A little over a month after the ten German physicists had settled into Farm Hall, the British manor where they would be held and observed for six months (see the preceding article on page 27), they were astounded by the news of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Believing themselves far ahead of the Allies in nuclear research, the German scientists were suddenly shaken by the realization that they were in fact far behind. How had the Allies done it? Why had the Germans made so little progress in comparison? How could they explain this to themselves, to their countrymen, to their former enemies?
On hearing the news from Hiroshima, the incredulous internees came up with a self‐serving story to explain their failures in nuclear research: To keep Hitler from winning, they had deliberately not developed the atomic bomb.