Oppenheimer vs Heisenberg
Nolan’s film frequently mentions the Nazi nuclear program, and how the United States had to beat them in A-bomb development. Germany was considered the hub of nuclear physics at the time, led by theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg. Despite this fear, what Oppenheimer didn’t know that, despite Heisenberg being a brilliant (some say eclipsing Oppenheimer) quantum physicist, he wasn’t a good project manager.
Heisenberg, feeling a nuclear bomb wasn’t achievable any time in the near future (and some historians suggest German scientists purposely did not want the a-bomb to succeed), focused German weapons programs on those with more immediate impact. The flight of Jewish German scientists complicated their nuclear program. Los Alamos physicist Edward Teller praised Oppenheimer’s ability to run a lab, despite his inexperience. Heisenberg was shocked when the United States beat Germany in the nuclear race, but Oppenheimer was just a better manager.
