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Documentary, Oppenheimer after Trinity DW Documentary
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00:47On a cool October day in 1945, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer arrived at the White House in Washington,
00:53D.C. A 30-minute meeting had been scheduled with President Harry S. Truman.
01:00A meeting that could shape the course of history.
01:07That morning, Dr. Robert Oppenheimer was making an attempt to reason with the President.
01:15He had just led a team of scientists in developing and testing a weapon that helped bring about the end
01:21of the Second World War.
01:25Now he was desperate to prevent the world from destroying itself.
01:34After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppenheimer had followed military developments with deep concern.
01:45He felt compelled to personally share his fears about this devastating new weapon with the American President.
01:59The events of October 25th, 1945 marked a turning point in history.
02:05But the story began years earlier, with Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, which triggered the Second World War.
02:15As German forces advanced across Europe, European émigré physicists working in the United States learned that their counterparts in Berlin
02:24were experimenting with nuclear fission.
02:30Fearing its potential as a weapon, they approached Albert Einstein and persuaded him to collaborate in writing a letter warning
02:38President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
02:43The letter raised the alarm that Nazi Germany might be the first to develop an atomic bomb.
02:50In response, Roosevelt mobilized U.S. resources to stay ahead.
02:58By executive order, he created the Manhattan Engineer District, placing atomic research at the center of the American war effort.
03:10To lead this unprecedented project, the Army appointed General Leslie Groves, a seasoned officer who had recently overseen construction of
03:18the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., a significant military achievement.
03:28Under Groves, the Manhattan Engineer District grew rapidly, employing 75,000 Americans.
03:37Its structure was compartmentalized to protect secrecy and maintain focus.
03:44Groves knew he needed a brilliant scientist, someone who could lead with vision, rally the nation's top minds, and drive
03:52progress at a record pace.
03:55After careful consideration, General Groves arrived at his decision.
04:03I was completely responsible for the selection of Dr. Oppenheimer as the head of the Los Alamos bomb laboratory.
04:15Dr. Oppenheimer already knew many of the top scientists and physicists of the era.
04:20He had the charisma, intellect, and leadership skills needed to unite them behind a single mission.
04:29When Groves and Oppenheimer met for the first time, their top priority was finding a remote location for a secret
04:36laboratory,
04:37where the scientists could live and work around the clock in complete isolation.
04:45Oppenheimer suggested a place in northern New Mexico where he had spent time with his family.
04:52He had hiked the hills, ridden horses through the terrain, and even leased a simple cabin there.
05:01He remembered a nearby ranch school set on a mesa.
05:08It seemed ideal.
05:11The two men drove out to see it.
05:14The old school grounds had solid infrastructure, access to water, and room for expansion.
05:20Groves turned to Oppenheimer and said, this is it.
05:24The property was quickly secured for the government, and work began immediately on guardhouses and roads.
05:32Oppenheimer started assembling a team of top scientists, engineers, and experts from across the country.
05:38A laboratory was built, and structures began to rise almost overnight.
05:44Hundreds of workers and support staff arrived.
05:47The guardhouse soon became a hub of activity.
05:52Scientists came with their families.
05:54Among them was Oppenheimer's wife, Catherine, known as Kitty, who was his confidant and constant companion.
06:06Kitty welcomed new arrivals, organized social events, and became the de facto First Lady of Los Alamos.
06:17As research advanced, military planners began searching for a nearby location to test the world's first atomic bomb.
06:29The test site needed to be far from populated areas and inaccessible to the public.
06:35A location north of Alamogordo, New Mexico, was selected.
06:40It lay in a desert known as the Jordana del Muerto, Spanish for Journey of the Dead.
06:47The area had already been secured by the military and used for bombing practice.
06:55Eyewitnesses later recalled that Oppenheimer played a key role in selecting the site.
07:01He reportedly slept under a truck during the search and seemed more at ease in the desert than many of
07:07his colleagues.
07:10Over time, a small base camp rose from the barren terrain.
07:15Oppenheimer named the site Trinity.
07:20Several buildings were constructed at the test location, including barracks and a canteen.
07:26There was even a pool table for the workers.
07:35When the bomb was finally ready for testing, a tall steel tower was built.
07:39The idea was to detonate the device above ground to better observe and measure its effects.
07:46By late April 1945, Allied forces had retaken most of Germany and were closing in on Berlin.
07:58Berlin soon fell and the entire country came under Allied control.
08:03German soldiers surrendered and many members of the Nazi regime were captured.
08:10American intelligence teams recovered a vast trove of secret military documents.
08:15After Germany's surrender, US intelligence agents rushed to the Pienemünde rocket facility,
08:21where Werner von Braun had led the development of the German V-2 rocket.
08:30In a nearby cave, American troops discovered 14 tons of technical papers and hundreds of rocket components.
08:41But the agents uncovered an even greater secret.
08:45That the Germans, under von Braun's supervision,
08:48had been developing a rocket intended to strike New York City.
08:56Alongside tons of rocket components, technical drawings and documents,
09:01the American troops discovered that Dr. von Braun and his team of German scientists
09:06were working on the development of long-range weapons that might one day reach transatlantic targets.
09:13This research, they realized, could be of great benefit to the US military.
09:18The findings were quickly relayed to President Truman,
09:21who ordered all materials and the scientists to be secured and shipped to the United States without delay.
