Rieff's biography reframes Oppenheimer's silence as strategic Jewish identity

Historical accounts often portray Robert Oppenheimer as a tragic figure defined by guilt over the atomic bomb and the loss of his security clearance in the 1950s. New research challenges this narrative by linking his behavior to his specific cultural background.

In the new book "Robert Oppenheimer: The Sphinx Without a Secret," journalist David Rieff argues that the Manhattan Project leader's personality was shaped by his ambivalence toward his Jewish identity. Rieff contends that Oppenheimer was not emotionally distant but rather driven to maintain a central position in scientific, cultural, and governmental spheres.

Rieff traces this psychological profile to Oppenheimer's childhood in New York. At the Ethical Culture School, his closest friend was a non-Jew from New Mexico. During a summer at a camp for wealthy German Jewish children in upstate New York, the 14-year-old physicist faced ridicule for his height and lack of athletic interest.

When his parents complained about the teasing, other campers beat Oppenheimer, poured green paint on him, and locked him in an icehouse for the night. Rieff suggests that Oppenheimer's decision to remain for the rest of the summer and his refusal to name his abusers created a habit of silence. This tendency persisted until the 1954 hearings, where he made few efforts to defend his security clearance against removal.

Despite his personal reserve, Oppenheimer actively supported Jewish causes. In 1934, while a graduate student in Germany, he sent part of his salary to the University of California, Berkeley, to assist German Jewish scientists fleeing the Nazi regime. Throughout the 1930s, he expressed anger over the treatment of Jews in Germany. This outrage, combined with his sympathy for Depression-era victims, led him to support Communist front organizations.

Oppenheimer maintained these political views after the 1939 non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. His patriotic instincts were awakened only after the fall of France and the start of the Battle of Britain. He then sought a central role in the war effort and distanced himself from the Communist Party, though he kept in touch with his brother Frank and former partner Jean Tatlock. At Los Alamos, General Leslie Groves granted him a security clearance over objections from the FBI and army intelligence, betting on his ambition.

Rieff disputes the idea that Oppenheimer felt sudden regret after the bombing of Nagasaki. The physicist continued to defend the weapon while acknowledging its severe implications. He told President Harry Truman that he felt blood on his hands. As director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, he prioritized international control of nuclear weapons.

Colleagues found it difficult to predict whether Oppenheimer would act as a tragic intellectual or a dutiful soldier. He believed ambiguity was necessary for life. Oppenheimer died in 1967. His legacy remains strong, as shown by the popularity of the 2023 film directed by Christopher Nolan. Rieff states that public fear of nuclear holocaust continues to drive interest in the man he describes as a sphinx.