Live data from Hacker News

Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org

1–10 of 114 posts

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#5
> HEISENBERG replied that had they produced and dropped such a bomb they would certainly have been executed as War Criminals having made the "most devilish thing imaginable"

Heh. There's a little piece of truth to how war crimes are prosecuted.

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#6

Very cool Article! For all the political discord going on in this day and age, reading this transcript really does make me feel proud to be an American.

I'd keep quiet about that if I were you! The tree of liberty might be looking a bit peaky...

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#7
post #5

> HEISENBERG replied that had they produced and dropped such a bomb they would certainly have been executed as War Criminals having made the "most devilish thing imaginable" Heh. There's a little piece of truth to how war crimes are prosecuted.

I still don't understand why Japan gives us a pass for nuking two of their cities.

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#8
post #7
post #5

> HEISENBERG replied that had they produced and dropped such a bomb they would certainly have been executed as War Criminals having made the "most devilish thing imaginable" Heh. There's a little piece of truth to how war crimes are prosecuted.

I still don't understand why Japan gives us a pass for nuking two of their cities.

Because they started it and would have killed and estimated million of our own (millions of their own!!!) invading the home islands. Why does this happen every damn time it comes up on HN. We didn't just say "hey, fuck those nips". It was the best option for everyone involved.

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#9
post #5

> HEISENBERG replied that had they produced and dropped such a bomb they would certainly have been executed as War Criminals having made the "most devilish thing imaginable" Heh. There's a little piece of truth to how war crimes are prosecuted.

Take a look at Unit 731 vs. the Nazi human experimentation program during WWII. In exchange for the data gathered through 731's history, the U.S. turned a blind eye. The Nazis however were tried by U.S. military courts for conducting such experiments. Hypocrisy at its finest.

Unit 731: "Instead of being tried for war crimes, the researchers involved in Unit 731 were secretly given immunity by the U.S. in exchange for the data they gathered through human experimentation."

Nazis: "After the war, these crimes were tried at what became known as the Doctors' Trial, and revulsion at the abuses perpetrated led to the development of the Nuremberg Code of medical ethics."

Re: Transcript of Conversations among German Nuclear Physicists at Farm Hall (1945) [pdf]

#10
post #7
post #5

> HEISENBERG replied that had they produced and dropped such a bomb they would certainly have been executed as War Criminals having made the "most devilish thing imaginable" Heh. There's a little piece of truth to how war crimes are prosecuted.

I still don't understand why Japan gives us a pass for nuking two of their cities.

They don't, in fact as time goes on they're more and more convinced that it was an act of aggression without provocation.

I kid you not. There has always been some denial on that end about the role of starting that war, and even more denial about their behavior in China and elsewhere.

They probably "give a pass", because to do more on the international stage would draw attention to their many, many, inexcusable war crimes. Dropping plague fleas on China for instance, or the general activities of Unit 731, which would be bound to come up again and again... and they weren't trying to end a war.

That said, I think even in the US there's a lot of debate over the fact that Nagasaki probably didn't need to happen, but hindsight is 20/20.

Post reply on HN