Transition 1/2 Opener by Kueyoung Kim

May 18, 1939

    The Germans have discovered how to split Uranium atoms. This is a huge step for science but also a huge step for the war that’s going on. If the Germans use this new discovery to develop a new weapon, who knows what kind of catastrophic thing could happen?

    I heard that Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi suggested starting our own nuclear research, but President Roosevelt had brushed off their concerns and had provided them with only a miniscule amount of funding.

    While the war is growing more and more volatile, while us Americans have started to grow more and more nervous. Germany is growing more powerful.

September 1, 1939

    Germany Invades Poland. That was the front page article on the newspaper today. I knew something like this was coming eventually, with all of the Hitler junk that the Germans were eating up. On a newsreel film today they showed acts of violence and destruction by the Nazi force. It was quite frightening. I already knew from their concentration camps that they were up to no good, but I didn’t see any reason to worry, the States were safe, there was no real reason that Germany and it’s dictator could do to attack the States. But if Germany invaded Poland then there was no doubt that they’re aiming for Global Conquest. Which meant that they would form alliances and attack surrounding countries. I hope this isn’t the beginning of something bad.

August 7, 1941

    We’ve conducted the first controlled nuclear chain reaction!

    That’s like when a single ball is dropped into a field of mousetraps, with a ball resting on top of it, to trigger one, and then another until all of the mouse traps have been triggered. If that’s confusing you could think of it like one atom split and then the two atoms hit two other atoms, then four and so on.

    If it seems like I’m rambling, I am. This could be a deciding factor in the war! America’s nuclear project has gained more funding and they are starting to develop faster. I’m going to apply for a spot tomorrow.

    The war has officially become REALLY BAD. Germany has invaded a lot of countries, and is gaining more power. The concentration camps have worsened too, with more people, worse living conditions, and less food.


September 3, 1942

    I’ve started work at Hanford, Washington. I can’t say much about the Manhattan Project because it’s classified information. It’s hard work! The challenge is nice though, and it pays well.

    There’s a new nuclear assembly plant in Los Alamos in New Mexico, run by Robert Oppenheimer.

    The project has also employed 120,000 people and has spent nearly two billion dollars!

    I probably shouldn’t be writing this, secrecy is crucial. If the Germans or the Japanese catch scent of this something very bad will happen. The heads of the project have also decided that Stalin would also have to be kept in the dark, and I agree. The Russians are probably just as powerful as the Germans or more and if they feel threatened by our invention they may attack.