09:29The US military acted swiftly, transporting the rocket parts and equipment,
09:34technical documents and more than 100 German scientists and their families,
09:38including Werner von Braun, to the United States.
09:44The Pentagon decided the best location for this top-secret cargo
09:48was the New Mexico desert, near the atomic test site.
09:54Almost overnight, New Mexico became the focal point of global attention.
10:00It was now home not only to Los Alamos and the Trinity test site,
10:05but also the center of a newly planned rocket testing range.
10:13Although the Allies now controlled Germany and much of Europe,
10:17Japan continued to fight fiercely in the Pacific theater.
10:27In the weeks following Germany's surrender,
10:29a conference of Allied leaders was planned to address Europe's post-war administration
10:34and to coordinate the final stages of the war against Japan.
10:39The meeting was scheduled to begin on July 17, 1945 in Potsdam
10:44and later became known as the Potsdam Conference.
10:51Truman's Secretary of War, Henry Stinson,
10:54who received daily updates on the Manhattan Project,
10:57was aware that the first atomic bomb test was imminent.
11:02Stinson requested that President Truman authorize an accelerated timeline
11:07for the test in the desert of New Mexico
11:10so that its outcome could align with the opening of the Potsdam Conference.
11:19If the test proved successful,
11:22Truman could enter the conference with news of a powerful new weapon
11:25as leverage for his negotiations with the Allies.
11:30Truman agreed to the accelerated timeline
11:32and instructed General Groves to notify the Los Alamos scientists
11:36that the test must occur before the Potsdam meeting,
11:39meaning no later than July 16.
11:43Dr Oppenheimer called a meeting at Camp Lodge in Los Alamos.
11:49The scientists agreed that,
11:51with full cooperation across all departments,
11:53the test could be moved forward.
11:58Enriched plutonium was prepared in the Los Alamos lab ahead of the test.
12:04Under Oppenheimer's supervision,
12:06the plutonium was loaded onto military vehicles.
12:12It was then driven south through New Mexico,
12:16arriving hours later at the Trinity site,
12:19340 kilometres away.
12:33With great care,
12:34the components were assembled at the test site.
12:38The plutonium core was inserted into the bomb,
12:41nicknamed the Gadget.
12:45Under Oppenheimer's watchful eye,
12:47the team completed the final assembly.
12:54In the tower above,
12:56men were prepared to lift the bomb using hoists.
12:58While those below worked the pulleys,
13:00the team at the top monitored the process using mirrors.
13:05Once the bomb reached the top,
13:06the floor was sealed,
13:08and technicians wired and inspected the device
13:10to ensure the test could proceed as planned.
13:16Oppenheimer notified General Groves
13:18that the test was ready for July 16.
13:23Groves relayed the news to President Truman,
13:25who was already at the conference in Potsdam.
13:29On the morning of the test,
13:31light rain and distant lightning threatened a delay,
13:34but the skies eventually cleared.
13:37At 5.29 a.m. on July 16th, 1945,
13:41the world's first atomic bomb was detonated
13:44in the New Mexico desert.
13:49The atomic age had begun.
13:55The United States now possessed a weapon
13:58capable of ending the war
13:59and compelling Japan to surrender.
14:04News of the successful test
14:06was sent immediately to President Truman in Potsdam
14:09via coded telegram.
14:12The message read,
14:15Doctor has just returned,
14:17most enthusiastic and confident
14:19that the little boy is as husky as his big brother.
14:24A New York Times reporter
14:26who was part of the official observation group
14:28later described the moment
14:30as if he were present
14:31when God created the first light.
14:34General Groves recorded in his classified report
14:37that the bomb test was
14:38probably more important
14:40than the discovery of electricity.
14:42Back at the control room,
14:44the scientists reacted
14:45with a mix of awe and unease.
14:47One of them remarked,
14:48we are probably now all sons of bitches.
14:51Cigarettes and beer were passed around
14:53in subdued celebration.
14:55The explosion had been audible
14:57from 160 kilometers away.
15:00To avoid public alarm,
15:03a press release was issued
15:05claiming that a munitions depot
15:06had accidentally exploded.
15:13Just hours after the successful test,
15:16the USS Indianapolis set sail from San Francisco,
15:19heading for the Pacific island of Tinian.
15:22On board were components and plutonium
15:25for a second bomb
15:26intended for use against Japan.
15:34Meanwhile,
15:35with news of the test in hand,
15:37President Truman showed a noticeable shift
15:39in confidence at Potsdam.
15:41As the conference continued,
15:43all Allied leaders were briefed
15:45on the new weapon
15:46and its likely deployment
15:47in the Pacific theater.
15:51Truman felt particularly strengthened
15:53in his interactions
15:54with Churchill and Stalin.
15:57By the end of the conference,
15:58all of the Allies had been informed
16:00about the new bomb
16:01and its imminent deployment in Japan.
16:03I told Stalin about the atomic explosion,
16:08which had been set off on 16th day of July
16:11down in Alamogordo, New Mexico,
16:15and explained to him
16:17that we had the most powerful explosive
16:18that had ever been discovered
16:20in the history of the world
16:21and that we were expected to use it on Japan.
16:25He smiled at me and bowed
16:27and said he was glad we had the explosive
16:29and he hoped that it would end the Japanese war.
