Einstein and the Bomb is a Netflix documentary that follows Albert Einstein’s contribution to the Manhattan Project, his relationship with Nazi Germany, and the aftermath of the creation of the atomic bomb—a phenomenon that he was widely considered to be an important part of. The docudrama was released on Friday, February 16, 2024, and is streaming on Netflix.
In 1933, Albert Einstein was coerced to flee Nazi Germany after the genocide began. He reportedly moved to Norfolk, UK. According to the BBC, Einstein came to form his standing on the war during his stay there. At the time when he entered the US, many well-known refugees had been fleeing Europe and settling in the US. However, he was the most renowned of them all. He had received a Nobel prize by then despite several intellectuals dismissing his findings as “Jewish physics.”
His role in the initiation of the Manhattan Project that led to the building of the atomic bomb was supposedly due to his letter to the US President about the possibility of the Germans building a nuclear bomb. However, Albert Einstein was not vocal in support of the atomic bomb. He was naturally in support of the Allies but reportedly did not support the use of atomic weapons, according to the National Park Service.
Einstein was not part of the Manhattan Project and was never in Los Alamos during the project. The US Army Intelligence Office reportedly refused to offer him the security clearance necessary to work on the Manhattan Project. Even the scientists and experts who were part of the atomic bomb process were restricted from contacting him as he was perceived as a security risk.
What was Albert Einstein’s contribution to the making of the atomic bomb?
On August 2, 1939, Einstein signed a letter to the then-President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. According to the US Department of Energy, Einstein wrote to Roosevelt to inform him of the recent findings around fission chain reactions. He noted that these chain reactions could be harnessed to create powerful weapons. The letter also warned Roosevelt that the Nazis might be developing a nuclear weapon. Einstein then urged the government to develop its atomic weapons and accumulate uranium ore.
As it would turn out, Einstein did not write the letter. He only signed it. The letter was written by Hungarian émigré Leó Szilárd, according to TIME. Einstein’s signing of that document is widely believed to have directly led to the creation of the atomic bomb. In 1947, he said, as it was then quoted in a Newsweek article, “Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would never have lifted a finger.”
As per the US Department of Energy, Roosevelt wrote back to Einstein on October 19, 1939, to inform him that he had put together a team of civilians and military representatives. The team was to study the functionality of uranium. Roosevelt’s decision to start researching the functions of uranium ultimately led to the initiation of the Manhattan Project, which is perceived as an immediate consequence of Einstein’s letter to the President.
On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. A second one was dropped in Nagasaki three days later, on August 9, 1945. According to BBC, over 140,000 people died in Hiroshima, and around 74,000 were killed in Nagasaki.
Einstein and the Bomb is currently streaming on Netflix.
