Lyrics of Father by Sabaton
A long ago in eastern Prussia
Young men with great ambitions rise
So who can tell me who can say for sure
Which one will win the Nobel Prize?
It was a golden age for science
The kaiserreich would hold the key
And as the conflict came and tensions rose
The manifest of the 93
Haber-Bosch, the great alliance
Where’s the contradiction?
Fed the world by ways of science
Sinner or a saint?
Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare
His dark creation has been revealed
Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare
A deadly mist on the battlefield
“Perversions of ideals of science”
Lost words of alienated wife
And in the trenches of the western front
Unknowing soldiers pay the price
And on the battlefield they’re dying
And on the fields the crops are grown
So who can tell us what is right or wrong
Maths or morality alone?
Haber-Bosch, the great alliance
Where’s the contradiction?
Fed the world by ways of science
Sinner or a saint?
Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare
His dark creation has been revealed
Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare
A deadly mist on the battlefield
Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare
His dark creation has been revealed
Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare
A deadly mist on the battlefield
During times when there’s peace he belonged to the world
During times when there’s war he belonged to his place of birth
Where will this lead? What’s coming next from your inventions?
We wonder where, where does it end?
Who can foresee, see what will be?
Haber-Bosch, the great alliance
Where’s the contradiction?
Fed the world by ways of science
Sinner or a saint?
Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare
His dark creation has been revealed
Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare
A deadly mist on the battlefield
Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare
His dark creation has been revealed
Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare
A deadly mist on the battlefield
Historical Background
In short: The song is about the invention of chemical weapons by Fritz Haber in World War 1.
Father of Toxic Gas – The Scientist Who Fed the World and Poisoned the Battlefield
Some men change the world for the better. Others leave behind destruction.
Fritz Haber did both.
Sabaton’s Father of Toxic Gas isn’t just about war—it’s about the fine line between scientific progress and moral responsibility. Haber’s Haber-Bosch process revolutionized agriculture, feeding billions. But he was also the father of chemical warfare, unleashing poison gas on the battlefields of World War I.
This is how one man’s genius saved humanity—and damned it at the same time.
Fritz Haber – A Scientist of Contradictions
“A long ago in Eastern Prussia, young men with great ambitions rise. So who can tell me, who can say for sure, which one will win the Nobel Prize?”
Born in 1868 in Breslau, Prussia (modern-day Wrocław, Poland), Fritz Haber was a brilliant chemist. He became a leading scientist in the German Empire, revolutionizing agriculture and warfare.
His biggest achievement? The Haber-Bosch process, developed with Carl Bosch.
The Haber-Bosch Process – Feeding the World
“Haber-Bosch, the great alliance, where’s the contradiction? Fed the world by ways of science, sinner or a saint?”
By 1909, Haber had discovered how to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. This breakthrough allowed mass production of fertilizers, making it possible to grow enough food to sustain billions of people.
Even today, half of the world’s food production depends on this process. Without it, global famine would have been inevitable.
But Haber’s legacy didn’t stop there.
World War I – Turning Science into a Weapon
“Father of toxic gas and chemical warfare, his dark creation has been revealed.”
When World War I broke out in 1914, Haber didn’t just sit back—he actively developed chemical weapons for Germany. He believed that science should serve the state, in peace and war.
His most infamous creation? Chlorine gas, first used at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
“Flow over no man’s land, a poisonous nightmare, a deadly mist on the battlefield.”
The gas sank into trenches, burning lungs and suffocating soldiers to death. It was the first large-scale use of chemical weapons in history, setting the stage for mustard gas and other deadly innovations.
Haber watched the attack personally—and considered it a great success.
The Personal Cost – Tragedy at Home
“‘Perversions of ideals of science,’ lost words of alienated wife.”
Not everyone celebrated Haber’s work. His own wife, Clara Immerwahr, was a chemist herself and opposed his use of science for war. She saw it as a betrayal of ethical responsibility.
One month after the first gas attack, Clara shot herself in the chest with Haber’s own pistol—a final act of protest against his work.
The next morning, Haber left for the Eastern Front, showing no signs of remorse.
After the War – A Scientist Without a Nation
“During times when there’s peace, he belonged to the world. During times when there’s war, he belonged to his place of birth.”
Despite his war crimes, Haber won the 1918 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the Haber-Bosch process. He was celebrated for feeding the world, even as his gas attacks had killed thousands.
But when the Nazis came to power in the 1930s, Haber—a Jew despite his loyalty to Germany—was forced into exile. He died in 1934, rejected by the very nation he had served.
Why Father of Toxic Gas Still Matters
“So who can tell us what is right or wrong? Maths or morality alone?”
Haber’s story is one of the greatest moral dilemmas in history.
- He saved billions of lives—but also created weapons that caused mass suffering.
- He saw himself as a patriot—but was abandoned by the country he fought for.
- His legacy is a reminder that science is neither good nor evil—only the way we use it matters.
“Where will this lead? What’s coming next from your inventions? We wonder where, where does it end?”
The Lesson?
Science can create or destroy.
Haber fed the world—and poisoned it.
The real question is: how will we use the knowledge we have?
