NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) –– Many rushed to theaters over the weekend to watch the latest film about the atomic bomb destined to end the second world war, but historians at the National World War II Museum say you may need to brush up on your history first.
Oppenheimer is a snapshot of the life and work of Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb. “It covers his postwar life and having to deal with the implications of this new technology and the fact that the world has now entered through a portal and a door and doors lock behind us,” said Military Historian at the National WWII Museum Dr. John Curatola.
Curatola is one of the museum historians who got a preview of “Oppenheimer” before its theatrical release. He explained it’s relatively accurate, but like most historical films, “they had to take some artistic license with the actual history itself.”
He stated it might help to “understand the context of the American mindset in the summer of 1945 as opposed to the Monday morning quarterback about the use of the weapon.”
One of the best ways to get that context is by visiting the National World War II Museum. There, you can learn about how America got involved in the war and get a peak into the top-secret Manhattan Project Oppenheimer worked on.
The Manhattan Project “was a nationwide effort that required thousands and thousands of people who some people didn’t know they were working on,” he noted. New Orleans is one of the locations that played a role in creating the atomic bomb. Higgins Industries manufactured spare parts for refining uranium 238 into uranium 239. It’s the same uranium used in the bomb the U.S. dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Curatola emphasized the importance of learning about this period of world history. “Man’s innovation and ability to develop new and better ways to destroy each other is still a specter that humankind has to come to grips with,” he referenced the ongoing tensions in Russia, Eastern Europe, North Korea, and China.
“So I think it’s important to see the movie from a standpoint of this is not history, this is something that still affects you as a citizen of the world today,” he said.
If you can’t make it to the museum, you can take your history lesson on the go. The latest season of the museum’s podcast, World War II On Topic, will be a four-part series discussing Oppenheimer, the bomb, and the state of the world during the 1930–50s.
New episodes launch on Monday, July 24. You can find a link to listen here.
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