16:33Back in New Mexico,
16:35Oppenheimer, General Groves,
16:37and the scientists visited the blast site.
16:40Oppenheimer, General Groves,
16:41their hard work had paid off.
16:44The experiment had worked.
16:48Oppenheimer returned to Los Alamos
16:49exhausted but reflective.
16:53He began to consider the bomb's next use.
16:57Should there be a demonstration first?
16:59Should the Japanese be warned
17:01and urged to surrender?
17:02What would his colleagues think
17:05now that the theoretical had become real?
17:08The sight of the Los Alamos guardhouse
17:10was a welcome relief.
17:11He was home at last.
17:16Soon after returning,
17:18Oppenheimer convened a meeting
17:19of the scientific team
17:20to address the ethical concerns
17:22that had emerged.
17:23In the Oak Ridge and Chicago-Manhattan project sites,
17:26many scientists signed a petition
17:28urging the president
17:29that Japan should first be given
17:31the opportunity to surrender
17:33and that the weapon
17:34should only be used
17:35as a last resort.
17:38More than 20 years later,
17:40Oppenheimer recalled
17:41what he and his colleagues
17:42thought at the time.
17:47I think that it probably was assumed,
17:51it certainly was always assumed
17:52at Los Alamos,
17:54that if the war were not over
17:57and not clearly
18:03to be brought to a conclusion
18:07by diplomatic means,
18:09this weapon would play a part.
18:13I'm not sure that the men
18:15who sat around that room
18:16all had the same idea
18:19of what would happen with the bomb.
18:22General Groves blocked the petition
18:24and the scientists' effort
18:26to reach Truman directly.
18:29The president then issued the order.
18:31The first atomic bomb
18:33would be dropped on Japan.
18:37By then,
18:38the Indianapolis had reached
18:39Tinian Island.
18:41The bomb,
18:42codenamed Little Boy,
18:43was carefully unloaded from the ship
18:45and transported to a hangar.
18:50On the eve of the mission,
18:52military technicians
18:54rolled the bomb out
18:55to the waiting aircraft.
19:01Tensions spread among the crew.
19:04Rumours had circulated
19:06that this was the weapon
19:08that could end the war.
19:17After several hours
19:19of careful preparation,
19:20the bomb was loaded
19:21into the Boeing B-29 aircraft.
19:27Just before dawn,
19:28the Enola Gay
19:29took off for Hiroshima.
19:36A few hours later,
19:39on the morning of Monday,
19:40August 6th, 1945,
19:43the first atomic bomb
19:44ever used in warfare
19:45was dropped on Hiroshima.
19:55This is the only known
19:57authentic footage
19:58of the explosion.
20:00A blast that caused
20:02unprecedented devastation.
20:07Meanwhile,
20:07the final assembly
20:09of the second bomb
20:10on Tinian Island
20:10was nearing completion.
20:12A tactical and operational
20:13flight order
20:14detailed the timing,
20:15logistics,
20:16and other elements
20:16of the mission.
20:18Codenamed Fat Man,
20:20the bomb was similar
20:21in design to the Trinity device.
20:23On August 8th,
20:24it was carefully removed
20:25from the hangar
20:26and prepared for the mission.
20:29It was first painted
20:31with a sealant.
20:42then it was armed
20:43and transported
20:45to the runway
20:45for loading.
21:08Once again,
21:10a B-29 bomber
21:11was carefully prepared
21:12and brought into position.
21:15It took off at dawn.
21:18On August 9th, 1945,
21:21the second atomic bomb
21:23was dropped over Nagasaki.
21:27The city had been chosen
21:29as a secondary target
21:30due to poor weather conditions.
21:49The Japanese military
21:50could offer only minimal resistance.
21:53Within a single month,
21:55three atomic bombs
21:56were detonated
21:57at Alamor Gordo,
22:02Hiroshima,
22:03and Nagasaki.
22:05The world was forever changed.
22:10The overwhelming destruction
22:11led to the expected surrender
22:13of Japan,
22:14bringing the Second World War
22:15to an end.
22:21Following the bombings
22:22of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
22:24Robert Oppenheimer
22:25and his fellow scientists
22:26came under growing scrutiny,
22:28facing difficult questions
22:30about the ethics
22:30and long-term implications
22:32of their work.
22:35I remember that we first responded
22:37to the question,
22:39what do scientists think
22:40by saying that they think
22:42a variety of things
22:43and this is only natural.
22:45On the one hand,
22:46they hoped
22:46this instrument
22:48would never be used in war
22:52and therefore,
22:54they hoped
22:55that we would not
22:57start out by using it.
22:58On the other hand,
23:00they hoped,
23:02or other people hoped,
23:04that it would put an end
23:05to this war,
23:07save countless lives,
23:09put an end to it.
23:10It would have come out
23:11sooner or later
23:13in a congressional hearing,
23:14if nowhere else,
23:16just when we could have
23:17dropped the bomb
23:18if we didn't use it.
23:20And then,
23:22knowing American politics,
23:24you know as well as I do
23:25that there'd been
23:27elections fought
23:28on the basis
23:29that every mother
23:30whose son
23:31was killed
23:32after such and such a date,
23:35the blood is on the head
23:37of the president.
23:38The question was
23:40whether we wanted to save
23:41our people
23:43and Japanese as well
23:44and win the war
23:46or whether we wanted
23:47to take a chance
23:49on being able
23:50to win the war
23:51by killing
23:52all our young men.
