Letters

The authors of the letters on this page are indicated therein.

Letter to The Virginia Gazette columnist Frank Shatz

Re: Roddy Web and Albert Einstein

August 6, 2021

Dear sir:

I would like to inform you of some news that might peak your interest. To mark my 25th year residing in this beautiful, historic city, I was inspired to give something back to the citizens of our community that not only would be important and meaningful, but hopefully, might influence some people to improve their quality of life. Since I have some experience creating websites, I decided to establish one for the residents of Williamsburg, and name it "Roddy Web." I announced my new site to the public at the Williamsburg City Council meeting on June 10.

My hero is Albert Einstein, who was not only a theoretical physicist, but also a philosopher and a great humanitarian. I'm familiar with many of his writings, lectures and letters detailing his views on life. On the Home page, I posted his definition of the meaning of life. I then listed many of his other brilliant thoughts and viewpoints on the Einstein Quotes page that I created. I had obtained his quotes that were in a jumble on several websites. They were not even arranged by subject matter. I took the time to find my favorite ones and then arrange them in a coherent order of my preference.

In July, I added a new section to the Einstein Quotes page, titled: On Politics, War and Peace. This is the subject matter that will interest you the most. I put this quote at the beginning: "Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perpetually rejuvenated illusions."

Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Hiroshima nuclear bombing. I am not happy that many people blame my hero for this, and for the similar attack upon Nagasaki. It is true that Albert Einstein in his 1905 Theory of Special Relativity, wrote the formula E=mc2. It signified that mass, such as the unstable element uranium-238, could release an incredible amount of energy if the atoms could be split open. 

Einstein also gets a great deal of criticism for his letter to President Franklin Roosevelt that he wrote at the urging of, and in consultation with, Leo Szilard, which resulted in the Manhattan Project. Szilard was a physicist and inventor who was born in Budapest, Hungary to middle-class Jewish parents. He moved to the United States in 1938. He wanted Einstein, the most famous physicist in the world, and a Nobel laureate, to sign the letter. 

However, it is absolutely untrue that Einstein was at fault for the atomic attacks. In fact, he knew about these plans beforehand and tried to prevent the Truman Administration from dropping the bombs on the Japanese cities. I only discovered this interesting fact recently, while working on the politics section of the Einstein Quotes page. Ironically, not only was he not directly involved in the Manhattan Project, but he would not have been able to get security clearance due to his known pacifism. The American government and military didn't trust him.

I gathered all of Einstein's statements regarding the nuclear issue that I could find, then arranged them in a coherent order. I then posted them in the section On Politics, War and Peace. They are as follows:

"I made one great mistake in my life—when I signed that letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made, but there was some justification—the danger that the Germans would make them!"

"Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger."

"If I had foreseen Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I would have torn up my formula in 1905."

"I happened to have nothing to do with the actual research and development of the bomb. My letter to President Roosevelt was nothing but a letter of introduction for Dr. Szilard who wanted to create adequate contact between scientists and Washington regarding the Manhattan Project. I had only handled the problem of nuclear defense when it was reported to me that the Germans were working on such an atomic bomb and, in fact, had uranium mines in Czechoslovakia, in their control. I felt it was imperative for the United States to proceed in the development of the bomb, before Hitler used it to destroy London. I also felt that we had to show Germany the power of America, for power is the only language barbarians understand. And when I later learned that the bomb had been created and was to be used against Japan, I did all in my power to avert President Truman from this plan, since publicly dropping it on an empty island would have been sufficient to convince Japan or any nation to sue for peace."

Unfortunately, very few people have actually read Albert Einstein’s famous letter, a fact that is unfair to his great legacy because everyone criticizes it without knowing what he wrote. I have enclosed a copy of the letter for your reference. 

You may view my new website at: https://sites.google.com/view/roddy-web/.

Sincerely yours,

(Signature)

Rick Rodington

First Einstein-Szilard letter to President Roosevelt

Albert Einstein
Old Grove Rd.
Nassau Point
Peconic, Long Island 

August 2nd, 1939

F.D. Roosevelt
President of the United States
White House
Washington, D.C

Sir:

Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations:

In the course of the last four months it has been made probable—through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America—that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future.

This phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable—though much less certain—that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air.

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

In view of this situation you may think it desirable to have some permanent contact maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. One possible way of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an inofficial capacity. His task might comprise the following:

a) to approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further development, and put forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of uranium ore for the United States.

b) to speed up the experimental work, which is at present being carried on within the limits of the budgets of University laboratories, by providing funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with private persons who are willing to make contributions for this cause, and perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial laboratories which have the necessary equipment.

I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. That she should have taken such early action might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, von Weizsäcker, is attached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin where some of the American work on uranium is now being repeated.

Yours very truly,

(Signature)

Albert Einstein

President Roosevelt's first reply to Einstein  

October 17, 1939

Dear Professor Einstein:

The President has asked me to thank you very much for your recent letter and for your thoughtfulness in sending the manuscripts to him. He has found the data of this research most interesting and is deeply grateful for your kindness in bringing it to his attention. I am glad to inform you that the matter is being thoroughly investigated by a board in cooperation with Dr. Sachs.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

(Signature)

EDWIN M. WATSON

Secretary to the President 

President Roosevelt's second reply to Einstein 

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

October 19, 1939

My dear Professor:

I want to thank you for your recent letter and the most interesting and important enclosure.

I found this data of such import that I have convened a Board consisting of the head of the Bureau of Standards and a chosen representative of the Army and Navy to thoroughly investigate the possibilities of your suggestion regarding the element of uranium.

I am glad to say that Dr. Sachs will cooperate and work with this Committee and I feel this is the most practical and effective method of dealing with the subject.

