tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post6851530618494032271..comments2024-03-28T13:27:46.447-06:00Comments on Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan: Changing World War II Atomic Research for the StoryBill Selneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-78382415391109804342012-12-04T00:29:13.217-06:002012-12-04T00:29:13.217-06:00karabekius: Thanks for the comment and the link to...karabekius: Thanks for the comment and the link to the son's defence.<br /><br />Reading his comments very closely parallels the statements in Powers' book. <br /><br />It is always difficult to rely on observations after the war. Gitta Sereny in her biography of Albert Speer points to changes he made in his memoirs after being released from prison with earlier notes written just after the war. She made the point he shifted some of his comments possibly to accord more with public perception of issues.<br /><br />The son's quotes from his father's wartime writings were more convincing.<br /><br />Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-69929905846280319692012-12-04T00:17:15.190-06:002012-12-04T00:17:15.190-06:00Barbara: Thank you for an interesting comment.
I ...Barbara: Thank you for an interesting comment.<br /><br />I thought Powers found Heisenberg so cautious about revealing himself during and after the war that researchers and readers are somewhat left to divine his position.<br /><br />I heard mention of Frayn's play and would like to see it. I think a play could be better suited as a structure to exploring ideas and principles than a mystery book.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-11151957248596934952012-12-04T00:10:34.102-06:002012-12-04T00:10:34.102-06:00Margot: Thanks for your comment. I agree authors w...Margot: Thanks for your comment. I agree authors writing historic fiction must undertake major research.<br /><br />I believe Volpi achieved a key element for changing history in that his alterations were all credible.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-3306071291176209572012-12-04T00:07:28.109-06:002012-12-04T00:07:28.109-06:00Prashant: Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
I t...Prashant: Thanks for your thoughtful comment.<br /><br />I think Heisenberg was less pacifist than a scientist who realized the enormous destructive capacity of atomic bombs.<br /><br />The leading German physicists skilfully deflected Nazi interest in the bomb. They never said it was not possible. They highlighted the expense and technical difficulties and time required. In the midst of WW II the focus was on weapons that could be ready for use in the existing war.<br /><br />I hope you get a chance to look at both books.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-28002146398059841172012-12-03T15:21:47.290-06:002012-12-03T15:21:47.290-06:00The most convincing arguments about Heisenberg'...The most convincing arguments about Heisenberg's opposition to bomb <br />are given in a talk given by Jochen Heisenberg (his son) at MIT <br />on the occasion of Frayn's play. Here is the link: <br />http://werner-heisenberg.physics.unh.edu/mit-jochen.htmkarabekirushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12007472970720410225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-72956781959957721532012-12-03T07:08:52.755-06:002012-12-03T07:08:52.755-06:00This sounds like a fascinating novel. Thanks for l...This sounds like a fascinating novel. Thanks for looking at the history as well as the fiction. A lot of people feel Thomas Powers is rather too inclined to excuse Heiseberg, who is such a fascinating figure. I think his motives were mixed and we'll never know exactly how committed he was to the project (and I suspect he wasn't even sure). <br /><br />Frayn's play Copenhagen is all about that in-between nature of knowledge. We can't really know what Heisenberg intended (though Frayn also comes in for a bit of bashing for being too sympathetic to Heisenberg) - and that uncertainty is something Frayn links to fiction, to history, to the space between people trying to understand each other, and of course to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. It's the stuff of drama! Barbara Fisternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-6979589522929706862012-12-03T06:55:14.955-06:002012-12-03T06:55:14.955-06:00Bill - Thanks for this very thoughtful post about ...Bill - Thanks for this very thoughtful post about the differences between what really happened and what's fiction. It's so interesting to learn the real story, even if it doesn't make for fiction that's quite as riveting. And in my opinion, it takes a lot of thorough research to make a work of historical fiction ring true. One has to know what the facts were and create the overall atmosphere before one can 'tweak' what happened and adjust it to make for a good story. I've really enjoyedy our posts on this. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-91015211177575446432012-12-03T04:59:37.715-06:002012-12-03T04:59:37.715-06:00Bill, I read your three fascinating posts, this on...Bill, I read your three fascinating posts, this one included and the previous two, "In Search of Klingsor by Jorge Volpi" and "Heisenberg’s War by Thomas Powers," and realised just how little I knew of Nazi Germany's atomic bomb research as opposed to America's successful effort in that direction. Likewise, I knew nothing about Werner Heisenberg, except that he was a noted German physicist, while I was more familiar with J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan project.<br /><br />Two points in this post, namely Heisenberg being the man "who denied the Nazis the chance at the bomb," and who "did not want to put the bomb in Hitler’s hands," suggests that he, like many physicists of his time, was opposed to the atomic bomb and might have been a secret pacifist. I don't know how far this is true. If he was, indeed, against the bomb then one wonders why Hitler or the pro-bomb hawks in his regime did not see through him, in spite of being tied up with more serious matters on the war front. Heisenberg appears to have escaped Nazi persecution on this score. Of course, this point flies in the face of the possible fact that the Nazis were never serious about the bomb.<br /><br />I have read about Oppenheimer being a pacifist which, I believe, came about only after he saw the mind-numbing destruction of the Japanese cities. Later, he became a keen follower of the Vedas, the sacred Hindu scriptures of ancient times.<br /><br />Your posts have got me interested in WWII literature, both fiction and non-fiction, all over again and I'd certainly like to read "In Search of Klingsor" by Jorge Volpi. Many thanks, Bill, for stirring my interest in this area.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.com