[1] From 1933 to 1942, von Droste was a scientific assistant (Mitarbeiter) at the KWIC, where Otto Hahn was the director and until July 13, 1938 Lise Meitner headed a department.
While at the KWIC, Droste contributed[3][4] to the German nuclear energy project, also known as the Uranverein (Uranium Club).
[1][5] In December 1938, the German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann sent a manuscript to Naturwissenschaften reporting they had detected the element barium after bombarding uranium with neutrons;[6] simultaneously, they communicated these results to Lise Meitner, who had in July of that year fled to the Netherlands and then went to Sweden.
[9][10] Droste and Siegfried Flügge, an assistant to Hahn, independently also predicted a large energy release from nuclear fission.
When Droste faced the proceedings, he turned to Werner Heisenberg, a prominent member of the Uranverein, for testamentary support – a document known as a Persilschein (whitewash certificate).
In February 1947, Droste also requested support from Meitner; for complex reasons, she provided a document carefully vouching for his behavior without commenting on his character.
The reports were confiscated under the Allied Operation Alsos and sent to the United States Atomic Energy Commission for evaluation.