The Scientist Who Walked Away From the Manhattan Project

Last month saw the release of the highly anticipated blockbuster movie Oppenheimer. Based on a biography of the head of the Manhattan Project, the U.S.’s secret World War II program to develop the atomic bomb, this movie has received positive reviews from critics. Cillian Murphy, the actor who plays the main character in the eponymously titled movie, in particular has been praised for his performance and the stellar job he does in capturing the pathos that haunted the title character after the bomb had been successfully detonated.

Although no doubt deserving of the acclaim he has garnered for his role, enshrouding his character in tragedy and investing the film with melodrama carries the risk of conveying the message that we in our collective humanity are victims who are somehow helpless in the face of this powerful technology.

From here, it becomes relatively easy for the cinemagoer to be overwhelmed with a sense of dread and left with the impression that our nuclear fate is out of our hands. It follows that we should resign ourselves to this fact, for to think otherwise is futile. The more pervasive this attitude becomes, the less likely are ordinary people to feel that they can affect nuclear policy. If so, far better to leave nuclear decision-making to the technocrats and powers that be who decide such things.

Glaringly omitted from the cast of the movie, Rotblat holds the distinction of being the only scientist working on this program to have had the courage to walk away from this project.

Despite the gloomy scenario depicted and the helplessness it could so easily engender, there is always room for individuals to act on their conscience in the belief that doing so could change nuclear destiny. This can be clearly seen in the actions of Oppenheimer’s contemporary and fellow scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project, Sir Joseph Rotblat. Glaringly omitted from the cast of the movie, Rotblat holds the distinction of being the only scientist working on this program to have had the courage to walk away from this project.

He elected to do so in 1944, the year before the war ended, when it became clear to him along with many in the U.S. military and political establishment that Germany, the Allies’ main enemy that intelligence services had gathered was also pursuing nuclear research, was nearing defeat and would not be able to design and deploy a nuclear weapon. Far from cutting a tragic figure in later life, Rotblat’s courageous decision led him down a path that would ultimately lead to his being awarded the highest of honors, including a Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, for the tireless work he did campaigning for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

While his name will probably never be as widely known as that of the other illustrious scientists who worked on the project that ushered in the nuclear age, and even less likely that a major biopic will be made about him, his example serves as a reminder that we always have a choice. It also serves as a challenge to each of us: Do we possess the wisdom to recognize we do and the courage to act as if we can make a difference? For the sake of humanity, let us hope we do. For if we do not, the only ticket that will be punched at this time when global tensions are rising and the Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it has ever been is a one way ticket to oblivion rather than a ticket to the cineplex.

Fortunately, there are small and simple ways each of us who are unwilling to accept being spectators paralyzed into inaction who are only able to gawk as the end credits roll on humanity could meet this challenge and honor Rotblat’s long-forgotten memory.

As an immediate step, those of us in nuclear weapons states could petition our governments to forswear the option of a nuclear first strike. Concurrently, those of us from countries that have a civilian but not a nuclear weapons program could take a more active role in domestic nuclear watchdog organisations that act to curb the martial instincts of our more bellicose leaders. While those of us from countries that are currently toying with the idea of establishing civilian nuclear programs could push back against the greenwashing of the nuclear industry that lobbyists are engaged in by getting involved in campaigns that aim to educate the public about nuclear power and seeing to it that public oversight mechanisms are firmly in place before our governments embark upon these ventures. All this while working together to reinvigorate the global movement to eliminate nuclear weapons.

The script is unwritten but, no matter where we are, each of us has a key, albeit minor, part to play in this epic that will serve as a fitting tribute to Sir Joseph Rotblat. Are you prepared to audition for a role in this cast?