Here’s how a Hungarian scientist saved two Nobel Prizes during WWII

During the turbulent Second World War, the scientific community grappled with unprecedented challenges, not only in advancing knowledge but also in securing recognition for intellectual achievements. A remarkable episode from this era unfolds in the ingenuity of Hungarian chemist George Charles de Hevesy, or György Károly Hevesy, who saved two Nobel Prizes.

German occupation

Helló Magyar writes that this unbelievable story of brilliance and scientific insight took place in occupied Copenhagen. Two Nobel Prize winners of Jewish origin sent their medals to Niels Bohr’s Institute of Theoretical Physics to shield them from the Gestapo. Bohr’s institute became part of the German-occupied territory and was a haven for Jewish scientists. The Nobel Prize medals of Max von Laue (winner of the 1914 Prize for Physics) and James Franck (winner of the 1925 Prize for Physics), with their inscriptions prominently displayed, were placed in Bohr’s building and posed a serious threat. The Nazis were aware of Bohr’s support for Jewish intellectuals thus the institute became a target for the Germans.

A bold idea

György Hevesy, a Hungarian chemist working in Bohr’s laboratory, proposed a bold plan to preserve the medals. Bohr had initially considered burying them, but fearing the Germans’ meticulous research, he rejected the idea. Instead, Hevesy, leveraging his expertise in chemistry, opted for an unconventional yet effective solution. The scientist decided to dissolve the medals. Dissolving gold, known for its stability and resistance to corrosion, proved a formidable challenge. Hevesy chose an unusual solvent: a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid known as ‘aqua regia’. This corrosive mixture, capable of dissolving gold, triggered a slow and complex chemical reaction. See how ‘aqua regia’ dissolves gold: