The Impact Of Klaus Fuch

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Fuchs was regarded favorably by those around him in the Manhattan Project. Few, if any, suspected that the brilliant and unassuming man could be a spy. Lilli Hornig, a female scientist, thought that “Fuchs was a very good physicist and made great contributions… He was a brilliant guy,” and even though Fuchs “was a person who was clearly not very open… it certainly never occurred to us in our wildest dreams that he was a spy.” Laura Fermi, a core scientist’s wife, described how “we all thought him pleasant and knew nothing about him.” Hans Bethe, a fellow scientist, called Fuchs “one of the most valuable men in my division” who was liked by everyone. Bethe said of Fuchs that “he worked days and nights… he contributed very greatly to the success …show more content…

The discovery of Klaus Fuchs’s espionage, more so than the news of Soviet nuclear test, marked the start of the Cold War and a worsening of Soviet-American relations. The case again raised the American public’s feelings against Communism. Similarly, it caused a cooling of Anglo-American relations, and dashed hopes of Britain to cooperate with America on nuclear projects in the future. In addition, Britain paid notice to the “incompetence which constitute the history of the British security” for the MI5 cleared Fuchs at least eight times. The British public asked in shock, “How did Dr. Fuchs, a confessed Communist, get away with it for seven years? Why did the tip that led to his arrest have to come from the United Stated Federal Bureau of Investigation rather than from the M. I. 5?” As result, “loud demands were being made today for a thorough overhaul of Britain’s security arrangements as a result of… the trial of Dr. Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs,” including a reorganization of “anti-espionage precautions at all the secret establishments,” an reexamination of “personal records of all the 3,000 persons employed at the atomic energy plants,” and doubts about “whether the policy of granting asylum to political refugees would be …show more content…

He continued to work on theoretical physics research in Germany for twenty years before retiring in 1979. In 1988, the life of this physicist who truly changed history came to an end. The exceptional success of his spying career was due to a combination of factors: the strength of his belief in Communism, his quiet and likable personality, and his inability to understand the consequences of his actions, which kept away the weight on his conscience. The Manhattan Project, with all the unprecedented measures taken to ensure its security, was not able to stop Fuchs, or even suspect him capable of any spy activities. The espionage of Klaus Fuchs not only changed the course of nuclear research of the Soviet Union, but affected world politics as well as internal security policies of Britain. Klaus Fuchs may have been one of the physicists who left the greatest marks on history, not just for his scientific talent, but for his remarkable espionage

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