Please accept my sincere thanks.

(Signature of President Roosevelt)

Second Einstein-Szilard letter to President Roosevelt

(Note: Although this letter wasn't addressed to the president, it was written for him and signed by Albert Einstein. Like the first letter, it was personally conveyed to Roosevelt by Alexander Sachs, who was an economist at Lehman Brothers and a friend of the president. This letter is not well-known. Roosevelt reacted by calling for a conference designed to spur greater urgency.) 

March 7, 1940

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.

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. You will perhaps remember that in the letter which I addressed to the President I also mentioned the fact that C. F. 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.

Since the outbreak of the war, interest in uranium has intensified in Germany. 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. The latter has been taken over by the government and a group of physicists, under the leadership of C. F. von Weizsäcker, who is now working there on uranium in collaboration with the Institute of Chemistry. The former director was sent away on leave of absence, apparently for the duration of the war.

Should you think it advisable to relay this information to the President, please consider yourself free to do so. Will you be kind enough to let me know if you are taking action in this direction?

Dr. Szilard has shown me the manuscript which he is sending to the Physics Review in which he describes in detail a method of setting up a chain reaction in uranium. The papers will appear in print unless they are held up, and the question arises whether something ought to be done to withhold publication.

I have discussed with professor Wigner of Princeton University the situation in the light of the information available. Dr. Szilard will let you have a memorandum informing you of the progress made since October last year so that you will be able to take such action as you think in the circumstances advisable. You will see that the line he has pursued is different and apparently more promising than the line pursued by M. Joliot in France, about whose work you may have seen reports in the papers.

(Signature)

Albert Einstein        

Third Einstein letter to President Roosevelt

(Note: This letter is widely thought to be Einstein's second letter to Roosevelt, because few people are aware of the March 7, 1940 one. The president was gravely ill when this letter was written. He never saw it, and he died on April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, Georgia. The letter was passed on to President Harry Truman. Einstein wrote the letter himself, at the urging of Leo Szilard.)

Albert Einstein
112 Mercer Street
Princeton, New Jersey

March 25, 1945

The Honorable Franklin D. Roosevelt
The President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I am writing you to introduce Dr. L. Szilard who proposes to submit to you certain considerations and recommendations. Unusual circumstances which I shall describe further below induce me to take this action in spite of the fact that I do not know the substance of the considerations and recommendations which Dr. Szilard proposes to submit to you.

In the summer of 1939 Dr. Szilard put before me his views concerning the potential importance of uranium for national defense. He was greatly disturbed by the potentialities involved and anxious that the United States Government be advised of them as soon as possible. Dr. Szilard, who is one of the discoverers of the neutron emission of uranium on which all present work on uranium is based, described to me a specific system which he devised and which he thought would make it possible to set up a chain reaction in unseparated uranium in the immediate future. Having known him for over twenty years both for his scientific work and personally, I have much confidence in his judgment and it was on the basis of his judgment as well as my own that I took the liberty to approach you in connection with this subject. You responded to my letter dated August 2, 1939 by the appointment of a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Briggs and thus started the Government's activity in this field.

The terms of secrecy under which Dr. Szilard is working at present do not permit him to give me information about his work; however, I understand that he now is greatly concerned about the lack of adequate contact between scientists who are doing this work and those members of your Cabinet who are responsible for formulating policy. In the circumstances I consider it my duty to give Dr. Szilard this introduction and I wish to express the hope that you will be able to give his presentation of the case your personal attention.

Yours very truly,

(Signature)

Albert Einstein                 

Petition from Leo Szilard and Other Scientists to President Harry S. Truman

July 14, 1945

A PETITION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Discoveries of which the people of the United States are not aware may affect the welfare of this nation in the near future. The liberation of atomic power which has been achieved places atomic bombs in the hands of the Army. It places in your hands, as Commander-in-Chief, the fateful decision whether or not to sanction the use of such bombs in the present phase of the war against Japan.

We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power. Until recently we have had to fear that the United States might be attacked by atomic bombs during this war and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack by the same means. Today, with the defeat of Germany, this danger is averted and we feel impelled to say what follows:

The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender.

If such public announcement gave assurance to the Japanese that they could look forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuits in their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs. Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities which are involved.

The development of atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction, and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of their future development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.

If after this war a situation is allowed to develop in the world which permits rival powers to be in uncontrolled possession of these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation. All the resources of the United States, moral and material, may have to be mobilized to prevent the advent of such a world situation. Its prevention is at present the solemn responsibility of the United States — singled out by virtue of her lead in the field of atomic power.    

The added material strength which this lead gives to the United States brings with it the obligation of restraint and if we were to violate this obligation our moral position would be weakened in the eyes of the world and in our own eyes. It would then be more difficult for us to live up to our responsibility of bringing the unloosened forces of destruction under control.

In view of the foregoing, we, the undersigned, respectfully petition: first, that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief, to rule that the United States shall not resort to the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused to surrender; second, that in such an event the question whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you in the light of the considerations presented in this petition as well as all the other moral responsibilities which are involved.

(70 Signatures)

Note:

According to Wikipedia, "The Szilard petition, drafted and circulated in July 1945 by scientist Leo Szilard, was signed by 70 scientists working on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois. It asked President Harry S. Truman to inform Japan of the terms of surrender demanded by the allies, and allow Japan to either accept or refuse these terms, before America used atomic weapons. However, the petition never made it through the chain of command to President Truman. It was not declassified and made public until 1961."

"Later, in 1946, Szilard jointly with Albert Einstein, created the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists that counted among its board, Linus Pauling (Nobel Peace Prize in 1962)."