The Race for the Bomb

A truly interesting point of view on the history of nuclear physics is that America will forever be remembered for the bomb, while Germany will be remembered for their work towards a functional reactor. While this point of view is not one that you would expect to hear in America, it certainly raises some speculation about the motives of each of the superpowers, and what they ultimately aimed to accomplish with applied nuclear fission technology.

In the early stages of the war when it seemed that German forces would steamroll all of Europe and that the war would not last long at all, Western powers were in desperate need of a decisive way to regain control of the war. Both sides knew that if there was anything that could quickly achieve victory, it was the acquisition of an atomic bomb. The only question of importance was whether or not the bomb could be constructed in time to affect the tide of the war. With German physicicists already well versed in area of nuclear fission, Western powers, especially Roosevelt in the United States, had no choice but to pursue nuclear weapons to ensure that the seemingly unstoppable German force would not acquire and utilize atomic weapons first. It had become clear that Hitler would stop at almost nothing to achieve his ultimate goal, and that he held little value for human life. The prospect of him obtaining nuclear weapons was enough to drive the American nuclear effort into full force. However it turned out that their fears of a German bomb were not as justified as they had thought.

The question of whether or not the bomb could be produced in time remained to be the most important. The answer to this question lay in the different styles of military strategy used by each side. The German war efforts were based around their rapid form of "lightning war," which employed speed tactics to wipe out the enemy before they knew what had hit them. The desired goal of these tactics was a quick war which kept the enemies on their heels. The Germans were aware that this strategy would lead to a quick war, win or lose. Therefore it became clear to German leaders that diverting massive amounts of resources away from the immediate war effort and into nuclear projects would be foolish and contrary to their military strategy. This is what ultimately derailed the German bomb, as it did not suit their ideal plan for the war.

So in hindsight the American motives for constructing the atomic bomb were unfounded since in reality the Germans were incapable of producing one in time to affect the outcome of the war. Their fears of a nuclear-Germany had driven them to construct the most powerful weapon man is capable of producing. So while it may be absurd to suggest that Germany will be remembered for their work on a reactor, since it is now clear that they had not aggresively pursued applied nuclear physics at all, it is fair to say that the Americans will forever be known for the bomb. Whether or not this is a good thing or a bad thing is a completely different debate. Had the Americans not developed the bomb, another more aggressive superpower such as the Soviet Union could have done so first, and nuclear weapons may have fallen into the hands of those who would be more inclined to use them on a large scale.