WATER DRIPS
HEAVY FOOTSTEPS
MAN BREATHES HEAVILY
BOOTS SQUEAK
HE BREATHES RAPIDLY
DOOR CRASHES OPEN
Shh! Shh!
Fuses. Blasting caps.
Blasting caps.
ALARM BELL RINGS
We're breaking!
Scotland 1942
- What happened? -It was my fault.
- I was sure I had them. -He should have checked.
It wasn't his fault. You were too slow.
- A lot of stairs. -That will be the least of your problems.
Any questions before we go again?
What's so important with that water?
My famous friend, Niels Bohr. Did you just arrive?
No, no, I was watching you.
I just wanted to be the first to congratulate you.
You beat me by six years.
- Without you, I... - Oh, nonsense!
The new star is Werner Heisenberg.
I'm so proud of you. The whole Institute is ecstatic!
All my thoughts and theories...
Yes, anyway, where are we going to celebrate?
I hear that Stockholm is full of young women with Nobel fever.
Now I'm going to tell you something that's even more secret than
the fact that an object can be in two places at the same time...
women are unpredictable.
Nothing in my scientific research indicates that a young,
beautiful, intelligent and entertaining woman can't fall for...
a pale, underfed and quiet nuclear physicist.
On the contrary.
All my calculations point towards you
being able to pick from the top drawer.
HE CHUCKLES
Now, don't forget what I told you.
An object can be in two places at the same time.
No, women are unpredictable.
Right.
Sir Heisenberg?
Adolf Hitler has had total control over Germany since August 1934
HE PLAYS CLASSICAL PIECE
I can't stand the smell of coal when I'm pregnant.
You shouldn't get pregnant so often.
Hurry up with the invention of that new fuel.
The future will be a late wedding present.
- Thank you. -Excuse me, what kind of fuel?
Neutrons in a chain reaction.
The splitting of nuclei multiply like a hurricane, out of control.
- The latest in science. -She's right.
Politics don't really interest me.
It's a shame that the world only sees Germany through these people.
- Himmler isn't so bad. -What do you mean by that?
Because my mother knows his mother.
Have you noticed that Himmler has no chin?
I heard you were offered a professorship at Columbia.
Yes, that's true. Do you think I accepted?
I don't know.
I want my children to grow up in Germany.
And I can't think without you.
DOORBELL
- Are we expecting someone? -Himmler's mother perhaps?
Werner Heisenberg? Could you please come with us?
- Why? -Now. Straight away.
I don't understand.
You will be questioned.
You know who I am. Professor Werner Heisenberg.
I don't want to arrest you. Will you come voluntarily?
Is everything all right?
In this letter from 11th November you refuse-
-to join a conference about Aryan physics.
-It's inadequate. -Excuse me?
- Are you opposed to it? -Things were missing.
In December 1938 you refused to join the Reich party convention.
- I believe that... -You refuse to join the NSDAP.
-I'm a physicist. -Working against the country.
- That's not true. -You quote Jews and others...
...who actively act against the National Socialist movement.
- They are renowned scientists... -Who have betrayed Germany.
And you admit that you often refer to them-
-and quote them in public papers and articles.
"To understand modern physics is impossible without Albert Einstein."
A Jew, as you know.
"The evolution of quantum physics is mostly due to Max Born."
Also a Jew.
"The answer to the Schrödinger equation describes atomic systems"-
-"and possibly the universe as well."
I admit it's not easy to understand.
Your marriage to Elisabeth is fake.
You met in January 1937 and were engaged three weeks later.
On 29th April, barely three months later, you got married.
Until then you had shown no interest in women.
You never had a girlfriend or a close relationship with a woman.
Witnesses confirm your interest in men.
- Especially young men. -That's ridiculous.
8th March 1928 in Leipzig.
On a trip to Urbach you slept in a tent with three men.
On 24th June the same year-
-you encouraged the group to jump naked into a lake.
- We were boy scouts. -No, professor.
You are gay.
-It's only for two months. -Or only two days.
- I don't intend to die. -Do you think soldiers intend to die?
Herfriede's brother died. Did he plan that?
Why the hell does Germany send...
Why does Germany send its best scientists to the trenches?
Come here.
This is crazy.
Werner. Werner!
- Did you not get the message? -Which message?
This is Professor Heisenberg. You know that.
- What is this? -Read it. One moment, please.
Werner, it worked.
Himmler's mother gave him the letter. He's vouching for you.
