All language subtitles for Butterfly.Effect.S01E10_English

- [Narrator] Our
history is no more than

a series of incredible events.

Each one of us can
influence its course.

The tiniest of our decisions

can influence the
future of mankind.

To know the past is to
anticipate the future.

April, 1939.

At the dawn of the
second world war,

Nazi Germany launches the
secret uranium project.

August 2, 1939.

Albert Einstein,
renowned physicist,

signs a letter to the
president of the United
States.

August 6, 1945.

An American B-29 bomber
drops an atomic bomb

on the city of Hiroshima.

These three intimately
connected events

are the key moments of
the Manhattan Project

and will lead to the end
of the second World War.

(dramatic music)

Germany, February 28, 1933.

The Reichstag, seat of
the German parliament.

(liquid splattering)

In the middle of the night,

men break into the building
and start a devastating fire.

Recently appointed
chancellor, Adolf Hitler,

immediately accuses the
Communists and bans their
party.

This is the age of
financial crises,

of Nazi Germany, and
the second World War.

Inexorably, the
Nazis take over power

and impose their
racist ideology.

According to them, Germany
belongs to the Aryans,

the people they
define as a pure race.

The rest are stripped
of their basic freedoms.

Persecutions follow.

Those with the resources
flee the country

for more welcoming shores.

Among them are many
intellectuals, artists,
and scientists,

and also nuclear physicists.

At the time, German science
is the global benchmark.

Between 1901 and 1933,

23 Nobel Prizes are
awarded to German citizens.

However, seven of them
will flee the Reich

because of political
and ethnic cleansing.

And so, Nazi ideology
deprives Germany

of some great physicists,
especially Albert Einstein,

who goes into exile in
the United States in 1933.

In 1938, things escalate.

Hitler annexes the Sudetenland,

a territory with many Germans,

but also with the largest
uranium mine in Europe.

Hitler doesn't stop there,

and the following year he
invades Bohemia and Moravia.

These conquests deliver
the entire uranium reserves

stocked in Prague.

The armies of the Reich

are determined to conquer
the whole of Europe.

To stop Hitler, the
United Kingdom and France

declare war on Germany.

It's the start of
the second World War.

- [Narrator] Welcome to
the memory of humanity.

Here we can control time,

analyze and compare
billions of events

and alter them to rewrite
history endlessly.

(dramatic music)

For example, let's
imagine that Nazi Germany

had succeeded in
building one, or several,

nuclear weapons in 1943.

Its use would certainly
have been psychological.

Cities would have been
the priority targets.

Stalingrad, the Russian city,

and symbol of Germany's
first major defeat,

would have been the first
to be wiped off the map.

Then Moscow, and finally London.

We can even imagine a
modified U-boat submarine

surfacing in New York
Harbor with a nuke on board.

The world would have
been left stunned

by the power of the Reich.

Not knowing the number of
bombs at the Nazi's disposal,

a ceasefire would've
been signed immediately.

Germany would've won the war.

The world would then have
toppled into a cold war

between the two great powers,

the United States
and the Third Reich.

Our world would be
tragically different.

Let's take a look at
the course of events.

- [Narrator] The second
World War is a total war.

On all fronts, between all
peoples, with all weapons.

Each camp relies on ingenuity
to destroy its adversaries.

Each camp fears the enemy will
discover the ultimate weapon.

The Allies know that
Germany is conducting

a secret program to
build the nuclear bomb,

the Uran Project.

When they invade Norway,

the Nazis got their hands on

the only European plant capable
of producing heavy water,

indispensable for the
production of the bomb.

The scientists who fled Germany

are convinced that the
Nazis are near their goal.

The United Kingdom is also
conducting an atomic program,

but its resources
are monopolized by

the defense of it's own coasts.

If the Nazis get the
bomb before the Allies,

the fate of the world is sealed.

The results of the
English research

are sent to the United States,

the only country capable
of rivaling Germany

financially and industrially.

However, on the other
side of the Atlantic,

the priority is
to remain neutral,

far away from the conflict.

They are not interested in a
bomb with a hypothetical power.

They prefer conventional
weapons that are real.

On August 2, 1939, Einstein,
world-renowned physicist,

signs a letter addressed
to the President

of the United States,
Franklin Roosevelt.

Einstein is a
confirmed pacifist,

but for him, nuclear
technology must not fall

into the wrong
hands at any price.

So, he rings the alarm bell

to force the United
States to react.

In his letter, Einstein
explains to Roosevelt

that scientists are
within a hair's breadth

of knowing how to
build a nuclear bomb.

He adds that Germany is well
placed to get there first.

Roosevelt at once
decided to create

a committee on uranium.

History had just
taken a major turn.

- [Narrator] We have just
reached a turning point.

A turning point is a key event,

a crossroads in our history,

where the world swings
one way or the other.

Einstein has just alerted
President Roosevelt

to the danger posed
by the atomic bomb

if it falls into
the wrong hands.

At once, Roosevelt creates
a committee on uranium.

What would've happened

if Einstein had not
signed that letter?

We can suppose that the program

would still have been conducted,

but not with the same
energy or the same sources.

It would've been just
one program among others.

When the end of the war came,

the United States
would've been a long way

from possessing a working bomb.

The enormous costs,
justified in time of war,

are no longer so
in time of peace.

Congress would certainly have
dropped the military program

to pursue the civil nuclear.

