The Heavy Water War: Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb
What the hell are you thinking?
The alternative is bombing again.
We're talking about 40-50 civilians. Plus even more reprisals.
Can't we blast it on the way down? Or after the ferry, out on the ocean?
- I estimate most of them will get to shore. - With the water temperature below freezing?
- They have two life boats. - What if the ferry sinks before that?
Then they swim.
And those who can't? The children and the elderly? What the hell are you thinking?
It's war, Jomar.
We can get rid of the heavy water once and for all.
- We don't have a choice! - I don't believe that.
What do we really know about the Germans? Do we know how far they have come?
I will try to find out.
Do that!
- Lise, are you looking forward to the concert? - Yes.
To hear Beethoven?
- Here you go. - Thank you.
- Concert on Saturday. - Thank you!
There's a concert on Saturday. Here you go.
Good afternoon. Ellen Henriksen. I'm arranging the concert.
- Arvid Fladmoe. - Kristoffer Kleive.
I hope you had a nice trip.
8 kg in the hull, close to the engines.
Approximately 45 minutes after departure.
Friday is the worst day. The ferry is always completely full on that day.
Did you hear what I said?
I'm not the one making the decisions.
Excuse me...
Yes, what is it?
We are moving.
What do you mean?
The factory is cutting back. There is no work for Rolf.
He got offered a position as a mechanic in Notodden.
And I got a job at the bag factory there.
What does Lise say to this? Does she want to go?
- We need money. - Yes of course, I'm sorry.
We leave this Friday.
- Friday? What about the concert? - No, it...
We were supposed to go together.
I'm going to see if we can postpone it, so that Lise can go to the concert.
That would be nice.
Sorry, I'm just being stupid.
Thanks.
It was a bit early!
Did you check about Friday?
Do you know anyone who can postpone the shipment? - Yes.
Do it by tomorrow, then we'll postpone until Sunday.
There's something wrong with the critical mass.
We calculated one ton of uranium.
From the beginning.
The size of the core is approximately 1/10,000th of the atom itself.
The biggest part of the atom is empty space.
Before they collide with the core, the neutrons move freely several centimeters.
- Millimeters. - Several millimeters.
Even in a dense metal such as uranium.
We calculated to much uranium for a bomb to be possible. What was our starting point?
A lump of uranium the size of a pea.
Here, the neutrons surface -
- and just vanish without colliding with new cores.
With a bigger lump of uranium, every neutron reaches a new core.
- And a chain reaction starts. - That's correct.
Wrong.
For a bomb, a 10 kg lump of uranium should suffice.
10 kilograms?
Then we have made the wrong calculations? How could that happen?
Up... Chin straight.
Come.
What did he say?
We will attend.
It'll be the finest concert ever to be held here. Of course I'll pay for the ferry tickets on Sunday.
Rolf and Knut will pick you up by car tonight. Just the three of you.
Four guards on the pier. Most likely there won't be any guards on the ferry, -
- but the ferry crew members sometimes sleep there.
The raft is positioned a quarter of a mile from the dock.
It's no problem getting there unseen, -
- but from the raft to the ferry, that's risky.
My neighbor will be on the ferry.
- You asked me to change the departure because so many people traveled on Friday. - I know...
- You can't warn him now. - It's his entire family!
Makes no difference. Do you understand the consequences?
- You know someone on the ferry as well? - Could be.
- Don't you think about that? - I've been ordered not to.
- They are innocent people! - And?
We have gotten an order, so someone must have considered it.
We save more people by sinking the ferry.
- Is it really that simple for you? - Yes, it's that simple.
What if I warn him?
I didn't hear that.
Get up in the highlands and make contact with England.
There you await new orders. I'll see you there in two days.
Did you hear me?
- Einar? - Yes.
- Second row. - Thanks.
Here you go. Come, let's go inside.
Sunday, February 20th 1944
Thanks for last night.
Thank you.
Remember, you can come visit me as often as you like.
It's not that far, and I can come get you.
No choice? We could sink the ship out on the sea!
- Not according to the British. - I don't believe them.
- Well, tell them. - That's what you should do!
I did, but it turned out this way.
Taking the lives of 50 innocent people. You have to stop it.
The bomb is already onboard. The ferry departed several minutes ago.
- You went for the ferry all along. - That's not true.
Of course... Then you'll be done with all this shit...
... and you can finally go back to Norway.
- Two coffees. What do you want? - Juice.
Spring of 1945 The final months of the war
Werner Heisenberg!
Don't leave. Wait for me, please!
Damn! 370 wives or mistresses, or whatever...
They always start out with how they don't know anything about physics, -
- but that they find it interesting.
"Culture and science is Germany's greatest strength."
Then moving on to the weather and other unimportant stuff.
For example, "strategic withdrawal."
We withdraw with success and show "victorious resistance".
But I like you.
I've always liked you. I want you to know that.
You are not one of those who give up so easily.
Follow me, I want to show you something.
You're not the only one who's been busy!
Look at this. Conventional grenades.
Completely normal, without any hocus-pocus.
Or what? It looks like this, but we aren't stopping there!
Depleted uranium. What happens then? Look here.
I had to do something simpler than dropping a bomb on them.
Like for example put it in grease. A kind of cream.
But with a very different effect and result. Here.
For example: Number 47. Stopzsky, Shlomo Stopzsky.
Exposed to radioactive radiation for several minutes.
With a remarkable result. Imagine this...
A larger dose, nicely wrapped and shipped to Winston Churchill!
Do you understand? We are what's left!
We are the nation's backbone.
Or to put it like our beloved Führer does:
"We have so much to answer for, so we MUST win the war!"
- When do you leave? - Tomorrow.
- How long has it been since you saw them?
Almost four years.
A beer?
- No, I have to.... - All the others went into town.
A beer in the canteen, just the two of us.
Is that a date?
We can call it that if it helps.
- It helps. - Good.
Cheers!
Keep your backs straight. One-two-three...
Good. Thanks.
- Einar reports good weather in the area. - Good.
- Have a good trip. - Thanks.
Leif Tronstad never reunited with his family.
He was shot and killed by a Norwegian nazi-collaborator during "Operation Sunshine"
Werner Heisenberg was arrested by American forces on May 3rd 1945.
Germany surrendered 4 days later.
Heisenberg and 9 other German scientists were interrogated by MI6 near London.
He reunited with his family in Germany 8 months later.
Werner Heisenberg carried on as a scientist and died in 1976, 71 years old.
It's a great pleasure, on behalf of Hydro,-
- to be able to give to the Homefront four million kroner.
Norsk Hydro kept producing and selling heavy water until 1988.
The company today has 13,000 employees and an annual revenue of roughly 65 billion kroner.
This TV-series is based on true events. Some of the depicted events have been dramatized and simplified. Likewise, some of the depicted characters are fictive.