The Aftermath of WO II

The beginnings of the Cold War

 Set-up part 1

 Historical aspects
 Anti-communism in US: Red Scare
 McCarthyism
 The Rosenberg Trial
 Oppenheimer’s fall
 History (1)

 1917; October revolution Russia

 1945; WW II comes to an end
 Yalta conference (secret clauses Eastern-Europe)
 1946; Failure of Baruch-plan
 Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe
 Expansion and military oriented economy
 1949; Soviets detonate first A-Bomb
 History (2)

 1949; Mao takes over control in China

 1950; Policy of containment: Korean War
 1948-1951; Espionage cases
 Venona project
 White (IMF), Hiss (UN), Fuchs, Rosenberg,
MacLean and Burgess
World in 1952
 Red Scare

 McCarthyism 1950-1954
 New security policy 1952
 Background “clearly consistent with the interests
of national security”
 The Rosenberg Trial
 Klaus Fuchs, scientist at Los Alamos
 David Greenglass, brother of Ethel Rosenberg
 The case of Ethel Rosenberg
 Oppenheimer’s Security
Clearance Revoked (1953)
 Communist ties in Berkeley period
 Haakon Chevalier case
 Political opposition
 Article Fortune
 Letter Borden (AEC) to Hoover (FBI)

‘more probable than not Oppenheimer is an agent of the

Soviet Union’
 Public hearing 1954
 Strauss (AEC) and Teller get their revenge
 Rehabilitation 1963
 What if?

 The plan regarding control on production of nuclear

weapons as proposed by Oppenheimer succeeded?
Hence, what if Baruch left it unchanged?

 No need for arms race or H-Bomb

 Less tension, fear
 Decisions regarding Oppenheimer’s case less biased