Here, this is for you. Read it. It's a letter from Himmler.
He says the SS was wrong. Germany needs its scientists.
Diebner started a new project with the government's support.
It's the biggest thing we've been part of,
Do you understand?
Do you need anything else?
You must be careful.
- Welcome, Professor. Mr Weizsäcker. -Mr Diebner.
Heereswaffenamt, Berlin The German Army Weapons Agency
- The Uranium Club. -Yes.
Formal, but also very casual.
We gathered only the best. Geiger, Hahn,-
- Harterck, Stetter... You know them all.
- What's the goal? -A nuclear reaction.
Production of energy from uranium.
Please sign this. The project is strictly confidential.
Why is that?
We are under the control of the Heereswaffenamt.
We will get everything we need. Resources, materials,-
assistants, everything you want.
As scientists we've never had better conditions.
Einstein said: "Do not worry if war serves science."
-"But if science serves war..." -Einstein...
Mr Heisenberg, with all due respect...
We don'! want to hear names like Einstein, Debye,-
- Herzberg, Schrödinger, and also not Bohr.
Knowledge is also a chain reaction. No thought comes from nothing.
I'm not asking much of you.
You will have opportunities no scientists have had before.
Say what you need, and it's yours. Uranium, cement, graphite.
To build a reactor?
Good. What do we need?
4320 . -D2O.
Heavy water.
We need heavy water to set off a potential chain reaction.
Normal water absorbs too many neutrons.
Then I will get you heavy water.
Come with me.
The problem is we need a lot, and ifs only produced in Norway.
A Norwegian factory produces artificial fertiliser.
The main product is ammonia, the by-product is water.
A chemist boiled it for coffee-
-and realised it boiled at a higher temperature.
The discovery of heavy water.
How many people know what you can do with heavy water?
The French maybe. Not many.
No one I know of.
Good.
World War ll starts September 3rd 1939
Norsk Hydro's headquarters Oslo
Heavy water? What do the Germans want that for?
They want a lot, and they pay a lot.
- How soon can we deliver? -I don't know.
I don't know if we have any.
I'll contact Tronstad. He built the plant.
Norwegian Institute of Technology Trondheim
GASPS
Have lunch, and we'll meet in half an hour.
- Henriksen, what a rare sight. -I happened to be in Trondheim.
I doubt it.
It's the heavy water. How much can we deliver?
- You started the production. -You stopped it in August.
- Is there nothing left? -Maybe a few litres.
- How many? -I don't know. Ask Brun.
How long would it take to start up again? The Germans want it.
- How long? -Two or three months.
- How much? -A litre a day at the most.
- Can we increase it? -The ammonia would suffer.
Good. I'll speak to Brun.
Fun experiment by the way.
- Have a good day. -Same to you.
Norsk Hydro's factory at Vemork/Rjukan
PHONE RINGS
- Brun. -This is Leif.
- How are you? - More fun with you here.
Henriksen was here and inquired about the heavy water.
He wants to start the production again.
He wanted to know how much was left. The Germans want it.
I knew the French were interested, but not the Germans.
- Do you know why? - No, I'm not sure.
Well... It'll be a light over the few litres we have.
If a neutron is split from an atom,-
-the atom gives off more neutrons.
Each of these neutrons can split more nuclei-
-which again give off more neutrons.
This causes an ever increasing number of nuclear splits.
The purer the uranium, the more effective is the chain reaction.
Excuse me, but I still don't see any practical use.
Yes, there is one.
A slow chain reaction creates a heat generating uranium machine.
A fast reaction produces a highly effective nuclear explosion.
- How effective? -Very effective.
Very effective?
It depends on how much uranium we're talking about.
Let's say 100 kilos.
100 kilos?
At the moment I can only guess, but 100 kilos could-
-possibly produce double the explosive force.
If uranium-235 is hit by a neutron,-
-we get uranium-236, which releases vast amounts of energy.
And then a new neutron...
- Two or three. -Excuse me?
You drew one neutron. Maybe I didn't understand you.
But it's more accurate to talk about two or three neutrons.
The number is crucial.
May I?
Please.
As long as we talk about one neutron,-
-the amount of energy released is not a lot.
However, if two or three neutrons from the first split-
-can collide with other new uranium-235 nuclei which also split,-
-you get a totally different picture.
In comparison, to say 1 kilo uranium-
-equals double the force of other explosives is underestimated.
