Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
Karl Becker | |
|---|---|
| Chief of the Heereswaffenamt | |
| In office 1 March 1938 – 8 April 1940 | |
| Preceded by | Kurt Liese |
| Succeeded by | Emil Leeb |
| President of the Reichsforschungsrat | |
| In office 1937 – 8 April 1940 | |
| Appointed by | Bernhard Rust |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Bernhard Rust |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karl Heinrich Emil Becker 14 September 1879 Speyer |
| Died | 8 April 1940 (aged 60) Berlin |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Years of service | 1898–1940 |
| Rank | General der Artillerie |
| Unit | Royal Bavarian 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker (14 September 1879 – 8 April 1940) was a German weapons engineer and artillery general. He advocated and implemented close ties of the military to science for purposes of advanced weapons development. He was the head of the Army Ordnance Office, Senator of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, first president of the Reich Research Council, the first general officer to be a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, as well as being a professor at both the University of Berlin and Technische Universität Berlin.
In the late 1920s, he realised that a loophole in the Treaty of Versailles allowed Germany to develop rocket weapons. The military-scientific infrastructure he helped implement supported the German nuclear energy program, known as the Uranium Club. Being depressed over heavy criticism from Hitler for shortfalls in munitions production, he committed suicide in 1940. He was given a State funeral.