The Real People Behind Oppenheimer: What Happened After
The events in "Oppenheimer" were just the beginning for many of those involved. For this video, we’ll be looking at what occurred in the lives of major historical figures in the years following the atomic Manhattan Project’s completion.
Transcript
00:00 "Truman needs to know what's next."
00:01 "What's next?"
00:02 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at what happened to real people
00:07 featured in Oppenheimer after the film.
00:09 "That Dr. Oppenheimer has been less than candid in several instances in his testimony."
00:15 For this video, we're looking at what occurred in the lives of major historical figures in
00:20 the years following the Atomic Manhattan Project's completion.
00:24 What new things did Oppenheimer teach you about history?
00:27 Let us know in the comments below.
00:28 Roger Robb
00:32 "You felt your judgment was sound on the one the team could be trusted."
00:35 During Oppenheimer's security hearing, Special Counsel Roger Robb stood out for
00:39 grilling the scientist and his allies.
00:42 His pointed and occasionally harsh lines of questioning helped get the scientist's
00:46 security clearance revoked.
00:47 "But the prosecutor, Roger Robb, was a formidable lawyer.
00:51 He planned to wear his witness down, force him into contradictions, and embarrass him."
00:57 After appearing in that infamous hearing, Robb rose to a higher position.
01:01 In 1969, President Richard Nixon paved the way for the attorney to become a judge of
01:06 the United States Court of Appeals.
01:08 Robb would go on to hold that role for over a decade before he reached a senior position.
01:13 The judge continued to work in the legal system until he died in 1982.
01:18 "Why did you do that, doctor?"
01:19 "Because I was an idiot."
01:24 "Is that your only explanation, doctor?"
01:27 Isidor Isaac Robbi
01:28 "You're the great improviser, but this...you can't do in your head."
01:34 Throughout the film, Isidor Robbi proved to be a brilliant and steadfast ally that constantly
01:39 insured Oppenheimer 8.
01:41 While the physicist didn't travel to New Mexico to help develop the atomic bomb,
01:45 he lent help from a distance.
01:46 "I remember what I thought.
01:48 That's something you don't forget, something which changes your life and outlook.
01:54 It becomes visceral."
01:56 Robbi would continue to support academic pursuits for the rest of his life.
02:00 After pushing for a new scientific institution,
02:03 the Brookhaven National Laboratory was created.
02:05 This facility would later be the home for Nobel Prize-winning work.
02:09 Outside of creating new institutions, Robbi led Columbia University's physics department
02:14 and served as the chairman of President Eisenhower's Science Advisory Committee.
02:19 The physicist seemed to have a knack for using his considerable knowledge to counsel others.
02:23 "I, uh, way overestimated the wisdom of the politicians."
02:31 Ernest Lawrence
02:32 "Scientists have been seeking ways to accelerate various atomic particles
02:40 to very high speeds for nuclear investigations."
02:45 While this Nobel Prize-winning professor was working at the University of California, Berkeley,
02:49 he happened to meet another genius physicist.
02:52 Lawrence would eventually recommend that his fellow scientist/close co-worker Oppenheimer
02:57 should head up the Manhattan Project,
02:58 but the pair's relationship was thrown into jeopardy after the war.
03:02 "No one is leaving Los Alamos."
03:04 "What are you doing?"
03:06 One of the biggest sources of strain was the fact that a few of Lawrence's past negative
03:10 statements were used against Oppenheimer.
03:13 After the security hearing,
03:14 the professor lost some favor with the scientific community for his old words and other actions.
03:19 Despite a mixed public opinion, Lawrence helped establish a new research center
03:24 and got a presidential invite to a conference dedicated to reducing nuclear tests.
03:29 Frank Oppenheimer
03:31 The second Red Scare nearly pushed this physicist out of working in science completely.
03:36 After the war, Frank Oppenheimer's past membership in the Communist Party got him blacklisted.
03:41 "Your brother Frank told you in 1936, or probably 1937,
03:46 that he and his wife Jackie had joined the Communist Party. Did he ask your advice about it?"
03:52 Since few were willing to hire him in his field and he couldn't get a passport,
03:56 he became a cattle rancher.
03:58 It'd take years before Frank Oppenheimer was able to become a teacher at a high school.
04:02 After this turn of fortune,
04:04 a shifting political climate allowed some blacklisted people to get a second chance.
04:08 "The way the brain works and the senses work is so remarkable and so illuminating
04:13 and so different from what one might expect."
04:17 Frank Oppenheimer took full advantage of societal changes to start an innovative
04:21 science museum known as the Exploratorium. Still in existence today, the building reminds us that
04:27 the physicist was able to have a happy ending after a turbulent journey.
04:31 "Everybody knows that when you start to teach is when you begin to
04:34 learn at a different, at a higher level, where you're just absorbing it."
04:39 General Leslie Richard Groves Jr.
04:42 "I tried to familiarize myself with Groves and the history,
04:45 and then talk to Chris about what he needed from that part."
04:49 Played by Matt Damon in the film, this no-nonsense military man did everything
04:53 he could to keep the Manhattan Project on track. Three years after the project was complete,
04:58 Groves was named one of the leaders of an agency dedicated to every aspect of nuclear weapons.
05:04 "Are we saying there's a chance that when we push that button, we destroy the world?"
05:09 He eventually decided to step away from that role and the military the following year.
05:14 Groves then became the vice president of an electronics company named the Sperry Corporation.
