Oppau explosion

In the spring of 1914, Mitash's team had found a catalyst of iron and bismuth that could oxidize ammonia without scarce Russian platinum, and Russia was now an enemy.

In September 1914, Bosch pledged to the German high command that he would deliver nitric acid from Oppau's ammonia.

BASF's own history calls it his saltpeter promise.

In return, the government promised money and a guaranteed buyer in an agreement that Haber, then serving as a government officer, helped negotiate.

Window panes burst in Heidelberg, Worms and Darmstadt, and in places in Frankfurt, more than 80 kilometers away.

The seismograph in Munich, some 300 kilometers off, recorded the shock.

In the village of Oppau, about 2,000 buildings were damaged and 1,036 of them destroyed.

The dead numbered 559 on the official count, and about 2,000 people were hurt.