24:03As peace returned,
24:05celebrations erupted
24:07across the United States.
24:09The war was over
24:11and the American public
24:12welcomed victory
24:13with relief and pride.
24:15Dr. Robert Oppenheimer
24:17became a household name
24:18for his role
24:18in creating the atomic bomb
24:20and helping to end the war.
24:23Meanwhile,
24:25President Truman
24:26saw the weapon
24:26as a powerful tool
24:28to strengthen his position,
24:29both at home
24:30and on the global stage,
24:32and particularly
24:32vis-a-vis the Soviet Union.
24:35With encouragement
24:36from his military advisors,
24:38he began to pursue
24:39a strategy
24:39of expanding
24:40US military dominance
24:42through nuclear superiority.
24:45The bomb had changed
24:47not just warfare,
24:48but the direction
24:49of American military policy.
24:54As the war
24:55was shaping up
24:56and they were seeing
24:57that, you know,
24:58with almost certainty
24:59they were going to be able
24:59to make these bombs,
25:01my grandfather,
25:03in particular,
25:03Niels Bohr's influence,
25:05started turning
25:06their thoughts towards
25:07could this power
25:09of these weapons
25:10end all war?
25:11That's what they started
25:12thinking about.
25:13Not, you know,
25:14are we going to make these bombs
25:15and then control
25:15these bombs themselves?
25:16But they saw
25:17that there was a change
25:18in humanity,
25:20the way humanity
25:20kind of relates
25:21to each other,
25:22because such powerful
25:24technology has been made
25:26that you could end
25:28humanity
25:29if you have a total war.
25:31and that was something
25:32that the scientists
25:32really started focusing on.
25:34And that also,
25:36furthermore,
25:36there was a way
25:37to control that.
25:38And the military side
25:39and the government
25:40and the political side
25:41was not caught up to that.
25:43They were kind of still thinking
25:44of these things
25:45like muskets or cannons.
25:46We have a weapon,
25:47let's make as many weapons
25:48as we can
25:48and we'll be more powerful
25:50and that's good.
25:51But the scientists,
25:53in particular,
25:53my grandfather,
25:54Niels Bohr,
25:55and some of the other
25:55scientists thought
25:57that the significance
25:58of this particular
26:00type of technology
26:01is that we would have
26:02to work together
26:03in humanity
26:03in a new way
26:04because if we didn't,
26:05it would inevitably
26:06end in an arms race
26:08and then using the weapons
26:09against each other
26:10and destroy everything.
26:12And turning towards
26:15that problem
26:16is what he did
26:17while simultaneously
26:18finishing his duty
26:19and his work
26:20that he had to do,
26:21which was fight a war.
26:23He was in a war
26:23like everybody else.
26:26Meanwhile,
26:27General Groves
26:28had received
26:28a top-secret memo
26:29from the U.S. Army
26:30Air Force's headquarters.
26:32Dated September 15, 1945,
26:36the document laid out plans
26:37to begin immediate
26:38mass production
26:39of atomic weapons.
26:41This was in direct opposition
26:43to what Oppenheimer
26:44had hoped for.
26:47The memo identified
26:48the Soviet Union
26:49as the likely future adversary.
26:52An optimum strike,
26:54the memo continued,
26:55would target 66 cities
26:57of strategic importance,
26:58which would require
26:59204 nuclear bombs,
27:02enough to destroy
27:03the country.
27:09By the fall of 1945,
27:11it was clear that the military
27:13wanted to rapidly expand
27:14its nuclear arsenal,
27:16and this message
27:17was passed directly
27:18to President Truman.
27:21At the same time,
27:23growing discontent
27:24was spreading among
27:24many scientists
27:25at Los Alamos
27:26who had not expected
27:28such escalation.
27:31Dr Oppenheimer,
27:32who presumably was aware
27:33of the memo
27:34and the planned production
27:35of 204 atomic bombs,
27:37was deeply concerned.
27:40Scientists at the lab
27:42urged him to take action
27:43and deliver their concerns
27:45directly to the Secretary
27:46of War
27:47and to the President.
27:52A recently uncovered
27:53memorandum describing
27:55a September 24th,
27:561945 meeting
27:57reveals the mounting
27:59tension among those
28:00who had built the bomb.
28:03It noted,
28:04there is a distinct
28:05opposition on their part
28:06to doing any more work
28:07on any bomb,
28:08not merely a super bomb,
28:10but any bomb.
28:12Oppenheimer asked
28:13George Harrison,
28:14assistant to the Secretary
28:15of War,
28:16to arrange a meeting
28:16with President Truman
28:17as soon as possible.
28:21He still believed
28:22that open dialogue
28:23between scientists,
28:25political leaders
28:26and nations
28:27could help contain
28:28the role of nuclear weapons
28:29in future conflicts.
28:33When General Groves
28:35learned of the resistance
28:36at Los Alamos,
28:37he quickly moved
28:38to divide the scientists
28:39into two separate groups.
28:43One group
28:44would continue
28:45with non-military research.
28:48The other
28:49would work
28:50on new atomic weapons.
28:54To build 204 bombs,
28:57the military needed
28:57a larger facility
28:59that could operate
29:00around the clock.
