In 1938, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazis, annexed Austria. However, the Second World War began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Believing that Hitler’s intention was to control not only the region but all of the world’s nations, France and England declared war on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland. In late 1939, Germany controlled Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France. However, the United States, under the Roosevelt administration, had different ideas of Hitler’s intensions, believing that the war was strictly a European conflict. Therefore, the United States proclaimed that they would be politically neutral, only aiding the Allies with needed supplies. Americans were reluctant to help in World War II due the large amount of casualties in the First World War, which occurred just over twenty years before.
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Einstein was convinced by 1939 that Germany had the capability and the intention of creating a super weapon using atomic physics. In late 1938, a German scientist discovered nuclear fission, which is based on the idea of splitting the small center of an atom, the nucleus, of certain elements. A letter from Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in October of 1939 stated the physicists’ concern that Germany may be developing atomic weapons. The letter also advised that the United States needed to start researching the development of nuclear weapons. With the threat of the Germany having access to nuclear power, the United States and England soon began research on the topic of nuclear weapons. However, the United States was the only nation to have the resources and scientific capabilities to continue research into the latter half of the
Einstein was convinced by 1939 that Germany had the capability and the intention of creating a super weapon using atomic physics. In late 1938, a German scientist discovered nuclear fission, which is based on the idea of splitting the small center of an atom, the nucleus, of certain elements. A letter from Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in October of 1939 stated the physicists’ concern that Germany may be developing atomic weapons. The letter also advised that the United States needed to start researching the development of nuclear weapons. With the threat of the Germany having access to nuclear power, the United States and England soon began research on the topic of nuclear weapons. However, the United States was the only nation to have the resources and scientific capabilities to continue research into the latter half of the