Only 70 years have passed since the first atomic bombs in human history were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
In terms of historical time, this is a short blink of an eye, but the history of man and the future expected of him have changed beyond recognition since then, when nuclear weapons, which at the beginning were a means of destruction available only to the powers that be, became the property of many, and not for good purposes. Looking back today, it is interesting to examine how the bomb affected its inventors and what kind of metamorphosis took place in the soul of the “Father of the Bomb” Robert Oppenheimer who said after realizing where the path of the most violent death that man had ever known led to: “My feeling is that I have blood on my hands” and from that time he began to preach decisively especially for leading a policy that would limit the arms race. But it was already too late. The nuclear genie is already out of the bottle and its game-changing fungus has already become a global threat. A similar metamorphosis also took place in the heart of Prof. Albert Einstein, the creator of the idea of the bomb, who, following the sight of the destruction and horror caused by the two atomic bombs, became one of the main spokesmen for the complete banning of nuclear weapons. As part of the interviews he gave to the media in those days, Einstein was asked a frightening question: will nuclear weapons be used in World War III and, if so, what results will such a war cause for humanity. Einstein’s answer was surprising. “I don’t know what weapons will be used” said Einstein “but it is clear to me that in the fourth world war man will return to fight with weapons made of stones and bones”.
There is no doubt that of these two, Oppenheimer was a unique and special genius who managed to transfer the theory to practical lines. At the age of 22, he already received a doctorate in theoretical physics at “Berkeley”, one of the leading among the prestigious research universities in the USA. After he finished defending his doctorate in front of a team of well-known professors there, the chairman of the board of examiners, Professor Max Born, said with a sigh of relief: “I am happy that it’s over. “Opi” has already started asking me questions as if I had to defend my doctorate.”
A disaster is foreseen
Some of his public statements have become iron sheep assets in everything related to the development of nuclear weapons in the world
Oppenheimer’s future – a “character” in the words of his friends – was seemingly predestined for scientific fame and world publicity. But as in many other cases, the promising beginning of his life turned into a Greek tragedy that the deceitful fate controlled, dictated its tortuous ways and ended it with great heartache and much heartache and insult. A tragedy that dealt with fundamental questions of human existence, that tried to examine, according to a predetermined line that cannot be changed, the limits of the suffering and torment that man can withstand, a tragedy that comes to an end in a predictable disaster as it is interspersed with crises, ups and downs of the hero, against the power of The fate the fate destined for him by the faith of the gods in which he believed until his last day.
Robert Oppenheimer was born in the USA in 1904 to a Jewish family. Despite his Jewish origin, the Oppenheimer family was never associated with religion or Jewish tradition. “Opi” was raised on the knees of the American way of life, but contrary to the fact that most Americans believe in God, he was what can be defined as “lacking faith “. Because he was a physicist who dealt with issues related to the existence of the world, questions arose in his path, the answer to which could not come from the sources of human logic or knowledge, but had to come from “divine” sources. This is probably why “Opi” turned to the Hindu faith. To try and understand it from the first and best source – he began to learn the Sanskrit language. Learning was the easy part of Oppenheimer’s life. In a short time he mastered the intricacies of the language and began to dive into the depths of Hindu texts, from which he also drew some of his public statements that became iron sheep assets in everything related to the development of nuclear weapons in the world.
In “Berkeley” “Opi” met a young woman named Jean Tatlock, as part of student meetings that dealt with political questions as was very common in those days. She was the daughter of a literature professor, a supporter of the communist worldview. They became friends. Under her influence, “Opi” also became a supporter of the communist ideology. Upon the death of his father in 1937, “Opi” inherited 300 thousand dollars – a huge sum in those days – which he donated to many leftist parties who were engaged in promoting their ideologies. Despite his activity and financial support, “Opi” never joined the Communist Party as a member.
A definite pacifist
It is likely that most of the inhabitants of the Earth are familiar with Einstein’s term “theory of relativity” or his formula E = MC2, but not many know that already in 1939 it was Einstein who made clear to the US president the need to develop nuclear weapons
In November 1940, a personal transformation took place in his life. A radical student named Catherine “Kitty” Harrison who was a member of the Communist Party, simply “bewitched” him. At that time “Kitty” was married for the second time. Her first husband was a member of the Communist Party and an activist in the trade unions who was killed in the Spanish Civil War. Her second husband was a doctor from California. “Opi” was captivated by her charms and she “turned on” him. The inevitable result: “Opi” severed his personal relationship with Gene and “Kitty” divorced her doctor husband and married “Opi”. The exact nature of the new couple’s relationship can be understood from the fact that already in May 1941 their eldest son, Peter, was born. Three years later, in 1944, their daughter “Toni” was born. Along with the intense love ties between the Oppenheimers, “Opi” continued for many years to keep in touch with his friend Jean Tatlock, also active in the Communist Party.