29:02Los Alamos
29:02was no longer adequate.
29:05Plans were drawn up
29:06for a new base
29:07near Albuquerque
29:08called Sandia.
29:11There,
29:12bomb design
29:13and production
29:13would continue.
29:14Storage bunkers
29:16were included
29:16in the plans.
29:22In October 1945,
29:24two key military developments
29:26took place
29:27in New Mexico.
29:30The first
29:31was the departure
29:32of the 509th
29:33composite group,
29:34the same unit
29:35that had dropped
29:36the bombs
29:36from Tinian Island
29:38for their new posting
29:39at Walker Army Air Base
29:40in Roswell.
29:42The base
29:43was designed
29:44to support
29:44B-29 bombers
29:45and prepare them
29:46for atomic missions.
29:49The Enola Gay,
29:51which had bombed Hiroshima,
29:52was part of this transfer.
29:55Colonel Patrick Henry Sanders
29:57was the assistant base commander.
30:01His daughter Susan
30:02still recalls
30:03the importance
30:04of the Roswell Air Base.
30:06The importance
30:07of Roswell
30:08was it was the only
30:09nuclear strike force base
30:11in the world
30:13at the time.
30:15It was the place
30:17that had the nuclear bombs
30:21and was highly classified
30:25information
30:26that was going on
30:27between Los Alamos
30:28and Almogordo
30:29and Fort Bliss
30:31and Roswell.
30:34The second development
30:35was the arrival
30:36of the first
30:37German V-2 rockets
30:38at the newly established
30:39White Sands Proving Grounds,
30:41formerly the
30:42Almogordo Bombing
30:43and Gunnery Range,
30:44where the first atomic bomb
30:46had been tested
30:47just two months earlier.
30:51A military report
30:52by General Hap Arnold
30:54urged the United States
30:55to pursue
30:56a nuclear-armed
30:57rocket program.
30:59The German technology
31:00was now in American hands.
31:03Oppenheimer learned
31:04of both events
31:05and saw the direction
31:06military policy
31:07was taking.
31:11The acceleration
31:12of nuclear weapons development
31:14deeply troubled him.
31:18He submitted his resignation
31:20as director
31:21of Los Alamos.
31:29News of Oppenheimer's resignation
31:31spread quickly
31:32through Los Alamos.
31:35General Groves
31:36and the scientific team
31:37wanted to honour
31:37Oppenheimer
31:38before his departure.
31:40A ceremony
31:40to mark the bestowal
31:42of the Army-Navy
31:42Excellence Award
31:43was the perfect opportunity.
31:46Oppenheimer decided
31:47the E-Awards ceremony
31:48on October 16, 1945,
31:50would be his last day
31:51at the lab.
31:53The event
31:54was both a celebration
31:56and a solemn goodbye.
31:58In his speech,
32:00Oppenheimer would voice
32:01the concerns
32:02that weighed heavily on him.
32:06General Groves
32:07introduced Dr Oppenheimer
32:09to the assembled guests
32:10and staff.
32:15After receiving his certificate
32:17of appreciation,
32:19Oppenheimer addressed
32:20the gathering
32:20with a short
32:21but powerful speech.
32:24It is our hope,
32:25Oppenheimer said,
32:26that in years to come
32:27we may look at this scroll
32:29and all that it signifies
32:31with pride.
32:32Today,
32:33that pride
32:34must be tempered
32:35with a profound concern.
32:37If atomic bombs
32:38are to be added
32:39as new weapons
32:40to the arsenals
32:40of a warring world
32:41or to the arsenals
32:43of nations
32:43preparing for war,
32:45then the time will come
32:46when mankind
32:47will curse
32:48the name of Los Alamos
32:49and of Hiroshima.
32:51The peoples of this world
32:53must unite
32:53or they will perish.
32:58His words reflected
33:00deep anxiety
33:01about the future.
33:02His warning moved
33:03many of those
33:04who listened that day.
33:09The Los Alamos community
33:11was shaken
33:12by Oppenheimer's departure.
33:14His exit
33:15only heightened
33:15anticipation
33:16for the meeting
33:17at the White House
33:18with President Truman,
33:19which was set
33:20to go forward
33:20despite his resignation.
33:26Oppenheimer
33:27remained convinced
33:28that open communication
33:29between scientists,
33:31political leaders
33:31and the international community
33:33was essential
33:34to limit the threat
33:35of nuclear weapons.
33:37This was the message
33:38he wanted to give
33:39to President Truman,
33:40but Truman granted him
33:42only a 30-minute meeting.
33:49Oppenheimer,
33:50now a civilian,
33:51was entering
33:52a political arena
33:53where he held
33:54little sway.
33:57Secretary of Commerce
33:58Henry Wallace,
33:59who observed his arrival,
34:01wrote in his diary,
34:04I never saw a man
34:05in such a nervous state
34:06as Oppenheimer.
34:08He seemed to feel
34:09that the destruction
34:10of the human race
34:11was imminent.
34:16Truman and Oppenheimer
34:18had very different visions
34:19for the future
34:20of nuclear weapons.
34:22Truman was already
34:23moving ahead
34:24with plans
34:24to adapt
34:25German V-2 rocket technology
34:27for atomic delivery.
34:29observers said
34:30Oppenheimer
34:31appeared as if
34:32he carried
34:33the weight
34:33of the world
34:34on his shoulders.
34:38When the meeting began,
34:39President Truman
34:40asked him,
34:42Dr. Oppenheimer,
34:43when will the Russians
34:45develop a nuclear weapon?
34:52Oppenheimer replied,
34:53Mr. President,
34:54I don't know.
34:55Truman raised his voice
34:57and said,
34:58never.
34:58Then he made a statement.
35:01We have spent
35:03more than
35:03two billion dollars
35:04on the greatest
35:06scientific gamble
35:07in history.
35:08And we have won.
35:11But the greatest marvel
35:12is not the size
35:13of the enterprise,
35:15its secrecy,
35:16or its cost,
35:18but the achievement
35:19of scientific brains
35:20in making it work.
35:22We have made a thing,
35:24a most terrible weapon,
35:26that has altered
35:27abruptly and profoundly
35:28the nature of the world.
35:30We have made a thing
35:31that by all the standards
35:33of the world
35:33we grew up in
35:34is an evil thing.
35:36Well,
35:36if there's one thing
35:37I can say to you,
35:38that any schoolboy's
35:39hindsight's worth
35:40all the presidents
35:41are a general's foresight.
35:42Don't you know
35:43that any schoolboy's
35:44afterthought's worth
35:45more than all
35:46the general's forethought?
35:47So afterthoughts
35:48and things after the fact
35:49have no effect
35:51on making a decision
35:52when it's time
35:52to make it at the time.
35:54You have to work
35:54on what you know
35:55at that time.
35:56And that's what I did
35:57and I'm not sorry for it.
36:00Oppenheimer
36:01looked President Truman
36:02in the eye and said,
36:03Mr. President,
36:04I feel I have blood
36:06on my hands.
36:07The remark infuriated Truman,
36:09who replied bluntly,
36:11Listen,
36:12the blood is on my hands.
36:14You let me worry
36:15about that.
36:17After the meeting,
36:18Truman was heard muttering,
36:19Blood on his hands?
36:21Damn it.
36:22He hasn't half as much
36:23blood on his hands
36:23as I have.
36:24You just don't go around
36:26bellyaching about it.
36:28Truman insisted
36:29that nuclear war
36:30must be conducted
36:31without tears.
36:33He later instructed
36:34Secretary of State,
36:35Dean Acheson,
36:36I don't want to see
36:38that son of a bitch
36:38in this office ever again.
36:40He didn't set that bomb off.
36:41I did.
36:45In other comments,
36:47Truman dismissed Oppenheimer
36:49as a crybaby scientist.
36:52It was clear
36:53the two men
36:53had fundamentally
36:54different views
36:55on the meaning
36:55and future
36:56of nuclear weapons.
36:58When Oppenheimer
36:59exited the White House,
37:00reporters immediately
37:01asked him
37:02how the meeting
37:02had gone.
37:05In the years to come,
37:06it will be possible
37:07to kill
37:0840 million American people
37:10in the 20 largest
37:12American towns
37:14by the use
37:15of atomic bombs
37:16in a single night.
37:18I am afraid
37:19that the answer
37:19to that question
37:20is yes.
37:21I think the only hope
37:22for our future safety
37:24must lie
37:25in a collaboration
37:26based on confidence
37:28and good faith
37:29with the other peoples
37:31of the world.
37:32Several universities
37:33learned that
37:34Dr. Oppenheimer
37:35wished to return
37:36to academic life.
37:37He received numerous offers,
37:39including from the California
37:40Institute of Technology
37:41in Pasadena.
37:44Oppenheimer decided
37:45not to accept
37:46a full-time faculty position
37:47and instead gave lectures.
37:49Although he now
37:50had more time
37:51with his family,
37:52he realized
37:53that his heart
37:54was no longer
37:55in teaching.
37:56He still held
37:57a security clearance
37:58and remained involved
37:59in national policy,
38:01serving on the board
38:02of the Atomic Development Authority,
38:04later the Atomic Energy Commission.
38:07He continued advocating
38:09for the controlled exchange
38:10of nuclear knowledge,
38:12the foundation
38:12of a global network
38:13of nuclear scientists
38:15and the global limitation
38:16of nuclear arms.
38:20He spoke publicly
38:21about both the dangers
38:23and the hope
38:23of the Atomic Age,
38:25often quoting
38:26Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
38:30As a statesman,
38:32he left a lasting impression.
38:34He appeared on the covers
38:35of Time, Life
38:36and other national magazines
38:38and was nominated
38:40four times
38:41for the Nobel Prize
38:42in Physics.
38:44During this period,
38:45Oppenheimer emerged
38:46as a leading public intellectual,
38:48regularly consulted
38:49on science and policy
38:50by both American
38:51and international figures.
38:56In 1947,
38:58Oppenheimer was invited
38:59by Louis Strauss
39:01to become the director
39:02of the Institute for Advanced Study
39:03in Princeton, New Jersey.
39:06This role allowed him
39:07to continue his work
39:08with leading scientists
39:09and expand his influence.
39:14But the partnership
39:16with Strauss
39:16would later prove faithful
39:17and result in the loss
39:19of his security clearance.
39:28At the urging
39:29of Dr. Edward Teller,
39:31a former colleague
39:31from Los Alamos,
39:32the U.S. Congress
39:34was persuaded
39:34to fund the development
39:35of a more powerful
39:36hydrogen bomb.
