ABSTRACT
German physicists had announced the theory of nuclear fission in December 1938, and from that time on many scientists dreamed of using the enormous energy generated by fission in the creation of a "super weapon." Although German troops were beginning to retreat, the nightmare of an atomic bomb in the hands of Hitler continued to haunt the Nobel prize winners and the thousands of young scientists and engineers who were assembled to assist in the project. The threat of a German atomic bomb had driven the United States into atomic bomb production, but undoubtedly the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor accelerated the process and, inevitably, Japan was added to the list of possible targets. In July of 1942, the forced migration of Japanese Americans headed out toward ten facilities that had been hurriedly constructed on federal land in deserts, in swamps, and on former Indian reservations.
