WAR DEPARTMENT P.O. BOX 2610 WASHINGTON, D.C. 27 November 1946 MEMORANDUM to Major General S. J. Chamberlin, War Department General Staff Subject: Exploitation of Foreign Scientists 1. I received an information copy of Secret cable number 71217, dated 14 November 1946, addressed to you from General Bissell. In this cable I have been incorrectly represented as a principal disapproving a proposal advanced by the American component of "an Anglo-American body concerned with the rehabilitation of civilian education in Germany", to have a German physicist, Otto Hahn, brought to the United States. Efforts to determine the responsibile agency in this country of this "body" have been unsuccessful. 2. To avoid any possible misunderstanding I desire to reaffirm my position regarding the shipment of any foreign nuclear physicists to the United States, in order either to exploit their capabilities or to deny their capabilities to other nations. 3. A member of my staff first stated my policy to Lt. Colonel Hagood of your Exploitation Branch, in a letter, subject, "Screening of German Scientists to Determine those to be Denied to any Potential Enemy nation for Exploitation", dated 5 June, 1946. This letter was in response to a memorandum from your office, same subject, dated 20 May 1946 and inclosed a list of German and Austrian scientists whose denial to a potential enemy would in our opinion, be desirable. 4. In the cited letter it was stated that the Manhattan Project does not desire to utilize the services of foreign scientists in the United States, either directly with the Project or with any affiliated organization. This has been consistently been my views. I should like to make it clear, however, that I see no objection to bringing to the United States such carefully screened physicists as would contribute materially to the Welfare of the United States and would remain permanently in the United States as naturalized citizens. 5. I strongly recommend against foreign physicists coming in contact with our atomic energy program in any way. If they are allowed to see or discuss the work of the Project the security of our information would get out of control. 6. Aside from my concern for the security of the Manhattan Project as outlined in paragraph 5, I do not feel that I should be concerned with policies effecting the exploitation of foreign scientists. CERTIFIED TRUE COPY:FILE DIST: 383.7 MONTIE F. CONEL.R. GROVES Lt. Colonel, Inf.Major General, U.S.A. 3156