Aftermath Of Wo Ii Presentation

The Aftermath of WO II The beginnings of the Cold War

Set-up part 1  Historical aspects  Anti-communism in US: Red Scare  

McCarthyism The Rosenberg Trial

 Oppenheimer’s fall

History (1)  1917; October revolution Russia  1945; WW II comes to an end 

Yalta conference (secret clauses Eastern-Europe)

 1946; Failure of Baruch-plan  Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe 

Expansion and military oriented economy

 1949; Soviets detonate first A-Bomb

History (2)  1949; Mao takes over control in China  1950; Policy of containment: Korean War  1948-1951; Espionage cases  

Venona project White (IMF), Hiss (UN), Fuchs, Rosenberg, MacLean and Burgess

World in 1952

Red Scare  McCarthyism 1950-1954  New security policy 1952 

Background “clearly consistent with the interests of national security”

 The Rosenberg Trial   

Klaus Fuchs, scientist at Los Alamos David Greenglass, brother of Ethel Rosenberg The case of Ethel Rosenberg

Oppenheimer’s Security Clearance Revoked (1953)  Communist ties in Berkeley period  Haakon Chevalier case  Political opposition Article Fortune  Letter Borden (AEC) to Hoover (FBI) ‘more probable than not Oppenheimer is an agent of the Soviet Union’ 

 Public hearing 1954 

Strauss (AEC) and Teller get their revenge

 Rehabilitation 1963

What if?  The plan regarding control on production of nuclear weapons as proposed by Oppenheimer succeeded? Hence, what if Baruch left it unchanged?   

No need for arms race or H-Bomb Less tension, fear Decisions regarding Oppenheimer’s case less biased