Jad Abumrad

You know, he takes over the leadership of this institute in Berlin, and he starts hobnobbing with a whole different level of society.

That's Stan Charles again.

I mean, it's a pretty heady thing for, you know, a Jewish kid from Breslau to be hobnobbing with the emperor.

and cabinet ministers.

He's part of the club.

And he really, really relished it.

And not just because he was vain, which everyone agrees he was, but because he loves his country.

He loves the fatherland and he loves Germany.

So... When World War I begins... He signs up immediately, sends a letter volunteering for duty, saying, you know the process that I use to make food?

Well, I can use that same process to make explosives...

Because the thing that you put into the ground to grow more food is also the thing you can explode to make a bomb?

That's correct.

Because it takes such energy and pressure to separate it, this trivalent bond is so strong that when it comes back together, that energy that's released, it can be used for life or death.

In any case, back to World War I.

There's trench warfare.

It gets bogged down.

And Haber has an idea.

He goes straight to the German eye command and he pitches this idea.

He says, well, we can drive those enemy soldiers out of trenches with gas.

Chlorine gas.