The hearing resulted in Oppenheimer's Q clearancebeing revoked. In 1953, J. Robert Oppenheimer was accused of communist ties. It made a nation revere him as a hero while he viewed himself as a villain. Lewis Strauss, Eisenhower’s special assistant on atomic energy and soon to be chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, and William Borden, executive director of the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, opposed any significant release of information that might help the Soviet Union. Given only a day to decide, and after consulting with his lawyers, Oppenheimer chose not to resign, and requested a hearing instead. 3. Likely because of the prior revoking of her father's credentials, Toni never received security clearance to pursue the job she loved. Whitaker Chambers, Alger Hiss, Elizabeth Bentley -- were non-Jews. In 1953 he was suspended from secret nuclear research as an alleged communist sympathizer and a security risk after a hearing that was widely decried as a Cold War witch hunt.
He voiced opposition to the development of the hydrogen bomb.
It took the political shockwaves of the 1930s – the worldwide depression, and the rise of fascism – to catch Oppenheimer’s interest. I thoroughly disagreed with him in numerous issues and his actions frankly appeared to me confused and complicated. "Oppenheimer's clearance was revoked by a 2–1 vote of the panel. Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer served as director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during the development of the atomic bomb. It took place in an office converted into a makeshift courtroom. Borden had spent several months inquiring after the FBI’s investigation into Oppenheimer’s background, and had compiled a list of evidence which he thought would suggest that Oppenheimer was, more likely than not, a Soviet spy.
As a result, his security clearance was revoked, bringing disgrace to Oppenheimer and provoking outrage among his scientific peers. The loss of his security clearance ended Oppenheimer's role in government and policy. He was called by Robb to testify against Oppenheimer, and shortly before he appeared Robb showed Teller a dossier of items unfavorable to Oppenheimer. Teller, along with other members of the Eisenhower administration, supported further development of “strategic,” high-yield nuclear weapons, which would likely be handled by the Air Force. The list of 40 witnesses included two former chairmen and three former commissioners of the Atomic Energy Commission, several members of the Commission’s General Advisory Committee, Nobel laureates, academic colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley, leading American scientists, and former Army security officers.Oppenheimer freely admitted to all but three of the charges. His newfound political curiosity was combined with his association with young love interest Jean Tatlock, a sporadic member of the American Communist Party. Unfortunately, it was Strauss whom Oppenheimer was fighting against in the fight over America’s future nuclear policy.
And when Oppenheimer turned on his creation, it destroyed him.
And, of course, there was no indication whatsoever during the war that he had any inclinations toward communism. He later served as a U.S. Oppenheimer belonged to several organizations infiltrated or dominated by communists, and his brother, wife and former fiancé had been communists.Even after he became involved in the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer continued to associate with members of the Communist Party. You can use a shovel for atomic energy, in fact you do. (This includes the possibility that when he singled out the weapons aspect of atomic development as his personal speciality, he was acting under Soviet instructions.) - Lawrence Litz, interview in 2007"Dr. Edward Teller, who did not like Oppenheimer. Although he was not fired from his job at the In a few years after World War II, scientists had been regarded as a new class of intellectuals, members of a public-policy priesthood who might legitimately offer expertise not only as scientists but as public philosophers. In an atmosphere of mutual distrust, Strauss obtained approval from the other commissioners to release the entire unclassified version of the transcript to the public on June 16, 1954.The transcript, covering the entire history of nuclear development since 1942, provided significant insight into the previously secret world of the atomic energy establishment. . The debate over the hydrogen bomb and much other previously classified information and activities were outlined in the transcript in vivid detail. Oppenheimer, by contrast, pushed back against the development of strategic fusion weapons, preferring that America increase its stock of “tactical” fission weapons. Contrary to this assurance, a few weeks after the conclusion of the hearing a verbatim transcript of the hearing was released by the AEC. The accusations against J. Robert Oppenheimer was an example of A. the strength of the anti-nuclear weapons movement. His hair had been turning gray, what there was of it, and he looked worn and exhausted.”
On December 21, 1953, then-Chairman of the AEC Lewis Strauss informed Oppenheimer that his security clearance had been suspended following a review of his file, and suggested that he resign. He also created the successful 'Fear Street' series.Robert Kennedy was attorney general during his brother John F. Kennedy's administration. Strauss said that his clearance had been suspended, pending resolution of a series of charges outlined in a letter, and discussed his resigning his AEC consultancy. To this extent I feel that I would like to see the vital interests of this country in hands which I understand better, and therefore trust more." - Roy Glauber, interview on June 6, 2013Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roy Glauber and Oppenheimer biographer Priscilla McMillan discuss how J. Robert Oppenheimer changed over the years, especially after his security trial.