In the years when Oppenheimer was engaged in developing innovative ideas in the field of theoretical physics, there lived and worked in the USA another genius whose name had already risen to fame and who we can say changed the world of science. This genius was also Jewish. It was Albert Einstein who worked and lectured at Princeton University. It is likely that Most of the inhabitants of the Earth are familiar with Einstein’s term “theory of relativity” or his formula E = MC2, but not many know that already in 1939 it was Einstein who made clear to the US president the need to develop nuclear weapons, despite being a clear pacifist .
Atomic Bomb
“From studies that have come to my attention it appears that it is possible that in the near future it will be possible to achieve a nuclear chain reaction based on the element uranium”
And an act that was like this was: Leo Szilard, Einstein’s colleague, was very concerned in those days about the work of German researchers in the field of atomic fission. He turned to Einstein and convinced him that there is a great danger that if those researchers, who have become Nazis, advance in the study of atomic energy and nuclear fission, they will be able to produce an atomic bomb. And since the two scientists knew then what “atomic bomb” meant – Einstein’s intentions were to write a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and warn him of the danger.
Among other things, Einstein wrote as follows: “From studies that have come to my attention, it appears that it is possible that in the near future it will be possible to achieve a nuclear chain reaction based on the element uranium. This scientific direction will allow the production of a unique type of bomb. A bomb of this type loaded on a ship and activated in a harbor can to detonate the entire port and its surroundings. However, it seems that it would be difficult to drop such a bomb from the air due to the difficulty of loading it onto an airplane. Although the US has only a few sources of uranium mining, such mines exist in Canada and especially in the Congo.” After mentioning the danger inherent in the progress of the research Einstein ended his letter with something operative: “If you think that there is a point in acting in this way, it seems to me that you should entrust the task to a person you trust, who will work in an official framework, and whose main task will be to speed up the experimental work being carried out in this field and transfer them to the practical-industrial level as well.”
Roosevelt was convinced by what Einstein clarified and decided to adopt the proposal and to intensify the efforts of the USA to produce the American atomic bomb.
Communist connections
One of the topics that Teller brought up for discussion at the seminar was the possibility that an atomic bomb would produce such high heat during the explosion that it would ignite the entire atmosphere of the earth
Oppenheimer became involved in efforts to develop an atomic bomb by chance. When World War II broke out, scientists at “Berkeley” as part of the “Radiation Laboratory” were engaged in turning the theoretical idea into an actual bomb. The members of the team that dealt with the issue as part of the “Uranium Committee” thought that their progress was too slow and therefore recruited Oppenheimer to help them with the calculations related to the movement of neutrons inside the atom. Not one of these scientists knew about Einstein’s appeal to Roosevelt and what the president’s intentions were. But not much time passed and some of them were already in “matters”.
In 1942, the responsibility for the development of the atomic bomb was transferred to the US Army under the management of General Leslie Graves and this framework was called in the military code the “Manhattan Project”. After “scanning” the market of physicists specializing in the atomic field, Graves came to the conclusion that “Opi” is the good scientist the most capable of leading the team of scientists he had recruited. Graves knew that Opi’s “character”, with his “communist connections”, could be considered a security risk but nevertheless decided to choose him for the position of scientific director of the project. Graves was right about Oppenheimer’s leadership character. Immediately after his appointment he jumped ” Opi” into the water and began to activate the team. One of the first acts was a “scientific brainstorming session”. He organized a “summer seminar” on the topic of “the theory of the bomb”. The senior nuclear scientists from Europe and the best students and members of his staff were invited to the seminar. Among the participants were particularly brilliant years – Hans Bette and Edward Teller. Even then, Teller was unique in his scientific thinking. One of the topics that Teller brought up for discussion at the seminar was the possibility that an atomic bomb would produce such high heat during the explosion that it would ignite the entire atmosphere of the earth. The one who proved that this theory was impossible was the rapist of her daughter.
In those days, the nuclear issue occupied quite a few researchers in research laboratories at various universities in the USA. “Opi” and Groves decided that they needed to concentrate the effort in the framework of a separate and secret central laboratory. The site they found most suitable for the laboratory and future test site was in New Mexico. Indeed, on this site the laboratory was established. Los Alamos”. For the purpose of working in the laboratory, “Opi” organized a group of top scientists who, according to his definition, were “luminaries”, such as the Italian Enrico Fermi, Betha and Teller. In this team of elites, Oppenheimer was considered a “top elite”. He concentrated in his head all the multidisciplinary information in each of its limited parts one of the scientists specialized.
