8. Jewish Scientists, Jewish Ethics And The Making Of The Atomic Bomb

Abstract

Due to the rise of virulent anti-Semitism in Germany, especially after the Nazi takeover of that country in 1933, most of the German-Jewish scientists found themselves unemployed, with no laboratory facilities or even citizenship, and had to seek refuge in other European countries. This chapter discusses some of the following questions: Was their experience with anti-Semitism an important factor in their work? Did they have knowledge regarding the Holocaust taking place at the time they were busy in Los Alamos and other laboratories in the United States? Did they know anything about Japan prior to the war? Did they set out to prove to their superiors, chiefly General Leslie Groves, that they were more loyal to America and even greater patriots than their American-born colleagues? Finally, has there been any reference by Japanese anti-Semites over the role played by Jewish scientists in the making of the atomic bomb? Keywords: atomic bomb; European countries; German-Jewish scientists; Japanese anti-Semitism