Essay Questions

Why did President Truman ultimately decide to use atomic weapons on Japan?

Shortly after the successful "Trinity Test," which was depicted in the film and took place in July 1945, U.S. President Harry Truman was left with a seemingly impossible decision: should he use this new, potent weapon and potentially shave years off the length of the war (thereby saving his soldier's lives), or should he keep the weapon and secret, prolong the war, and potentially condemn millions of Americans and Japanese to their deaths. Ultimately, Truman decided to drop the bomb on two cities in Japan -- Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Public ally, Truman acknowledged that he made the decision for logistical and moral reasons. He thought it would be better to kill a few hundred thousand Japanese people than kill millions of Americans and Japanese and prolong the war for months or years and conduct a full-scale invasion of the Japanese homeland. Though Oppenheimer never made his position on the matter clear, it becomes clear in his conversation with Truman in the film that Oppenheimer wasn't a fan of the decision and wished an atomic weapon were never used.

Why did Lewis Strauss have a problem with J. Robbert Oppeneheimer?

Although the two were initially very friendly (in fact, Strauss offered Oppenheimer a cushy job at a prestigious university), things began to sour between Strauss and Oppenheimer in the early 1950s when the duo served on the Atomic Energy Commission. During a series of meetings, the commission debated on how to best handle more advanced nuclear weapons. Oppenheimer thought one way; Strauss thought another way, which Oppenheimer thought was wrong. As a result, Oppenheimer called Strauss out in a meeting, publicly ridiculing him and starting their fight. The two had additional unsavory encounters, many of which are depicted in the film, which further weakened their relationship and led Strauss to pursuing a way to remove Oppenheimer's security clearance.