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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Oral Histories

Benjamin Bederson’s Interview (2018)

Benjamin Bederson worked at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, Wendover, and Tinian on the Manhattan Project. In this interview, Bederson describes his childhood in New York and in Russia, where he witnessed the impact of the famine in Ukraine, and his relief upon returning to the United States. He discusses his wartime work, including conducting experiments relating to Jumbo and the X unit switches for the Fat Man atomic bomb. He recalls some of the friends he made, including Peter Lax and William Spindel. During his time on the Manhattan Project, he also met Soviet spies Ted Hall and David Greenglass.

Robert J.S. Brown’s Interview

Robert JS Brown was a member of the Special Engineer Detachment at Los Alamos. He worked under Don Hornig on the electrical aspects of detonation for the plutonium bomb. In this interview, Brown discusses how he was recruited into the SED and his experience as an army member at Los Alamos. He also talks about the friends he made at Los Alamos as well as his encounters with famous spies. Brown also gives his opinion on the necessity of having Oppenheimer and Groves run the Manhattan Project.

Benjamin Bederson’s Interview

Benjamin Bederson, a New York native, was selected to serve in the Special Engineering Detachment during the Manhattan Project. A physicist, he was first sent to Oak Ridge, and then to Los Alamos, where he worked for Donald Hornig on designing the ignition switches for the implosion bomb. At Los Alamos, he knew Ted Hall and David Greenglass, who were secretly sending atomic bomb secrets to the USSR. Bederson instructed the 509th Composite Group at Wendover and was sent to Tinian to help wire the switches for the bomb. He recalls the feeling of expectation just before the bombing of Hiroshima and his jubilation at Japan’s surrender.