05:20 Additionally, he wrote a book called Now It Can Be Told, the story of the Manhattan Project.
05:25 The notable work allows readers to see the entire story of this world-changing
05:29 initiative through the general's eyes.
05:31 "Why? How about because this is the most important thing to ever happen in the history of the world?"
05:36 Katherine "Tony" Oppenheimer and Peter Oppenheimer
05:39 "He was portrayed as a model American, a genius scientist with a happy marriage
05:43 and two small children."
05:45 According to multiple sources, Oppenheimer's two children didn't have an easy upbringing.
05:50 They allegedly had difficulty emotionally connecting with their father and living with
05:55 their mother as she struggled with alcohol use disorder. After Tony Oppenheimer became an adult,
06:00 her attempt to become a UN translator was stopped by the FBI. Many believe this was due to the fact
06:06 that her father was previously questioned about his American loyalty in a security hearing.
06:11 Tragically, Tony Oppenheimer took her own life six years later.
06:15 "The family was placed under constant, often illegal surveillance."
06:19 She was survived by her brother. After getting into carpentry,
06:22 Peter Oppenheimer had three children and moved to his father's ranch.
06:26 "She's the daughter of Peter Oppenheimer, son of the physicist,
06:29 shown in this photo standing behind his dad."
06:32 As of 2023, he still resides there.
06:36 Edward Teller
06:37 As the US was completing work on the first atomic weapons,
06:43 Edward Teller was more focused on the idea of a hydrogen bomb.
06:47 By 1951, the world saw a successful test of this new invention. However,
06:53 his reputation took a major hit after he gave a negative testimony against Oppenheimer.
06:58 "I feel that I would like to see the vital interests of this country
07:03 in hands which I understand better and therefore trust more."
07:10 Reports indicated that Teller lost a lot of support among scientists.
07:14 But that didn't stop the physicist from moving forward.
07:17 Not only did he think of ways to use nuclear weapons outside of war,
07:20 but he also advocated for an X-ray laser defense system.
07:24 While Teller wasn't able to accomplish everything he spoke of in his lifetime,
07:28 he always aimed to push science forward.
07:31 "Edward Teller was there that day, come to offer his congratulations.
07:35 When he extended his hand, once again, Oppenheimer shook it."
07:40 Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer
07:42 "With Kitty Oppenheimer, what I really was drawn to
07:46 is she refused to conform to the sort of feminine ideal of the time."
07:50 Emily Blunt's raw and powerful performance as Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer was widely
07:55 believed to be an accurate portrayal of the real person.
07:58 The real matriarch had a substance use disorder that put strain on her personal relationships.
08:03 "She had refused to engage with life in the camp and found herself floundering.
08:07 After the birth of their second child, she began to drink heavily."
08:11 At the same time, Mrs. Oppenheimer was always willing to hold her ground.
08:16 She gave a fierce testimony addressing her past Communist Party ties,
08:19 and fought for her husband at his security hearing.
08:22 After outliving her husband, she became close to a scientist named Robert Serber.
08:27 The duo even planned to sail to Japan.
08:29 Unfortunately, Mrs. Oppenheimer died of a pulmonary embolism before the journey could
08:34 be completed. Her courage and strong resolve in the face of adversity will likely be remembered
08:39 in every version of her story.
08:42 "She had this defiance against the system that felt so modern."
08:47 Louis Strasse
08:48 Over the years, Louis Strasse and Robert Oppenheimer butted heads over several major issues.
08:53 "Robert, they just fired a starting gun."
08:57 The bad blood between them would eventually cause both of them to suffer major losses.
09:01 Strasse pushed for Oppenheimer to lose security clearance through some controversial tactics.
09:06 "Strasse had ordered the removal of all classified documents from Oppenheimer's office."
09:10 "Strasse would deliberately destroy the name and reputation
09:15 and government position of Robert Oppenheimer. And when he destroyed something, he destroyed it
09:20 thoroughly."
09:21 However, this plan severely backfired. It's believed that Strasse wasn't confirmed as the
09:26 U.S. Secretary of Commerce because of his actions against Oppenheimer. In the years after this
09:32 failed political bid, his influence on nuclear matters severely waned. Strasse went on to write
09:37 a memoir and focused on working with cattle for years before he passed away in 1974.
09:44 "I was aware of who Louis Strasse was. I came to have a pretty even-handed understanding of him."
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10:03 J. Robert Oppenheimer
10:07 By a vote of two to one, the board concluded that though Oppenheimer was a loyal citizen,
10:13 his security clearance should be revoked.
10:16 By the end of the biopic, Oppenheimer had also lost much political sway over nuclear concerns.
10:22 But that didn't stop him from speaking his mind in real life. Oppenheimer continued to give lectures
10:27 about various scientific matters and atomic concerns. Although some institutions rejected
10:32 him, he still published transcripts of his speeches. President Lyndon B. Johnson also
10:37 gave Oppenheimer a scientific distinction known as the Enrico Fermi Award.
10:41 "I think it just possible, Mr. President, that it has taken some
10:46 ferocity and some courage for you to make this award today."
10:50 The scientist continued speaking even after he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1955.
10:56 Less than two years later, he passed away.
10:59 Although Oppenheimer was subject to heavy scrutiny during his lifetime,
11:02 the U.S. Secretary of Energy officially acknowledged he'd been unfairly targeted in 2022.
11:08 Decades later, in December 2022,
11:11 the revocation of his clearance was reversed and his name was in essence restored.
11:17 [Music]
11:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]