Nuclear secrets
Because of the secrecy of the project and the special importance of “character” within it, he will always be accompanied by an armed deaf military agent
“He didn’t manage us from the main office,” one of the team members said later. “He was present in the field at every focal point of making crucial decisions, whether in the laboratory or in the theoretical discussions. He was not content with coming up with innovative ideas. He was the engine for all of us. His constant presence created a special atmosphere of enthusiasm and challenge in all of us.”
All the while the character was under double investigation. On the one hand FBI agents and on the other the security officers of the internal security system of the project. The subject of the investigation, of course: his “leftist” connections. Because of the secrecy of the project and the special importance of “character” within it, he will always be accompanied by an armed deaf military agent. This agent was also close when “Ophie” would go out for meetings with his ex-girlfriend Jean Tatlock. “Opi” did not know about the FBI investigation, but being aware of the importance of the secrecy of his work, he reported, already in August 1943, to the security personnel of the project that three of his students had been asked about the “nuclear secrets” by a friend of theirs, who did not work on the project, but was Associated with the Communist Party. When questioned by General Graves about this affair, he discovered that the “contact person” was Aacon Chevalier, a professor of French literature at “Berkeley”. Oppenheimer also said that his younger physicist brother, Frank, who was close to the Communist Party, tried to interrogate him himself about the nuclear secrets. Despite all this, Graves did not change his opinion that Oppenheimer was “absolutely essential to the project” and vigorously opposed his removal.
In the end, the combined work of the scientists bore the desired fruit: the first atomic bomb in human history that opened the nuclear age. The bomb, based on plutonium fission, was of the type that was later dropped on Nagasaki and had a power of 20 kilotons. She was tested at the Alamogordo site on July 16, 1945 and Opie gave her the name Trinity.
Destroys worlds
“If the radiant light of a thousand suns explodes into the sky it will look like the greatness of the light of the mighty divine; now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds”
Oppenheimer watched the explosion as a scientist as well as a member of the human race. Movie cameras and stills documented history. A quarter of a hundredth of a second after the explosion, the bomb looked like a fiery sunball that was 300 meters high and half a kilometer wide. A few seconds later, the mushroom of fire rose into the sky as if it wanted to swallow the sky. The first words “Opi” uttered were: “It works.” And then He said a sentence that went down in history. It was a sentence that reflected man’s fear of the sublime, the terrifying, the deadly. He said: “Now I have become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
When asked later why he chose to say this sentence, he actually explained that the terrible and majestic sight reminded him of a passage from the well-known Hindu text “Song of the Divine Bahgavada” which reads: “If the radiant light of a thousand suns explodes into the sky it will look like the majesty of the light of the mighty God; Now I have become death, destroyer of worlds.” The reactions of the spectators to the explosion were strange. There were those who laughed, there were those who cried, there were those who cried without a word.
One of the generals who witnessed the “Trinity” experiment said: “Seconds before the explosion, “Opi” looked in a kind of dreamy position towards the site of the explosion, and then, when the announcer called “Now” and we heard the terrible explosion and saw the tremendous burst of light, relief appeared on “Opi’s” face greatness.
Years after the event, when asked about what he thought during the “Trinity” experiment, “Opi” replied: “We knew that after this explosion the world would never return to what it was.”
Destruction and horror
After the destruction of the two Japanese cities and the scenes of destruction and horror caused by the two atomic bombs, Einstein became one of the main speakers for the total banning of nuclear weapons
The news of the success of the experiment was immediately brought to the attention of President Harry Truman, who entered the presidency after Roosevelt’s death. Truman immediately approved the dropping of the bomb on Japan.
After the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a mental metamorphosis occurred in Oppenheimer. He felt human guilt and said: “My feeling is that I have blood on my hands” and from that time he began to preach very strongly for the leadership of a policy that would limit the arms race.
More extreme than “character” was Albert Einstein, the originator of the idea. After the destruction of the two Japanese cities and the scenes of destruction and horror caused by the two atomic bombs, Einstein became one of the main advocates for the complete banning of nuclear weapons and even established the “Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists” for this purpose. As part of the interviews he gave to the media, Einstein was asked a question that in those days scared the world: will nuclear weapons be used in World War III and if so – what results will such a war cause. Einstein’s answer surprised the questioner. “I don’t know what weapons will be used” said Einstein “but it is clear to me that in the fourth world war man will return to fight with weapons made of stones and bones”.
