The Jealous Life and Controversies of Lewis Strauss

Lewis Strauss, hailing from Charleston, West Virginia, rose to prominence as a millionaire investment banker before playing a pivotal role in the development of the U.S. Hydrogen Bomb during World War II. Initially seen as a hero, Strauss's admiration for J. Robert Oppenheimer, the mastermind behind the atomic bomb, soon turned into disdain due to his own insecurities. Their encounters were marked by awkward moments, and Oppenheimer's honest and opinionated nature further fueled Strauss's animosity.

As the Cold War intensified, the disagreement between Oppenheimer and Strauss over the hydrogen bomb deepened. Strauss, motivated by a desire to serve his country and impress his superiors, relentlessly advocated for its development. On the contrary, Oppenheimer believed such weapons would escalate the arms race and sought transparency regarding America's nuclear arsenal. Their clash reached a boiling point when Strauss orchestrated a covert plan to portray Oppenheimer as a traitor, accusing him of being a spy for Russia, which led to a biased and damaging investigation against the renowned scientist.

Driven by a thirst for revenge and plagued by his own insecurities, Strauss' actions eventually caught up with him. His nomination to the Cabinet was publicly and humiliatingly rejected, mirroring the fate of Oppenheimer when his security clearance was revoked. In a twist of poetic justice, Strauss faced the consequences of his manipulative tactics. While he believed Oppenheimer was as ambitious as himself in creating nuclear weapons, Oppenheimer's moral compass and concerns about the devastating impact of such weapons distinguished them in their approach to science and its implications for humanity.

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[AnilKumar-xlte]

There are Lewis Strauss in every business and organization.

[joekal]

I loved Oppenheimer, great movie. But the movie is revealing about Oppie’s flaws too. He could be cruel, narcissistic, and manipulative. He was ambitious and never forsake the bomb.

[sheldonpetrie]

I'd never heard of Strauss before seeing Oppenheimer. It was such a revelation.

[joemcbride]

The movie is, I think,
one of the all-time great historical biopics.
It led me to read “American Prometheus “, on which book Nolan based the movie.
The book makes clear that dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was Truman’s decision, not Oppenheimer’s.
The President’s decision was primarily motivated by a fear that the USSR was about, in mid-August, 1945, to declare war on Japan, which would have led to the Soviets quickly conquering and keeping control of a defeated Japan which was ready to negotiate a conditional surrender.

[George-tduf]

Thank you for the context. I too, had never heard of Strauss until the movie, so it was very enlightening to have the background.
Bonus points for your artist in the vid, whose work really added to the dark, ominous mood, so similar to the film.

[dasupertramp]

Very interesting 👍
Would have liked to have heard more detail on Strauss' accomplishments. From what I've read, he was very committed to serving his country. For example, he volunteered for military service during WW2 and served on a munitions board. He was promoted to Rear Admiral based on that service.
He was also very active in philanthropy, and tried unsuccessfully to change the US policy of denying asylum to Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler.
He also had very good reason, from his perspective in that period of time, to suspect Oppenheimer of providing aid to communists, which would also explain his determination to deny Oppenheimer access to classified info.
Neither man is fully a "hero" or a " villian", real life being much more complex than that simple characterization.
History has reassessed its opinion of Oppenheimer, just wondering if Strauss deserves another look?

[DarthMercanto]

This is just a summary of the movie. Also, Oppenheimer never actively opposed dropping the bomb

[ishaan]

Well I disagree with the last part. Oppenheimer did pick the target for dropping A bomb after the site. So he knew about the destruction he was about to bring to civilians. He did feel guilty about it later, but his hands were full of blood and he would do it all over again for glory if he got the chance to correct his mistakes in past.

[GeoffryGifari]

There are some animated clips in the video...
do you know where they're from?

[BarelloSmith]

As far as I know, the conversation between Einstein and Oppenheimer at the pond is purely fictional and had therefore nothing to do with Strauss disliking the latter.

[Count_Gustav]

First I thought Lewis Strauss played by Jeremy Irons.

[beeeater]

You simply read the synopsis of the film. I thought this would be informative. A quick wiki read would have saved us 11 minutes

[clainmings]

This might be controversial, but I believe Strauss was more against Oppenheimers “peaceful” views. Oppenheimer didn’t want America to be the best, Strauss did.