Famous and infamous

Christopher Nolan’s film, “Oppenheimer,” a biopic about the “father of the atomic bomb,” has gathered seven Oscar as well as Baftas, Golden Globes and other film awards, gripped cinema goers and grossed $948.6 million, far surpassing the $100 million spent on its production.

J. Robert Oppenheimer is a perfect figure for a biopic. Born in 1904 into a prosperous family in New York, he earned degrees in chemistry and physics from Harvard, Cambridge (UK), and Gottingen (German) universities. By the age of 23, he was recognised as a top-level expert in his field of research. He was employed teaching advanced physics at Californian universities, produced advanced academic papers, and dabbled in Communist/leftist politics which. due to US fears of “Reds,” could have but did not bar him from the task which has made him both famous and infamous.

In 1942, Oppenheimer was recruited by the Manhattan Project, the US effort to build nuclear weapons, and in 1943 he was appointed director of the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. His job was to develop the world’s first atomic bombs. The first test of The Bomb took place on July 16, 1945, and was successful.

On Aug.15, 1945, US warplane called “Enola Gay” dropped a nuclear bomb named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima and another dubbed “Bockscar” unleashed “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. So far, they have been the only nuclear weapons to have been used in war although the US, Britain, France, China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have nuclear arsenals.

While audiences have cheered “Oppenheimer,” critics are cross because the film does not show the devastation wrought by him and his team of scientists. The atomic devices they created killed between 129,000 to 226,000 people, inflicted cancer on hundreds of thousands, traumatised millions, and led to nuclear arms races which continue to threaten the world.

When taxed about the film during an interview with “Variety,” the Film’s director Nolan said he showed Oppenheimer learning about the deployment of the bombs he engineered “at the same time that the rest of the world did. I wanted to show somebody who is starting to gain a picture of the unintended consequences of his actions.”

Writing on the conversation website, historian Naoko Wake argued that the survivors of the bombings - the collateral damage - have been left out. She points out that Hollywood and US have always claimed The Bomb’s invention was a necessary “national project that was a matter of life or death for a country mired in a global conflict...it’s important to remember that, above all, the bombs saved democracy.” This attitude is as immoral as unthinking.

On Oct.6, 1945, after the Japanese surrender in on Aug.15, 1945, US troops were deployed in the vicinity of Nagasaki where they remained until July 1, 1946. US solders were sent to the area of Hiroshima on Oct.6, 1945, and left on March 6, 1946. The Nuclear Test Personnel Review reported, “The mission of the occupation was to establish control of the area, ensure compliance with surrender terms, and demilitarize the Japanese war machine. The mission did not include the clean-up of any radiological decontamination of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, any other areas, or the rebuilding of Japan.” Some US 250,000 troops took part. British common-wealth forces from India, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand were deployed between early 1946 and 1948 at a former Japanese naval base at Kure near Hiroshima. Their jobs were to dismantle Japan’s war industries and govern a wide area.

A number of US marines deployed to Nagasaki 44 days after The Bomb exploded developed sores and tumours like those suffered by Japanese survivors. The Atomic Heritage Foundation reported in 2019 that this his did not deter the US military from experimenting on the physical and psychological affects of exposure on soldiers without proper protection against radiation when posted 10-11 kilometres from nuclear bomb tests. Some witnessed multiple tests in the Pacific and at sites in Nevada and New Mexico. Individuals said they were checked over with a Geiger counter and when it clicked, were brushed off with a broom and were not to take showers as soon as possible after the explosion.

Many ex-servicemen developed cancers but were denied compensation until they spoke out and those with “specific types of cancer, including lung, bone and skin cancers,” did receive compensation after Congress adopted a 1988 bill.

Civilians living in New Mexico complained that “Oppenheimer” did not address the impact of radioactive ash residue if nuclear testing on communities downwind from test sites in New Mexico and Nevada. Many died of a range of cancers. Further afield, workers at nuclear research laboratories developed cancer and autoimmune disorders while uranium miners in Utah sickened. A bi-partisan bill on compensation for civilian victims of the nuclear industry was last week passed by the US Senate and signed by President Joe Biden and is awating adoption by the House of Represen-tatives. The “Oppenheimer” film may have alerted politicians to their responsibilities.

European courts have ruled depleted uranium munitions - which harden tank and artillery shells - have caused cancer among troops using them as well as enemy soldiers and civilians. The US and UK have deployed them during the 1991 and 2003 wars in Iraq where the incidence of cancer among civilians has increased beyond the normal average. The US and Britain have also provided depleted uranium shells to the Ukrainian army currently fighting Russia. The US, UK, Russia, China, and Pakistan manufacture depleted uranium shells which are in the arsenals of another 14 states, according to the International Coalition to Ban Nuclear Weapons. Although depleted uranium shells are only “slightly” radioactive, they can lead to cancer if their chemically toxic dust is inhaled or ingested.

The late J. Robert Oppenheimer has a great deal more than The Bomb to answer for.

Photo: TNS