Did Truman call Oppenheimer a crybaby? Details explored 

As one of the most anticipated films of this year, Oppenheimer has already taken the theatres by storm since its release on Friday, July 21, 2023. The Nolan film is based on the life and work of J. Robert Oppenheimer and has been shot and distributed in large-format 70mm IMAX print in 30 IMAX theatres and 13,000 screens worldwide.

One major historical claim in the history of the Manhattan Project is that President Harry S. Truman referred to Oppenheimer as a crybaby, which has also been portrayed in the film by Christopher Nolan. Now, as most films fictionalise the real happenings, the question about the authenticity of the event remains.

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Was Truman's alleged crybaby insult to Oppenheimer a baseless rumor or the actual truth

Nolan's Oppenheimer showcases a scene where Cillian Murphy walks into the Oval Office to speak to the President, Harry S. Truman, played by Gary Oldman. The Truman in the movie is initially excited to meet the man behind the atomic bomb but is quickly angry and disappointed to hear the infamous words:

"Mr. President, I feel I have blood on my hands."

As Truman offers his handkerchief, the two figures part ways and the president can be heard calling him a crybaby. However, to tell the difference between fact and fiction, it is necessary to look into history for the lack of verifiable evidence.

While the film clubs different scenarios into one for the sake of storytelling, Kai Bird's American Prometheus narrates a different story. After the war had ended, Oppenheimer or "Oppie" had asked for an audience with the president on the recommendation of an acquaintance - his intention was to discuss the possibility of a future nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union. Truman was delighted to host him as he expected a celebratory meeting on the war ending with the bombings of Japan.

Truman and Oppie met in the Oval Office on October 25, 1945, and seemed to be on opposing stands regarding achieving international control of atomic weapons. The former then asked the scientist what would be the time the Soviet Union would come up with their own nuclear weapon. Failing to guess a date, Truman answered:

"Never."

This ended up being the pivotal moment wherein Oppie mentions the infamous phrase, and the story has only been depicted in different ways since. One account in the book mentions that Truman told the Atomic Energy Commission, and the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, David Lilienthal, to which he replied by saying:

"I told him the blood was on my hands — to let me worry about that.”

Another version mentions how the president took out a handkerchief in a symbolic way for Oppie to wipe the blood off his hands, as depicted in the movie. In one account, he added:

"Well, here, would you like to wipe your hands?"

Another account by the President includes:

"Never mind, it’ll all come out in the wash."

The book recalls Truman standing up to signal the end of the meeting. Truman could be heard through the walls saying:

"Blood on his hands, dammit, he hasn’t half as much blood on his hands as I have. You just don’t go around bellyaching about it.”

He reportedly told the then Under Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, that:

“I don’t want to see that son of a b**ch in this office ever again.”

Additionally, he wrote in a letter to Acheson in May 1946 wherein he referred to Oppenheimer as a crybaby scientist.

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As a theoretical scientist and director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, Oppenheimer contributed significantly and was considered to be more of a camp leader in the Manhattan Project New Mexico site. However, Oppenheimer expressed deep regret and moral concerns about the use of nuclear weapons for mass killings and that too without the knowledge of the Soviet Union.