39:40Oppenheimer opposed
39:41the project
39:42and appealed to Congress
39:43to halt funding.
39:48His opposition
39:50angered Strauss,
39:51who had become chairman
39:53of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
39:57Alongside President Eisenhower,
39:59Strauss championed
40:00a more aggressive
40:01military posture.
40:04In public hearings,
40:06Oppenheimer's resistance
40:07embarrassed Chairman Strauss.
40:08It was the final straw.
40:11Soon afterwards,
40:12Strauss and a small circle
40:13in Washington,
40:14among them FBI Director
40:15J. Edgar Hoover,
40:17began circulating
40:18false claims
40:18that Oppenheimer
40:19was tied to communists
40:21and posed
40:21a national security risk.
40:28Despite objections
40:29from local FBI agents,
40:31some conversations
40:32between Oppenheimer
40:33and his legal team
40:34were secretly recorded.
40:36His attorney,
40:37Lloyd Garrison,
40:38was not permitted
40:39to know the full list
40:40of witnesses
40:40that could be called
40:41at the hearing.
40:43On several occasions
40:44during the hearing,
40:45Garrison was asked
40:46to leave the room
40:47when classified matters
40:49were discussed.
40:54A list of more than 40 witnesses
40:56was presented,
40:57yet no concrete evidence
40:59was produced.
41:01The hearing became
41:02an inquisition
41:03aimed not at justice,
41:05but at discrediting
41:06Oppenheimer.
41:08I was completely
41:09responsible for the
41:11selection of Dr. Oppenheimer
41:14as the head
41:15of the Los Alamos
41:16bomb laboratory.
41:19Nothing has happened
41:22during the affair
41:24or afterwards
41:25that led me to believe
41:27that that was not
41:28a wise choice.
41:30After the decision
41:31was made,
41:32Strauss called Oppenheimer
41:33to inform him
41:35that his security clearance
41:36had been revoked.
41:37The response was swift.
41:41494 scientists
41:42from Los Alamos
41:43signed a protest
41:44risking their careers.
41:52Declassified records,
41:53including the full
41:54hearing transcripts,
41:56confirmed that
41:57no credible evidence
41:58was ever presented.
42:03Notes from Oppenheimer's
42:05long-time secretary,
42:06Dorothy McKibben,
42:08showed that on the day
42:09the FBI alleged
42:10he met a communist
42:11sympathiser in Berkeley,
42:13he was actually
42:14in New Mexico.
42:23Oppenheimer's
42:24disillusionment
42:25was clear
42:25in the statements
42:26he gave after the ruling.
42:34What your thoughts are
42:35about what our
42:36atomic policy should be?
42:38No, I can't do that.
42:40I'm not close enough
42:42to the facts,
42:45and I'm not close enough
42:46to the thoughts
42:48of those who
42:50are worrying about it.
42:53It is very clear
42:54that the concept
42:55thou shalt not kill
42:56has been complicated
42:58in recent years.
43:05science has profoundly
43:07altered the conditions
43:08of man's life,
43:10both materially
43:11and in ways
43:12of the spirit as well.
43:14It has extended
43:15the range of questions
43:16in which man
43:18has a choice.
43:19It has extended
43:20man's freedom
43:21to make significant
43:23decisions.
43:24No one can predict
43:25what vast new continents
43:27of knowledge
43:28the future of science
43:29will discover.
43:31But we know that
43:32as long as men
43:33are free to ask
43:33what they will,
43:35free to say
43:35what they think,
43:36free to think
43:37what they must,
43:38science will never
43:39regress,
43:40and freedom itself
43:41will never be wholly lost.
43:45The revocation
43:46of his clearance
43:47effectively ended
43:48Oppenheimer's influence
43:49in government
43:50and cut him off
43:51from the very world
43:52he had helped shape.
43:55He later described
43:57the security hearing
43:57as a farce.
43:59Though he continued
44:00to lecture,
44:01he spent increasing time
44:02at his secluded retreat
44:03on the island of St. John
44:04in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
44:07There, he built
44:07a modest beach house
44:08and spent his days
44:09sailing with his wife
44:10Kitty and daughter Tony.
44:13Despite his isolation,
44:15international admiration
44:16endured.
44:17In 1957,
44:18France made him
44:19an officer
44:19of the Legion of Honor.
44:24Your thinking reflects
44:25that of Socrates.
44:27Do you believe
44:28that for scientists,
44:29what is important
44:30is to know oneself?
44:34For everybody,
44:35not just for scientists.
44:39Do you believe
44:41that scientists
44:41are better able
44:42to know themselves
44:43through their work
44:44and their discoveries?
44:47No, no,
44:48it's a separate thing.
44:52In 1963,
44:54in an effort
44:54to acknowledge
44:55the injustice
44:56of the past,
44:57President John F. Kennedy's
44:59advisers proposed
45:00awarding Oppenheimer
45:01the Enrico Fermi Award.
45:04Kennedy,
45:05an admirer,
45:06approved the gesture
45:07and set a date
45:08for a ceremony
45:09at the White House.
45:14But just one week
45:15before the event,
45:16Kennedy was assassinated.
45:19His successor,
45:20President Lyndon B. Johnson,
45:22presented the award.
45:27I think it just possible,
45:30Mr. President,
45:31that it has taken
45:32some clarity
45:33and some courage
45:35you to make this award today.
45:38Despite her grief,
45:40Jacqueline Kennedy
45:41attended the ceremony.
45:43She emphasised
45:44how meaningful
45:45the award would have been
45:46to her husband.
45:47Her presence
45:48moved Oppenheimer deeply.
45:52In 1960,
45:53he fulfilled
45:54a personal wish
45:55by visiting Japan
45:56and seeing first-hand
45:57the destruction
45:58caused by the atomic bomb.
46:00By the end of his life,
46:02Oppenheimer had made peace
46:03with his role
46:03in shaping the atomic age.
46:05In a 1965 interview
46:06with the New York Times magazine,
46:08he reflected on that legacy.
46:11I never regretted,
46:12and do not regret now,
46:14having done my part of the job.
46:18Robert Oppenheimer
46:20died of throat cancer
46:21on February 18th, 1967.
46:24His funeral at Princeton
46:25was attended by friends,
46:27colleagues and dignitaries.
46:32His body was cremated
46:33and his ashes
46:35were scattered by Kitty
46:36from a small boat
46:37off the coast
46:38of their home on St. John.
46:39The beach is now referred to
46:41as Oppenheimer Beach.
46:47During one of his final lectures,
46:50he was asked
46:50a deeply personal question
46:52about his life.
46:54Will you comment
46:55on what contribution,
46:57if any,
46:57Jesus Christ
46:58in his gospel
46:59may have
47:00to you
47:02or science?
47:04I really wouldn't know
47:06about science
47:07because
47:07this is
47:08a matter
47:09of history
47:11which
47:11I am sure
47:12is very tangled.
47:13It is hard
47:15to imagine
47:16the history
47:17of Europe
47:18without Christ
47:19and it's hard
47:21to imagine
47:22the history
47:22of science
47:23without Europe.
47:29As for myself,
47:31I would be
47:34I would be the poorer.
47:37I don't know
47:38whether I'd be
47:39a worse
47:39or better scientist
47:40but that's not
47:41what you wanted
47:42to know.
47:44Dr. Robert Oppenheimer
47:46had worked relentlessly
47:47to help his country
47:48bring an end
47:49to a brutal
47:50world war.
47:52He succeeded
47:53only to be later
47:55discredited
47:56by the same nation
47:57he had served.
47:59His offence?
48:01Advocating for peace
48:02through cooperation.
48:04Today his message
48:06remains as urgent
48:07and relevant
48:08as it was
48:08in his time.
48:11What should we do
48:12after the war?
48:14How should we
48:14handle this technology
48:15that we made?
48:16And so the
48:17Interim Scientific Committee
48:18released their report
48:19on August 17, 1945
48:22and it was a written report
48:24and it had five points
48:25and it was chaired
48:26by Robert Oppenheimer
48:27but it was Lawrence,
48:28Fermi,
48:29Compton maybe.
48:30It was a group of them
48:31and they worked
48:32days and days
48:33on five points
48:34and debated them
48:35back and forth
48:36and those five points
48:37are literally
48:38as valid today
48:39as the day
48:39they were written
48:40and it said
48:41that these weapons
48:42will get more powerful,
48:43we'll probably go
48:44into the business
48:44of trying to make
48:45a lot more of them
48:46and there is a way
48:48to control it
48:49and it is only
48:49through scientific
48:50openness
48:51and cooperation
48:52and these were not
48:53kind of radical
48:54wild ideas.
48:56These guys were
48:56in the government,
48:57they were on the inside
48:58and they were
48:59the most respected
48:59scientists in the world
49:01saying that we can
49:02control this technology
49:03and we have to treat it
49:04differently than other
49:06military uses
49:09and that wasn't
49:10an intuitive idea
49:12and it wasn't
49:13resoundingly rejected.
49:14I mean,
49:14these guys created
49:16this technology
49:16and they're saying
49:17this is how you handle it
49:19and there was a chance
49:20that that advice
49:21could have just
49:21directly been taken.
49:23The military says,
49:24what should we do
49:25with this
49:26and the government
49:27and they could have
49:28listened to the scientists
49:29and managed it
49:30the way they proposed
49:32from that very beginning
49:34period.
49:34And when I look back
49:35on history,
49:36I think it's worth
49:36talking over that period
49:38and all the way
49:38through 1947
49:39over and over
49:41and over again
49:42and have people
49:42understand how close
49:44and how clear it was
49:45to the scientists
49:46how we should manage
49:47this technology
49:48and how effectively
49:50just arbitrary
49:52bureaucratic decisions
49:53did the exact opposite
49:55of what they advised
49:57and went into
49:57an arms race
49:58and almost destroyed
50:00the world.
50:00It's not like they
50:01thought their path out.
50:02They did think
50:03their path out.
50:04They said,
50:04I disagree with you,
50:05scientists.
50:05You don't know
50:06what you're talking about.
50:07We'll do it our way.
50:07And we had 70 years
50:09to test it
50:09and it turns out
50:10the scientists
50:11were 100% right
50:13except for
50:14blowing ourselves up,
50:15which to this day
50:15is an open question.
50:17We could all die.
50:18So that was a really
50:19interesting period
50:20that they wrote down,
50:21provided this advice,
50:23tried to deliver it
50:24and it didn't
50:25didn't get there.
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