The former director was sent away on leave of absence, apparently for the duration of the war. von Weizsäcker, who is now working there on uranium in collaboration with the Institute of Chemistry. The latter has been taken over by the government and a group of physicists, under the leadership of C. I have now learned that research there is carried out in great secrecy and that it has been extended to another of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes, the Institute of Physics. Since the outbreak of the war, interest in uranium has intensified in Germany. von Weizsäcker, son of the German Undersecretary of State, was collaborating with a group of chemists working upon uranium at one of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes - namely, the Institute of Chemistry. You will perhaps remember that in the letter which I addressed to the President I also mentioned the fact that C. Last year, when I realized that results of national importance might arise out of research on uranium, I thought it my duty to inform the administration of this possibility. I wish to draw your attention to the development which has taken place since the conference that was arranged through your good offices in October last year between scientists engaged in this work and governmental representatives. That the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, von Weizsäcker, isĪttached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin where some of theĪmerican work on uranium is now being repeated.Įinstein's second letter to Roosevelt Notes: No comments at this time. Have taken such early action might perhaps be understood on the ground I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uraniumįrom the Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. Private persons who are willing to make contributions for this cause,Īnd perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial laboratories Providing funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with y Ried on within the limits of the budgets of University laboratories, by Giving particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of uran-ī) to speed up the experimental work,which is at present being car. His task might comprise the following:Ī) to approach Government Departments, keep them informed of theįurther development, and put forward recommendations for Government action, Who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an inofficialĬapacity. Of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person Of physicists working on chain reactions in America. Permanent contact maintained between the Administration and the group In view of the situation you may think it desirable to have more While the most important source of uranium is Belgian Congo. There is some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia. The United States has only very poor ores of uranium in moderate Such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by The whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. Type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs,Īnd it is conceivable - though much less certain - that extremely power-įul bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. Now it appearsĪlmost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future. Ities of new radium-like elements would be generated. In a large mass of uranium,by which vast amounts of power and large quant. Through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard inĪmerica - that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction In the course of the last four months it has been made probable. To your attention the following facts and recommendations: I believe therefore that it is my duty to bring To call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem Ium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the im. Municated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uran. See the list of mirror sites to view photocopies of the original letter. This is the only letter for which I have done this. I have tried to reproduce the formatting as it appeared in the original. Nevertheless, Einstein took full responsibility for its consequences, calling it "the greatest mistake" of his life. Addressed and dated Peconic, Long Island, August 2nd 1939, it was most likely written by Leo Szilard, the scientist who invented the chain reaction. A warning to President Roosevelt of the possibility of constructing "extremely powerful bombs of a new type" with hints that the German government might be doing just that. Albert Einstein's letters to President Franklin Delano RooseveltĢ0 February 1997 Text of the letters Einstein's first letter to Roosevelt Notes: The letter that launched the arms race.
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