
German Physical Society, gave the opening address at the 1933 physics convention. In it, he compared the
persecution of Galileo and the oppression of his scientific views on the solar theory of
Copernicus to the then conflict and persecution over the theory of relativity by the proponents of
Deutsche Physik, against the work of Einstein, labeled "Jewish physics." • Stark, who had received the
Nobel Prize in Physics in 1919, wished to become the
Führer of German physics and was a proponent of
Deutsche Physik. Against the unanimous advice of those consulted, Stark was appointed President of the PTR in May 1933. However, Laue successfully blocked Stark's regular membership in the
Prussian Academy of Sciences. • Haber received the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918. In spite of this and his many other contributions to Germany, he was forced to emigrate from Germany as a result of the
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, which removed Jews from their jobs. Laue's obituary note praising Haber and comparing his forced emigration to the expulsion of
Themistocles from Athens was a direct affront to National Socialism. • In connection with Haber; Max Planck, Otto Hahn, and Laue organized a commemoration event held in Berlin-Dahlem on 29 January 1935, the first anniversary of Haber's death – attendance at the event by professors in the civil service had been expressly forbidden by the government. While many scientific and technical personnel were represented at the memorial by their wives, Laue and Wolfgang Heubner were the only two professors to attend. This was yet another blatant demonstration of Laue's opposition to National Socialism. The date of the first anniversary of Haber's death was also one day before the second anniversary of National Socialism seizing power in Germany, thus further increasing the affront given by holding the event. In particular, the struggle between Laue and Planck regarding the Nazi takeover of the Prussian Academy of Sciences has been extensively documented.
Hidden Nobel Prize When Germany
invaded Denmark in
World War II, the Hungarian chemist
George de Hevesy dissolved the
Nobel Prize gold medals of Laue and
James Franck in
aqua regia to prevent the Nazis from discovering them. At the time, it was illegal to take gold out of the country, and if it had been discovered that Laue had done so, he could have faced prosecution in Germany. Hevesy placed the resulting solution on a shelf in his laboratory at the
Niels Bohr Institute. After the war, he returned to find the solution undisturbed and precipitated the gold out of the acid. The Nobel Society then re-cast the Nobel Prize gold medals, using the original gold.
Post-war On 23 April 1945, French troops entered Hechingen, followed the next day by a contingent of
Operation Alsos—an operation to investigate the German nuclear energy effort, seize equipment, and prevent German scientists from being captured by the Soviets. The scientific advisor to the Operation was the Dutch-American physicist
Samuel Goudsmit, who, adorned with a steel helmet, appeared at Laue's home. Laue was taken into custody and taken to Huntingdon, England, and interned at
Farm Hall with other scientists thought to be involved in nuclear research and development. In July 1946, Laue went back to England, only four months after having been interned there, to attend an international conference on crystallography. This was a distinct honor, as he was the only German invited to attend. He was extended many courtesies by the British officer who escorted him there and back, and a well-known English crystallographer as his host; Laue was even allowed to wander around London on his own. == Personal life and death ==