LECTURER INTERRUPTS
Let's have a look. The energy released from one split-
-is 179 mega electron volts.
This means 1 kilo enriched uranium produces the energy of no less-
-than 15000 tons of normal explosives.
MURMURING
Excuse me, could you please repeat that?
15000 tons. I wrote about this two years ago.
This...bomb...
ls it possible to build?
This is the energy that is theoretically released.
But to answer your question: Of course.
You only need to know how to use the energy.
Very promising.
Norsk Hydro's headquarters Oslo
Welcome. Welcome.
Good to see you.
You know the board meeting is not before next month?
I know. But it's not the board that sent me this time.
I've been sent by Deuxieme Bureau.
According to our sources,
heavy water is being utilised...
.. in the German arms programme.
You propose it in France instead?
In France, Jean Frederic Joliot-Curie and his wife Irene
can use the heavy water
as moderator in a nuclear reactor.
To create energy.
Yes.
We do not know if the Germans have other plans.
We do not intend to wait and see either.
How much will France pay?
How much are the Germans paying?
CAR PULLS UP
How much and how fast?
All of it, now.
OK, we have a deal.
You can pay it when you've won the war.
PLANE ENGINE STARTS
Idiots! Why didn't anyone notice the water was loaded into another plane?
Everything is in France now! I don't want to be tricked by the French!
Gel out!
- Good morning. -Good morning.
- Is everything OK? -Yes.
- With the shipment? -Yes.
There was a problem, The situation in Norway will soon be under control.
- Really? -Yes.
You will get your heavy water.
-It's what you need, right? -Of course.
- Of course. -Good.
HITLER BROADCAST IN GERMAN
CROWD CHEERS
Germany invades Norway and Denmark April 9th 1940
PLANES OVERHEAD
Dear all, there are no lectures today.
As you have heard, the Germans are in town.
Science is a noble profession.
I've never had a higher ambition than just learning more.
Ten years ago I didn't know neutrons carried-
-the energy of 2 million electron volts.
At the time I thought: "lt's the most important thing I'll ever learn."
But I was wrong. It was the second most important thing.
Should we sit here and do formulas-
-or should we go out and fight those who are trying to take what's ours?
Should we bow to them and pray they give us something back?
Or should we use our heads to try to send them packing?
My dear students, dear scientists, dear people."
The choice is yours.
But remember, what you choose today-
-will be history in a hundred years.
The choice is yours and yours...
VEHICLE PULLS UP
MEN SHOUT IN GERMAN
CLASS MURMUR
Get the Federation of Industries' support to stop the acts of war.
Due to the circumstances The King should be urged to abdicate.
The King is still Head of State.
For years Norsk Hydro's budget was bigger than the Norwegian state's.
The Federation should ask the King to abdicate to protect the country.
If you say so.
We will increase the heavy water output.
Talks are being held with l.G. Farben.
- Germany? -ls that a problem?
No.
The Germans are sending scientists and generals to the plant.
HE SIGHS
- What do they want? -To step up the aluminium production.
Then there's the heavy water.
- They want more cells. -How many?
They want to increase the production fivefold.
Suddenly everything is urgent.
I have warned London. Gestapo is close to taking down the whole group.
They took one of my students, questioned him and shot him.
Did he give them any names?
I don't know.
- What do we do? -I have to get to London.
I'll contact SIS and SOE and tell them what's happening.
You go back to the factory and continue as before.
Excuse me. I'll call you back.
I hear you have paid Quisling and his Nazi party 25000 kroner.
- We need to work in peace. -You're right.
The world wouldn't stop because of an occupation-
-or a change of government. Have you got a minute?
- How are the talks going? -They want to buy.
-I'm waiting to hear from the board. -That's the problem.
Germany, France, Norway, all at war. They won't make up their minds.
Perhaps the decisions should be made locally.
The Rjukan plant needs a new boss.
Someone who knows the score and can oversee the production.
Wouldn't you like that?
We'll be 22 for dinner on Saturday.
It was hard to get good food, but we'll have three great courses.
It'll be nice to have friends here during these strange times.
Yes...
What's wrong?
I've been given more responsibilities at Rjukan and Vemork.
- Which means...? -I need to be closer to the plants.
- You...? -We.
Do you mean move?
Yes.
- When? -In a week.
-22 bedrooms? -I told you it was big.
What do we need all that for?
Should the new director live in a hut?
You'll be fine here.
We will be fine here.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
I can'! sit here.
