August 9 1945 l I Al l Division Leader s J R Oppenheimer We received the foll owing telegram IF YOU CAN SEE YOUR WAY TO MAKING STATErANNT ON TREMENDOUSLY SOBER ING RESPONSIBILITIES OF KNOV'fLEDGE ATOMIC BOMB AND ON POSSIBLE i ----v-0 BENEFICIAL RATHER THAN DESTRUCTIVE USES FOR FUTURE PLEASE TELEGRAPH ✓ -a COLLECT WE 'NOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL AND GUARANTEE SOBER PRESENTATION THESE STATEMSNTS LEADING •JEWS PAPERS UNITED STATES _L rJ ' ' A _ vr Signed NORTH AMERICAN NEWS ALLIANCE It s eemed to me tho t this mi ght be an opportunity to present I' J p 1• 0 our gener al po ints of view somewhQt mor e widely than has been possible • · -- '-- n the past After consulta tion with a few members of the project I t s e n t the followi ng a nswer I hope you will thi nk that this statement V'' does not misrepresent us ivV __vk _ In a nswer to your telegraphic request s hould be glad to furnish the following statement Plea se do not paraphro se or disto r t this state 1 A ' ment since this could profoundly embarruss others ' Tq e many scientists _ - who have b een e ngaged in t his development of the a tom i c bomb have been - austn ined by hopes for the future which it is appropriate tha t I should f express on th0ir beha lf 'l'hese a re not differ ent from those which h c ve v· ' ' nspired the leade rs of our Governme nt in ep cour ging a nd supporting t his work It is our conviction that these hopes will be sha r ed by the Am0rica n people us they come to know the f a cts For this r e son we o pr•' ecic te and we lcome the efforts of the press and the r a dio to bring the truth openly and clearly before the JID erican public f l 1 ' l ___ l - 1 ewe have believed that the use of this weapon in the war against J a pan might help to shorten tha t wa r and be o b enefit to the worla for tha t alone but above a ll we have thought that this r a ther spectacular technical development und the assured prospe ct of f a r more t e rrifying future developments would force upon the people of this country and all the wa r-wo 1 ry peoples of the world a r ecognition of how 'imper a tive it has become to avert wars in the future hov1 the coope r a ti on and unde r sto nding between nations which hRs seemed desirabl e for s o long has become a desperate necessity We have hoped further that in the h nds of sta tesmen atomic power itself could help to provide a mec hanism for bring ing peoples together o nd for establishing confidence between ·nations We have been supporte d in this hope by the fact that sci e nce itself out of which this development h as been born is one of the most unive rsal of human efforts a nd that its tendency has b een to bridge the gap between cultures rathe r than to deepen it - 2 'As has been so clearly stated by the President and by the Secretary of War the atomic bomb is only ohe product of our recent technological advance As scientists we share their confidence that constructive developments of great and lasting benefit to mankind will eventuate from this work The general outlines of many of these are even now clear to us and we hope that there will come a time when it is by them rather than by weapons of war that this development will be remembered We believe that it is in the first instance in the hands of the American people to make theso hopes a reality 1 J R Oppenheimer You may make what disposition of this you wish