Reviled by many after the war as one of the people responsible for the carnage at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hahn had already begun to reflect on the social responsibility of scientists for their fundamental discoveries and the subsequent applications of the knowledge they create. Already during the war, Hahn had protested Nazi restrictions on Universities and researchers, and after the War, he became actively involved in efforts to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons.
In this volume Klaus Hoffmann discusses Hahn's contributions to science and his reflections of scientific and social responsibility. He concludes that Hahn's ideas can still serve as a foundation for responsible and moral actions by scientists.