Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie

Newsreel Narrator: March, 1938. Hitler invades Austria. The Third Reich begins to flex its military muscle. Later that year, German scientists discover fission of the uranium nucleus bringing the Third Reich one step closer to discovering the secret of the atomic bomb. Fear of German research stimulated activity in the United States and England. Fear that German scientists could produce weapons of great devastation. In the fall of 1939, Dr. Albert Einstein wrote his now-famous letter to President Roosevelt, explaining the urgency of work on uranium fission. Roosevelt, a man of action, moved swiftly. An advisory committee on uranium was appointed. German forces invade Poland, plunging the nations of Europe into a second World War. A new branch of the Army's Corps of Engineers was established to administer work on military uses of uranium. Major General Leslie R. Groves, the man in responsible for the Pentagon, was placed in charge of the project. On December 2, the first self-sustaining chain-reacting pile was successfully operated by Enrico Fermi. Fermi's success brought intense efforts between government and the private sector, creating huge industries for uranium separation in the town of Oakridge, Tennessee, and for the production of plutonium in Hanford, Washington at the shores of the mighty Columbia River. This tremendous effort forged the materials necessary for creating an atomic bomb. The first atomic bomb was assembled at Los Alamos, a secret laboratory in New Mexico. When Dr. J.R. Oppenheimer arrived to take charge, he began to surround himself with a galaxy of outstanding scientific stars. From Los Alamos came the bomb design, and treatment of many theoretical problems. Yet many questions still remain unanswered. What are the secrets of this new source of power and destruction? Knowledge and information on all aspects of this new weapon are essential, and can only be discovered by further testing.