The letter Albert Einstein sent to the President of the United States warning against the nuclear bomb

It was October 1939 when the president at the time USA Franklin Delano Roosevelt received a letter signed by Albert Einstein written by Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard .

The paper was presented to the White House by economist Alexander Sachs and The aim was to warn the president of the risks that the Nazis might develop a nuclear bomb .

just a few days ago Adolf Hitler’s German forces had launched their invasion of Poland on September 1 of the same year.

While the president was focused on the conflict and its threats, He didn’t pay much attention to the letter. that Sachs read to him, despite the fact that Einstein was already a world-renowned scientist.

However, He suggested that they meet the next morning for coffee. .

According to information retrieved by the Bbc Sachs knew the president had been baffled by the scientific information, so It occurred to him to tell him a story to convince him to act. .

When they met again, he told her that at some point in historyInventor Robert Fulton proposed to Napoleon Bonaparte to build a fleet of steamships that would allow him to land in England without the winds being an obstacle.

Neverthelessthe idea he heard seemed crazy to him so he chose to reject it.

Sachs pointed out to Roosevelt that If Napoleon had agreed, it would have changed the course of history considerably. .

The President understood his approach and, after thinking about it for a few minutes, said: “What you want is to make sure the Nazis don’t blow us up.” .

“Precisely,” he replied. Sachs, according to the aforementioned media.

Shortly after, the same month, Roosevelt created the Uranium Advisory Committee .

And three years later, In 1942, the United States launched the Manhattan Project, which led to the dropping of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945. .

Throughout his life, Einstein repeatedly regretted signing the letter.

“If I had known that the Germans would not be able to make an atomic bomb, I would never have lifted a finger” said the physicist in statements collected by News week in 1947.

He also added that It was “the biggest mistake of my life” .

In early 1939, scientists were able to split the atom using neutrons in Nazi Germany.

This process is known as fission and caused intense fear in Szilard the physicist who wrote the following letter which will be signed by Einstein.

The scientist knew that If the Germans continued their research in this area, they could trigger a nuclear war. .

Similarly, he knew he wasn’t as popular as Einstein, so he He considered it remote that they would listen to his direct warnings. in the spheres of power.

A few weeks after the fission process was reported, His colleague Enrico Fermi initially ruled out that this could cause immediate concern. as he said in an article in New York Times .

Anyway, Szilard saw imminent and future risks in the nuclear field.

To assess this possibility, He contacted his fellow physicist Walter Zinn of Columbia University to analyze which caused him so much anguish.

They both concluded that weapons with considerable mass destruction capacity could indeed be developed .

And since it was certain that it was practically inevitable that they would be made, he was convinced that the United States should do it before Nazi Germany .

Under this premise, contacted Albert Einstein whom I had known for over 20 years.

Although they live nearby – both exiled in the United States – On that day in July 1939, the physicist was on Long Island visiting a friend. .

That is why Szilard went there with his colleague and fellow Hungarian Eugene Wigner, and He explained that he and Fermi had performed experiments that confirmed his fears. in the nuclear field.

Einstein was concerned about the situation and agreed to sign the letter he wrote which will then be handed over to President Roosevelt by Alexander Sachs.

This document would later end up in the hands of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. died in 2018.

And in July 2024, it was confirmed that in September of the same year it would be auctioned by the house. Christie’s in New York as well as other items from the businessman’s collection.

It is assumed that The value of the letter varies between 4 and 6 million dollars. according to the BBC.

You can read what the letter says below . The text was saved by The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History .

Sir:

Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript form, gives me hope that the element uranium may become a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation created seem to require vigilance and, if necessary, rapid action by the Administration. Therefore, I believe it is my duty to draw your attention to the following facts and recommendations: :

Over the past four months It has become probable (thanks to the work of Joliot in France and Fermi and Szilard in the United States) that it is possible to establish a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium through which enormous amounts of energy and large quantities of new radio-electric emissions – type elements . It now seems almost certain that this can be achieved in the immediate future.

This phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and It is conceivable (although much less certain) that extremely powerful bombs of a new type could thus be constructed. . A single such bomb, transported by ship and detonated in a port, could destroy the entire port and part of the surrounding territory. However, these bombs might prove too heavy to be transported by air.

The United States has only very poor uranium ores and only moderate quantities. There are good minerals in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia, while the most important source of uranium is the Belgian Congo.

In light of this situation, you may consider It is desirable that permanent contact be maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. . One possible way to achieve this could be to assign this task to a trusted person who could possibly perform the duties in an unofficial capacity. Your task could include the following tasks:

(a) Contact ministries, keep them informed of future developments and present recommendations for government action with particular attention to the problem of the supply of uranium ore to the United States.

b) Accelerate ongoing experimental work within the limits of the budgets of university laboratories, providing funds, if necessary, through their contacts with private individuals willing to contribute to this cause, and perhaps also by obtaining the cooperation of industrial laboratories having the necessary equipment.

I understand that Germany has suspended the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovak mines it took over The fact that he acted so early can be explained by the fact that the son of the German Undersecretary of State, von Weizsäcker, works at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, where some of the American work on uranium is being reproduced.

Sincerely,

Albert Einstein