After the war, “Opi” was appointed to the position of chief scientific advisor to the American Atomic Energy Commission that was established at the time. In his decisive war in favor of limiting the use of nuclear weapons, he made many enemies. The main enemy was Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, who offered to everyone to assist in presenting evidence about “Opi’s” communist connections. And even if we were not asked to help, he made sure to spread the “red” stories himself and through his people. Another significant enemy was Lewis Strauss, director of the US Atomic Energy Agency, who criticized “Opi” for two reasons. One, professional: for his activities against the development of the hydrogen bomb; the second, human: in testimony in Congress, “Opi” humiliated Strauss. Strauss did not He forgot and when a suitable opportunity arose he simply “pounced” on the bargain.
The cold war
The purpose of the investigation, in the eyes of Strauss and McMahon, was not to uncover the truth. They wanted Oppenheimer’s security clearance to be revoked, thus preventing him from continuing to deal with the nuclear issue
In those days, the legislation concerning nuclear policy began to take shape in the US. Strauss joined forces with Senator Brian McMahon, the drafter of the Nuclear Energy Act. They approached the new president – General Eisenhower – and presented him with a host of reasons why Oppenheimer should be stripped of his security clearance. The Cold War” and Senator McCarthy’s terrifying hunting campaign against communists. Against this fertile background, the two explained that there was a security risk in employing Oppenheimer because some of his senior students were communists while working under him at Berkeley. The two managed to convince the president to open an investigation to clarify the facts. The investigation It was carried out as part of what was called in those days the “Senate Committee to Investigate Anti-American Activities”. The purpose of the investigation, in the eyes of Strauss and McMahon, was not to uncover the truth. They wanted Oppenheimer’s security classification to be revoked, thus denying him the opportunity to continue dealing with the nuclear issue.
Robert’s brother, Frank, was summoned to the commission and forced to testify under oath. He admitted that in 1930 he was a member of the Communist Party, but refused to give the names of others who were members of the party. Following his testimony, Frank was fired from his academic position and could not find another job in the field of physics. With no choice, Frank became a cattle rancher in Colorado. Another witness against “Opi” in the Senate committee was his former colleague Edward Teller who claimed that in his opinion Oppenheimer was a security risk.
Eisenhower asked “Opi” to resign. “Opi” refused and asked for a hearing. He did not want to use lawyers to defend him. “I can be my own best defender” he told his family. They were not convinced but “Opi” insisted and resisted receiving legal aid. Until the end of the hearing, his security clearance was suspended.
Knighthood
Many of Opi’s colleagues and friends saw him in those days as a victim of the McCarthyist witch hunt
The open hearing focused on the communist past of “Opi” and his communist connections during his time as director of the “Manhattan Project”. Oppenheimer summoned many witnesses to the hearing committee who testified in his favor, but most of the committee members were convinced, in the end, that Oppenheimer was indeed a risk and the security classification was revoked.
Many of Opie’s colleagues and friends saw him in those days as a victim of the McCarthyist witch hunt. One of the colleagues was the well-known German missile scientist Werner von Braun, who in those days already led the task of developing strategic missiles in the US. He summed up the whole affair in the following sentence: “If everything that happened here had happened in England, Oppenheimer would have been awarded a knighthood.”
A decade after he was stripped of his security clearance, Oppenheimer was “purged” when President Kennedy awarded him the prestigious decoration named after the renowned physicist Enrico Fermi.
Although Oppenheimer’s place in history was determined as the “father of the atomic bomb”, it seemed that in his soul a fundamental dilemma arose: if it was even right to use nuclear weapons against Japan and if he did well when he recommended the use of nuclear weapons. With this unresolved dilemma, which was expressed in many articles he published and interviews he gave to the media, “Opi” struggled until the end of his life, but it began to bother him immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In an interview with the media after Japan’s surrender, “Opi” said that the US had to present the power of the bomb to Japan in a milder and weaker way and only then, if it did not end the war, could the bomb be dropped on a populated city. “The truth is “, explained “Opi”, “because when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan was actually defeated and the use of the bomb was an act of “aggression, of surprise and of terror”. And here “Opi” added a statement that haunted him for many years: the production of the bomb was “an act of the devil”.
the right thing to do
Every sect, every person, has a role to play in the universe and a duty to play. Every person who is a member of any sect has an obligation to fulfill not only the personal role assigned to him
“Opi” became the leader of the public struggle against the use of atomic weapons. “This bomb” he repeated almost above every platform given to him “symbolizes the inhumanity of modern war”. A significant part of the struggle was dedicated to the war against the development of the hydrogen bomb on the grounds that “the hydrogen bomb contains dangers for the elimination of human civilization”. And so that there would be no doubt about his part in the “terrible” act of using nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he used to add: “I feel that I have blood on my hands.”
