In der Sache J. Robert Oppenheimer

A historical event underlies this scenic report: the Oppenheimer case. On April 12, 1954, an investigation began in Washington against physicist and longtime head of American atomic research J. Robert Oppenheimer. The investigative committee, appointed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, was tasked with determining whether the scientist had behaved loyally toward his government. The three-week-long hearing, an example and expression of the conflict between the individual and society, science and state, is considered one of the memorable events in contemporary history.