University of Iowa Press

Historic Newsreel Clip: Oppenheimer Issues Warning

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, July 22, 2023
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Research chief of atomic project, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, in-camera interview, tells nation that 40,000,000 in U.S. cities could be killed overnight, and emphasizes that there is no counter-weapon to stop atom bomb.

Key Points: 
  • Research chief of atomic project, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, in-camera interview, tells nation that 40,000,000 in U.S. cities could be killed overnight, and emphasizes that there is no counter-weapon to stop atom bomb.
  • President, I feel I have blood on my hands,” he said (Truman later described Oppenheimer as a “cry-baby scientist”).
  • **
    In this newsreel interview, recorded after that White House visit, Oppenheimer tells the nation that 40,000,000 people in U.S. cities could be killed overnight by atomic bombs, emphasizing that there would be no counter-measures to stop such destruction.
  • ** Source: From “The Meanings of J. Robert Oppenheimer” Lindsey Michael Banco, 2016, University of Iowa Press, and “Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb” Richard Rhodes, 2012, Simon & Schuster.