He discovered with John Mitchell Nuttall the Geiger-Nuttal law and performed experiments that lead to Rutherford's atomic model. He was also a member of the Uranverein (Uranium Club) in Nazi Germany, the group of German physicists who, during World War II, worked on but failed to create the German atomic bomb. (How much this failure resulted from lack of scientific progress and how much from foot-dragging due to ethical concerns remains a lively debate even today.)
His unwavering loyalty to the Nazi Party led him to betray his Jewish colleagues.