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Chemical Evidence Shows the Nazis Weren't At All Close To Having the Bomb

Posted by samzenpus on from the not-even-close dept.

TheAlexKnapp writes: The Nazis winning World War II by getting the bomb first is a staple of alt-history and it's the reason why James T. Kirk lost the love of his life, Edith Keeler. Einstein also noted possible German efforts to build one in his letter to FDR urging the U.S. develop an atomic weapon. But it turns out there really wasn't a race to build a bomb at all. Materials from Germany's atomic weapons program have been studied by an international team of researchers, who determined that Germany never achieved a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction — something that Fermi and his colleagues had accomplished in 1942 — which was a key step to actually building an atomic weapon. This chemical evidence supports other historical accounts that the German atomic program never achieved this result.

5 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Bit late by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 5, Funny

    That news is something like 65 years late - a new /. record!!

  2. How will the History Channel cope? by Required+Snark · · Score: 5, Funny
    The History Channel has a lock on "OMG!!! the Nazis almost won the war, what if their super secret had been built, we would all be speaking GERMAN and eating sauerkraut, OMG!!!". Of course was either only a prototype or was never built at all, but who cares, RATINGS!!!

    So no Nazi atom bomb is a big dower for them.

    I talked to a producer who knew some History Channel people, and she said they called it the Hitler Channel. No mater what series, if you could tie something to Hitler or the Nazis then it was a big plus. She said that when they had a series on the Spartans they compared them to Germany during WWII, and the management was thrilled.

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    Why is Snark Required?
  3. How did they go to the moon then? by Ecuador · · Score: 2, Funny

    I call BS! If they weren't close to a nuclear reaction, how did they get to the moon?

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    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  4. Re:Their own scientists weren't even close by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So you are saying that Heisenberg was uncertain?

  5. Re:Their own scientists weren't even close by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Funny

    So you are saying that Heisenberg was uncertain?

    At least he had principles.

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    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil