This book explores the extent to which the presence—or absence—of important raw materials has influenced the course of German history. It also explains that Germany occupies a unique position in world history because chemical inventions and the rise of a powerful chemical industry had a decisive impact on the country’s destiny.

Hans Rytger Kricheldorf was born in 1942 in Freiburg im Breisgau, where he also studied chemistry. After completing his doctorate in 1968 and his habilitation in 1974, he was appointed adjunct professor at the University of Freiburg in 1980. In 1982, he moved to a full professorship in macromolecular chemistry at the University of Hamburg, where he worked until his retirement in 2008. He has published more than 800 research articles in international scientific journals, as well as numerous books on polymer chemistry, materials science, and the history of the natural sciences.