“The change in Oppenheimer’s position was so great,” said one of his scientific colleagues later, “that we could not understand how we were hearing all these terrible things from the mouth of the man who supported the dropping of “his” atomic bomb on civilians in Hiroshima.”
The dilemma that agitated Oppenheimer was strange in another way. Despite all his counter-arguments, “Opi” returned and maintained until the end of his days, that what he did was “the right thing”. “I fulfilled the role I took upon myself to fulfill” he used to explain. “I didn’t set the policy at Los Alamos. I did what they asked me to do. Including making the bomb.”
Experts in the Hindu faith explain Oppenheimer’s words as follows: “Each sect, each person, has a role that he must fulfill in the universe. A duty that he must fulfill. Every person who is a member of any sect has a duty to fulfill not only the personal role assigned to him but also the commitment of his sect He belongs.”
Foretold
“Each of us does what he is assigned to do, I too did what my destiny dictated, I never regretted what I did”
In one of the interviews he gave, Oppenheimer tried to explain to an aggressive journalist the seeming contradiction in his behavior. The journalist resented “Opi’s” blatant behavior towards him and said: “You paint me as a kind of predatory animal that went out hunting and tries to get its prey at any cost.”
Oppenheimer replied: “It is your duty. Just as it is the duty of a spy hunter to seek and find spies, just as it is the duty of the Russian scientist to do all he can to fulfill his duty to his homeland.”
In many cases, Oppenheimer used to bring explanatory examples from Hinduism when he cites the following parable: “A baker makes a cake correctly not because he wants to get a reward but because a good cake is what a baker, as a baker, is supposed to do; if a person plays the role of a professional warrior he does not what he does to win decorations of glory. He simply wants to fulfill his destiny, his earthly mission, to the best of his ability.”
Despite all the contradictions between the actions and the talk about these actions, “Opi” always repeated his basic position: “Each of us does what he is assigned to do. I also did what my destiny dictated. I never regretted what I did. Not when I fulfilled My role in the task assigned to me in the “Manhattan Project” and not today.”
In the years after the Hiroshima bombing, “Opi” used to explain that he was examining what was like something that was destined to happen regardless of what he himself did or did not do. “The production of the bomb and its dropping” he used to clarify “were inevitable. The production of the bomb was something natural. Part of nature. If you are a scientist you cannot stop such a process.” But when asked if, in his opinion, there was justification for dropping the bomb on a civilian city, Oppenheimer gave the somewhat evasive answer, “Being a scientist, I don’t have the proper tools to answer such a question, which is outside my area of expertise.”
Later, when “Opi” was asked following the opinions he expressed against the use of the bomb why the bomb was dropped anyway, he replied: “In all our considerations we always took into account how bloody an American invasion of Japan could be and how many American soldiers would be killed if we were forced to fight on Japanese soil. We always saw it as a duty To save lives and save casualties from our forces. This is why we decided to drop the bomb. We were convinced that dropping a bomb on an unpopulated area, for the purposes of demonstration-intimidation, would not achieve the required deterrent and surrender effect. When we were working on the preparation of the bomb, we were convinced that it had the ability to bring an end to the war “.
After the hearing in 1954, the decline of “Opi” began. He bought himself a beautiful piece of beach on the island of St. John in the Virgin Islands and built himself a spartan kit house on the beach where he used to spend months, always in the company of his wife Kitty. He used to spend a large part of his time sailing on his yacht together with his wife, isolating himself and cutting himself off from human society whose terrible demon that threatens its existence he himself helped to take out of the bottle. However, he continued to show interest in the dangers lurking for humanity as a result of the use of nuclear weapons. He is a friend of the public activity in this field to Albert Einstein, the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, and other scientists who shared his opinion.
Oppenheimer, who was a heavy smoker all his life, died aged 62 of throat cancer at Princeton University Hospital. He ordered his body to be cremated and ordered his wife to scatter his ashes in the place he loved most – at sea in front of his private beach. And so she did. The poem of his physical life, according to his belief, is over, but his actions and deliberations will always accompany the humanity that he marched into a new terrifying era. that changed human history.