What?
I thought we could hike in the mountain this weekend.
I don't need to start until Monday.
Could you bring the bread?
Can I have some?
What's on your mind?
Will this new appointment and move result in anything good?
- What do you mean? - It happened so quickly.
These are difficult times. Few know Hydro better than me.
Yes, but why the hurry? You're just a lawyer.
I have been a loyal servant of Hydro my whole career.
Loyal servants do not suddenly become directors.
Are you questioning my qualifications?
I've got nothing to fear. You already talk like a director.
- Daddy? Where are you going? -To Oslo.
- For how long? -I might be back by Friday.
- Something's wrong with my train. -ls it?
I'll take it with me and see if I can fix it there.
- What's going on? -They're about to expose me.
- Where are you going? -To London. Via Sweden.
Will you have the chance to contact us?
I can write a letter and send it to your mother.
What...?
For our anniversary.
It's made from my university ring.
Just make sure you come back.
EXPLOSIONS
Excuse me. Can you keep the door clear?
Leif Tronstad. I'm here to see Colonel John Skinner Wilson.
He's expecting me.
He's not here, sir.
- He's not here? - No, sir.
I don't think you understand. I need to see him. It's important.
The colonel's not here, sir.
Are you lost, sir?
No, no, no. I'm going to...
G... Goog-es Street.
Goodge Street.
The King and Queen's own Goodge Street it's not the best of places.
Badly sprung mattresses, lumpy cushions, eggy smell in the corridor
and there's bedbugs and crabs.
Terrible choice, Mr Tronstad.
I'm sorry. Do I know you?
Leif Tronstad.
Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the NTH in Trondheim.
Sped through the diploma studies,
became the youngest professor in the faculty at age 33.
Now the foremost expert in the world on heavy water
and responsible for building the factory that lies in the place
with a name on it that... I'll be able to pronounce.
Rjukan.
Rjukan. Told you.
Welcome to London, Mr Tronstad.
If you care to follow me, we've been expecting you.
Leif Tronstad. I heard you were on the premises.
I'm Colonel John Skinner Wilson. Eric Welsh sends his regards.
How's everybody at home, your wife, children?
They are well, thank you.
- You've already met Captain Smith. - Kind of.
Julie works in intelligence here. She's head of Norwegian operations.
I'm currently setting up lines of communication in Norway,
- as well as training field agents. - Really, but you're a...
Yes, I'm a woman. How very observant of you, Professor Tronstad.
I'm also your superior officer.
I grew up with five brothers and can outrun every one of them.
Don't underestimate Captain Smith, Tronstad.
She can tell you the last time you smoked a cigarette.
Been following you for the last four hours.
Right. Tell us what you know.
Production's gone up five times in the last year.
The first deliveries are on their way.
They have double the amount of fuel cells
and are constantly hiring people.
And the new director of the factory?
Bjorn Henriksen, Aubert's right-hand man.
A wolf in sheep's clothing.
They've been placed in the factory to bear the brunt,
but he's no lightweight.
He personally brought in the army during a strike at the factory
and he is reported to have been in favour of the king abdicating
after the invasion.
Oh, dear. They call themselves De Uranverein,
the Uranium Club.
They've gathered together the best scientists in the country.
People like von Weizsacker, Bagge, Hahn and of course
Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize winner.
Kurt Diebner runs the project.
They're based at the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut,
but of course the whole thing's actually run by the Waffenamt
with the sole aim of creating an atomic bomb.
We still don't know how far they've got,
but with this new order for five tonnes of heavy water,
we have every reason to fear the worst.
You can start with these, Tronstad.
Taken from 3,000 feet, so not perfect.
We had a plane over yesterday.
Here's the factory, there's the bridge.
Check for any changes...
building, transport and access, roads and paths.
Thank you. And also all routines.
Employees, guards, management.
Names, affiliations, wives, children, girlfriends, mistresses...
anything you get hold of.
Every last little scrap, however inconsequential it may seem.
We'll do all the sifting through.
You'll get your own office with everything you need...
copies, photos, estimates.
We've built a base camp in Scotland,
so we're all flying up there tomorrow.
So you couldn't have arrived at a better moment.
What are you planning on doing?
What are YOU planning on doing?
Stopping them, of course.
There are plenty of Norwegians with local knowledge and technical ability. We could send over...
I don't think that's your decision, do you, Mr Tronstad?
We're at war.
You're still playing at war.