Leó Szilárd

Leó Szilárd (February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Jewish Hungarian-American physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born in Budapest and died in La Jolla, California.

Views on the use of nuclear weapons

As a survivor of a devastated Hungary after World War I, and having witnessed the subsequent terror of the Reds and the Whites, Szilárd developed an enduring passion for the preservation of human life and freedom, especially freedom to communicate ideas.

Related Topics:
Hungary - World War I - Terror of the Reds and the Whites - Freedom

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He hoped that the U.S. government, which prior to World War II was staunchly opposed to the bombing of civilians, would not use nuclear weapons, because of their potential for use against civilian populations. Szilárd hoped that the mere threat of such weapons would force Germany and/or Japan to surrender. However, rather than threatening the Axis Powers, President Harry Truman sided with advisors who thought use of the weapons was the best solution, and chose to deploy the weapons over the protestations of Szilárd and many of the other top scientists in the project. (See also: Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Debate_over_the_decision_to_drop_the_bombs)

Related Topics:
World War II - Germany - Japan - Axis Powers - Harry Truman - Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Debate_over_the_decision_to_drop_the_bombs

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The first atomic bomb blasts resulted in the deaths of as many as 300,000 Japanese civilians, the total destruction of Hiroshima, the partial destruction of Nagasaki, and led within days to the unconditional surrender of Imperial Japan. This was consistent with America's intentional mass bombing of civilian targets in Europe, most notably the firebombing of Dresden and various other German cities, causing more deaths than even Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Related Topics:
Civilian - Hiroshima - Nagasaki - Imperial Japan - Firebombing - Dresden

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Before the war, Szilárd had considered the U.S. the one truly humane government in the world; that is why he chose to assist them, over everyone else, with the atomic bomb. He resigned from this view after the U.S. used the weapons at the conclusion of the war.

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