| Original caption: Albert Einstein, the German physicist who became a naturalized American, tells J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the Institute for atomic research in the United States of America, about his attempts to explain matter in terms of space. Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) and J. Robert Oppenheimer (April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) discussed theories of relativity shortly after Oppenheimer accepted the Directorship of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. On August 2, 1939, Einstein and Leo Szilard (February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) wrote to United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945). Szilard and others wrote the text of the letter, and Einstein signed it. The letter warned that Germany might develop atomic bombs and suggested that the United States start its own nuclear program. It prompted action by Roosevelt, which eventually resulted in the Manhattan Project, the development of the 1st atomic bombs, and the use of these bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oppenheimer’s official appointment to the Manhattan Project remains obscure. On October 15, 1942, after a train ride with Manhattan Project Military Director United States Army Brigadier General Leslie Richard Groves Jr. (August 17, 1896 – July 13, 1970) and others, he was seen as the most suitable candidate to lead the scientific team. Oppenheimer’s depth and breadth of knowledge, as well as his leadership capabilities, were quickly matched by his ability to manage sprawling, complicated infrastructure, logistics, and ever-expanding personnel. He suggested Los Alamos, New Mexico, for the construction of the atomic bomb. His team had 2 workable designs; the “Little Boy” device used uranium-238. The Manhattan Project scientists were so sure it would work that Hiroshima was the test of the device on August 6, 1945. The “Fat Man” device was more complicated, but it used plutonium-235, which could be manufactured, and thus, multiple bombs could be created. Nagasaki was destroyed by the 2nd “Fat Man” device on August 9, 1945. Although Einstein and Oppenheimer had 1st met in early 1932, during 1 of Einstein’s stays at the California Institute of Technology, they did not come in close contact until after the autumn of 1947, when they became colleagues at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton after Oppenheimer became its director. Einstein had a high regard for Oppenheimer and had only respectful things to say about him in public. Thus on April 13, 1954, in a front page article in the New York Times, when James Reston broke the news that the Atomic Energy Commission had suspended Oppenheimer’s security clearance and that he was to appear before a committee investigating his associations with Communists, Einstein issued a simple, unpretentious statement expressing his support: “I admire [Oppenheimer] not only as a scientist but also as a great human being.” If Einstein knew of some of Oppenheimer’s less admirable traits — his occasional intellectual arrogance and his sporadic unkindness — and of some of his weaknesses, he probably would have said, in a Spinozian spirit, “I cannot hate him because he must do what he does,” or he would have quoted Schopenhauer’s saying, “A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.” For his part, Oppenheimer, though deeply admiring of Einstein’s achievements, was at times publicly highly critical of him. As physicists, Oppenheimer and Einstein disagreed. But as humanists, they were allies. At a moment in history when the scientific profession was being bought wholesale by a Cold War national security network of weapons labs and universities increasingly dependent on military contracts, Oppenheimer had chosen another path. Though “present at the creation” of this militarization of science, Oppenheimer had walked away from Los Alamos, and Einstein respected him for attempting to use his influence to put the brakes on the arms race. At the same time, he saw that Oppenheimer used his influence cautiously. Einstein was mystified when, in the spring of 1947, Oppenheimer refused his invitation to speak at a public dinner of the newly formed Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. Oppenheimer explained that he felt “unprepared to make [a] public address at this time on Atomic Energy with any confidence that the results will lead in the direction for which we all hope.” The older man clearly didn’t understand why Oppenheimer seemed to care so much about maintaining his access to the Washington establishment. Einstein didn’t play that game. He would never have considered asking the government for a security clearance. Einstein instinctively disliked meeting politicians, generals, or figures of authority. As Oppenheimer observed, “he did not have that convenient and natural converse with statesmen and men of power…” And while Oppenheimer seemed to relish his fame and the opportunity to mix with the powerful, Einstein was always uncomfortable with adulation. 1 evening in March 1950, on the occasion of Einstein’s 71st birthday, Oppenheimer walked him back to his house on Mercer Street. “You know,” Einstein remarked, “when it’s once been given to a man to do something sensible, afterward life is a little strange.” More than most men ever could, Oppenheimer understood precisely what he meant. Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was 1 of the original 4 photographers for LIFE Magazine. In December 1947, he visited Princeton to photograph Oppenheimer, who had just been appointed Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. he took a number of photos of the 2 conversing in Einstein’s office. These photos appeared in the December 29, 1947, issue of LIFE Magazine. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1483.jpg |
| Image Size | 648.05 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2880 x 2289 |
| Photographer | Alfred Eisenstadt |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 29, 1947 |
| Location | |
| City | Princeton |
| State or Province | New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | Institute for Advanced Study |
| Record Number | EB 079 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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