But Oppenheimer’s resistance ended up costing him his job. developed an H-bomb and tested it in 1952. In 1949, when Truman approached the commission about creating a hydrogen bomb, Oppenheimer opposed it.ĭespite his opposition, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to control the use of nuclear weapons. Rather, he thinks that Oppenheimer was more concerned about the devastation that future nuclear war could bring.Īfter the war, Oppenheimer took steps to prevent such a future. Ham isn’t convinced that Oppenheimer felt remorse specifically for the bombing of Japan, which the scientist may have viewed as a necessary evil. Known as Operation Ivy, this test represented a major step forwards in terms of the destructive power achievable with atomic weapons. The mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. When Oppenheimer said he felt compelled to act because he had blood on his hands, Truman angrily told the scientist that “the blood is on my hands, let me worry about that.” He then kicked him out of the Oval Office, writes author Paul Ham in Hiroshima Nagasaki: The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and Their Aftermath. Truman, worried about the prospect of Soviet nuclear development, dismissed him. Truman, who had okayed the use of both bombs, to talk to him about placing international controls on nuclear weapons. In late October, Oppenheimer visited President Harry S. Japan surrendered a few days after the second bombing, ending World War II.Īs details of the horrific destruction reached the Manhattan Project scientists, many began to question what they had done. ![]() Tens of thousands more would die from radiation exposure. killed 40,000 people in Nagasaki with another bomb. dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, wiping out 90 percent of the city and killing 80,000 people.
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