Nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh in 1942, was jailed for imparting top secret information to Russia.
Fuchs, who was unmasked in 1950, was thought to have secured enough information during his time in the UK to advance Soviet atomic weapons by up to five years. The revelation of his true aims also led to the execution and arrest of others.
Born in the Frankfurt suburbs in December 1911, Klaus was the son of a theology professor and part of a family who were opposed to Nazi regime. He inherited these beliefs, and worked in the anti-Nazi movement for two years before being forced to flee to France.
He then moved to Scotland, arriving in 1934. It was here that he would take up his studies in physics at Edinburgh University.
As the Second World War broke out Fuchs was interned both on the Isle of Man and in Canada, returning to Edinburgh in 1941 to his studies. After graduating, he became an assistant to Rudolf Peierls who worked on the British atomic bomb project.
It was here that he began secretly passing information to the Soviet Union, which he continued to do after transferring to Columbia University in New York City to work on the Manhattan Project. In 1944 Fuchs joined the Las Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, contributing again to an atomic bomb project.
Back in Britain, he joined the Harwell atomic energy research as head of theoretical physics. While here, the scientists' undercover aims were revealed.
He was put on trial in 1950, and maintained to the court that he spied purely out of political conviction and not for cash. The prosecution declared Fuchs ‘irrevocably wedded to Communism’ and he was ultimately charged under the Official Secrets Act, 1911.
Whilst in prison, the Dundee Courier published an article on the case of Klaus. It reads: “Fuchs' plea to be allowed to retain his British nationality is a reminder of the strange story of this man who knew too much.
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“It prompts the question, what is this brilliant physicist doing during his time in jail? Could he not be using his knowledge in some sort of scientific capacity? Of course, he could scarcely be allowed to access anything secret now.”
It continues: “It is a curious commentary on modern civilisation that one man should be able to pack into his head knowledge of such value that its transmission to the wrong hands might well change the course of history and affect the destiny of millions.”
Fuchs had been exposed, sentenced to a 14 year sentence for espionage. He served only nine years of the term, being released early for good behaviour.
The motivations for his actions came into question many times, and an article published in the Belfast Telegraph in 1970 asks whether Fuchs was a political villain or saint.
Speaking under a pseudonym, a prisoner who had served a term in prison alongside Fuchs believed his intentions were not as it seemed. Johnny Briggs told the Belfast Telegraph: “I regard him as a man who saved the world from a nuclear holocaust.”
Johnny claimed to have known Fuchs for six months, and the pair would chat during recreational periods while in prison. He continued: “Eventually, he told me the real reason why he gave away his atom secrets to the Russians.
“Fuchs was so convinced that the Americans would wield the big stick and engage in nuclear warfare on Europe unless the Russians had the capacity to hit back, that he decided after months of deep thought to assist Russia to level out the balance of power.
“He felt all along that unless Russia was in a position to threaten America and warn her off any idea of nuclear conflict there would be a post-war holocaust.”
On June 23 1959, Fuchs walked from Wakefield jail and almost immediately fled to East Germany. Soon taking up a role at the atomic research centre near Dresden, the physicist made a life for himself before retiring in 1979.
In December 1986 East German leader Erich Ernst Paul Honecker praised Fuchs, commenting on his "consistent struggle for the peaceful use of nuclear energy".
Honecker added: “He is one of the first scientists to clearly recognise the role and responsibility of the scientist in the atomic age.”
Fuchs died in 1988 at the age of 76. East German news agency ADN said that he had devoted his life to the working class movement, and was a 'true friend of the Soviet Union'.
