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Hitler's Sunken Secret
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Classroom Activity
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Activity Summary
Students will use a viewing guide while watching a program about
Nazi Germany's production of heavy water during World War II, and
discuss answers to their questions after watching.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
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copy of the "Heavy Water Goes Down" student handout (PDF
or
HTML)
Background
In 1940, the Germans captured Norway and took possession of the
Norsk Hydro plant in Vemork. The Germans were interested in the
plant because it could be used to manufacture heavy water. Although
chemically like H2O, the hydrogen atoms in heavy water
are made of the heavy isotope deuterium (heavy water is also known
as deuterium oxide, D2O). The nuclei in each heavy water
molecule contain a neutron in addition to the proton normally found
in hydrogen. At Vemork, heavy water was produced through
electrolysis, a process in which an electric current is conducted
through an ion-containing solution.
Allied forces feared that the heavy water, which can help moderate a
nuclear reaction, was a part of Germany's atomic weapons program.
Norwegian Resistance workers at the Hydro factory provided the
Allies with information about the plant. The Allies joined with
members of the Norwegian Resistance to plan and execute three
attacks on the plant prior to bombing the ferry believed to be
transporting barrels of heavy water.
At the time of the Hydro's sinking, the sabotage was
considered a success. However, some evidence suggests that the
Germans may have planted barrels on the ferry that did not contain
heavy water, and that the actual barrels with heavy water were
shipped out of Norway to Germany at a later date.
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Organize students into five teams. Assign each team a set of
four questions. The questions generally follow the sequence of
the film. You can assign the questions in their current
sequence, allocate them by themes, or choose a mix of simple and
more complicated questions for each team.
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Distribute a copy of the student handout to each team before
viewing. Discuss appropriate background information with
students.
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Show the program and have students individually take notes on
the questions their team has been assigned.
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After watching the program, have students meet in their teams to
discuss their notes. Beginning with the first question assigned,
ask teams to come to consensus on an answer. The team response
should be written down as the answer to each question. Continue
until all questions are answered.
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Have teams share the questions and answers that came out of
their team work.
(See Activity Answer for possible
answers. Accept all reasonable answers.)
Ask students in the rest of the class if they agree with what
the team has presented. If students don't agree, ask them to
explain why and provide evidence from the program that will
support their opinions. When possible, expand upon a question or
provide additional historical background for students.
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To conclude, discuss with students how the decisions were made
to halt Germany's production of heavy water. What evidence was
each decision based upon? How did time play a factor in the
decisions? Do students think the Allied forces and Resistance
fighters did or did not have enough information to base their
decision on? Have students support the positions they choose.
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As an extension, have students generate questions they have
about World War II. Group together students who have related
questions. Have teams research and answer their own questions
and present their findings to the class.
Suggested answers to the questions listed on the student handout:
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Why were the Germans interested in heavy water?
they wanted to build a nuclear bomb and heavy water is a key
ingredient
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What was the name of the ferry used to transport passengers and
(purportedly) heavy water? the Hydro How many
people died when the ferry went down, and who were they?
14 civilians, and 4 German soldiers
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Why were historians interested in finding out what was on the
Hydro?
to discover whether heavy water was actually onboard the
ferry
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Why was the Norsk Hydro plant built in the remote sRjukan
Valley?
the plant was situated near a large waterfall that could
provide hydroelectric power
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What was originally made at the Vemork factory?
fertilizer How was it made?
hydrogen was extracted from water by electrolysis and then
reacted with nitrogen in the air to make ammonia.
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What by-product was created at the plant? heavy water
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What did physicists come to realize about heavy water?
that it could play an important role in the creation of a
nuclear bomb
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How much water does it take to make 1 kilogram of heavy water?
50 tons
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Once the Allies understood how heavy water could be used, what
action did they take?
they teamed up with members of the Norwegian Resistance to
try to destroy the Norsk plant.
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How did the Allies attempt to destroy the plant? What were the
results of their efforts?
the first attempt failed when weather prevented sending in 30
men by gliders; the second attempt was partially successful in
bombing the heavy water production facility; and the third
attempt succeeded in bombing the factory but not the heavy
water plant.
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What did the Germans do to make even more heavy water?
they used high-concentration cells and doubled the production
apparatus
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What did the Allies and Resistance learn about the shipment of
heavy water?
barrels of heavy water were to be transported to Germany by
train and then by ferry; rail cars would board a ferry named
Hydro.
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What was the ethical dilemma related to sinking the
Hydro? civilians would be at risk.
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Describe the operation that sank the Hydro.
a team of saboteurs placed a bomb at the bottom of the ferry;
10 minutes after schedule, the ferry left the dock; 30 to 40
minutes later the bomb exploded and sank the boat
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Why was it important to locate the Hydro and examine the
contents of the heavy water barrels?
some historians did not believe the operation achieved its
main objective, destroying German's supply of heavy water
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How would the investigators be able to tell if the barrel had
lake water or heavy water in it?
they would check the pH of the water—heavy water has a
much higher pH (about 14.0) than lake water (about 9.0)
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Why did the investigators have to slowly maneuver the barrel as
they lifted it from the water?
the barrel could have exploded and released caustic potassium
hydroxide-laden heavy water
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How did investigators know what percentage of heavy water the
barrel was supposed to contain?
the manifest showed that the barrel they were testing was 1.5
percent enriched
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What were the results of the testing?
the pH of the barrel water was more than 14.0
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How did one of the saboteurs feel about the bombing when asked
about it 60 years later?
he said he didn't react to the bombing, but just swallowed
what he had done; he noted he slept just as well at night as
he had before the sabotage
Web Sites
NOVA—Hitler's Sunken Secret
www.pbs.org/nova/hydro
Read a book excerpt about the Norsk Hydro plant bombing raid, learn
how near the Nazis were to developing a nuclear weapon, examine spy
messages regarding the Hydro ferry bombing, and discover how heavy
water can be used to turn relatively common uranium into
weapons-grade plutonium.
Physics 2000: Isotopes
www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/isotopes
Offers a tutorial on atoms and isotopes.
Sinking Hitler's Bomb
www.kidscastle.si.edu/admin/channels/history/articles/historyarticle18.html
Retells the story of the sinking of the Hydro.
Books
Assault in Norway: Sabotaging the Nazi Nuclear Bomb
by Thomas M. Gallagher. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
Recounts operations that destroyed a heavy water plant in Norway and
a large shipment of heavy water on the way to Germany.
Heavy Water and the Wartime Race for Nuclear Energy
by Per F. Dahl. The Institute of Physics, 1999.
Reviews the scientific role that heavy water played in the wartime
efforts and chronicles the air attacks on the Norwegian plant making
heavy water.
The "Heavy Water Goes Down" activity aligns with the following
National Science Education Standards (see
books.nap.edu/html/nses).
Grades 5-8
Science Standard F
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Science and technology in society
Grades 9-12
Science Standard F
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges
Classroom Activity Author
Developed by WGBH Educational Outreach staff.
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