As for the Soviet Union,

it would probably have
recovered all the Nazi
research

and material left
by the Americans

and carried out it's
own secret program.

In the 1960s, to
general surprise,

the Russians would have
carried out a nuclear test

by exploding the first
atomic bomb in history.

The United States
could only calculate

how far they were behind.

The United States, up
til then a super power,

would wake up to a world
dominated by the Soviet Union.

- [Narrator] This
December morning in 1941

brings a harsh wake up call to
the American Pacific forces.

(air raid siren blaring)

(bombs exploding)

With the surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor,

the Japanese Empire
has just declared war

on the United States.

The conflict becomes
a planetary one.

In the United States,
the Committee on Uranium

created by Roosevelt,
gradually turns into a

top secret nuclear
physics research program

and then a real
industrial program.

They now call it the
Manhattan Project.

General Leslie Groves,
appointed head of the program,

has access to virtually
unlimited funds.

He recruits a
brilliant scientist

to the post of
Scientific Director,

Robert Oppenheimer.

Their mission, develop an
operational atomic bomb

before the Nazis.

The race is on.

Groves quickly realizes that
this is an industrial task

on a vast scale.

They have to build
plants from scratch,

recruit a large work force,

and employ experienced managers.

Spread out over secret
locations
throughout the country,

the Manhattan Project's 32 sites

are soon running at full speed.

At Oak Ridge, on a
base eight miles wide

by 17 miles long,
they produce uranium,

the explosive material
of the first bomb.

At Hanford, which then becomes

the third largest city in
the state of Washington,

they manufacture plutonium
for the second bomb.

On the highly protected
base of Los Alamos,

in the middle of the desert,

a high-tech laboratory
builds the actual bombs.

With a budget almost equivalent
to $26 billion today,

the Manhattan Project
is incontestably

one of the biggest programs
of the second World War.

130,000 people are
mobilized, supervised,

and guarded in secrecy.

The work is highly
compartmentalized.

Few people know the final
aim of the operation.

Everything is done to ensure

the objective is
achieved on time.

However, on May 8th, 1945,

after fierce resistance,
Germany abandons the fight.

But the program is not halted.

On the contrary, because
Japan is still there.

Groves orders his teams
to push the nuclear plants

to the maximum, to the
limits of safety standards.

Even though Japan has
virtually no chance

of developing a nuclear weapon,

building the bombs is
an absolute priority.

July 16, 1945,

5:29.

The Trinity Test, the first
nuclear explosion in history.

With the power equivalent
to 20,000 tons of TNT,

it was heard up
to 200 miles away.

The United States becomes
the first nuclear power.

- [Narrator] The atom.

So small, so harmless.

And yet, some have
a special capacity.

They can split in two.

This is what is known
as nuclear fission.

When bombarded by neutrons,
these atoms split.

They then release an
enormous amount of energy,

and more importantly, neutrons,

which go on to split more atoms.

This is a chain reaction.

When the atoms are
sufficiently numerous

and close to one another,

the chain reaction doesn't stop,

it becomes an explosion.

Certain atoms are particularly
suited for this process;

uranium and plutonium.

The Manhattan Project
produces two types of bomb

in parallel.

Little Boy is an atomic
bomb three meters high

with a payload of uranium.

Fat Man, the more
powerful of the two,

is equipped with plutonium.

Developed later, during the 50s,

H bombs, or thermonuclear bombs,

don't rely upon fission,
but upon nuclear fusion.

They are horrifically
more powerful.

The first atomic bomb
was equivalent to
20,000 tons of TNT.

In 1961, the Russians test
the Tsar thermonuclear bomb.

Equivalent to 57
million tons of TNT.

- [Narrator] The atom bomb
is a devastating weapon.

It was built to reverse
the course of the war.

But in August, 1945, Germany
has already surrendered

and Japan is in constant retreat

before the power of
the United States.

The war is won.

It is now only a
question of time.

American factories have
turned out aircraft carriers

by the dozen, planes
by the thousands.

Like Germany before
the Soviet steamroller,

Japan can no longer
reverse the situation.

And yet the Japanese
are determined to fight

to the last man.

Marines confront fanatical
Japanese soldiers.

The tiniest atoll is won
at a very heavy cost.

The Emperor's soldiers
prefer death to surrender.

Kamikaze pilots deliberately
fly into enemy ships.

Each inch of ground is defended.

At the beginning of 1945,

American naval forces
are close enough

to the Japanese coast to
begin a systematic bombardment

of cities and industries.

The invasion of the
archipelago's main islands

is planned but the
operation is risky.

The Japanese Army still
numbers nearly 2,300,000 men.

This final battle would
exact an enormous toll

in human life on both sides

and neither side wants
another year of war.

They want to finish it.

The idea is to break
Japan's will to resist.

To strike it psychologically,

to force it to surrender.

The atomic weapon appears
like a ready-made solution.

Truman has replaced
Roosevelt as president.

He has several options.

Drop one of the two
bombs on a desert region

to show Japan its power, or

strike a Japanese city
following an ultimatum.

Neither solution is adopted.

The United States only
possesses two bombs.

There can be no
question of wasting one,

and you don't spend
billions of dollars

to blow up a desert.

On July 24, Truman
signs the order

to carry out nuclear raids.

Only July 26, Japan receives

the final ultimatum
to surrender.

But the Japanese hesitate.

On the one hand, the
Americans are imposing

unconditional surrender on
them, an unacceptable
solution.

On the other hand, the
Soviets may allow them

to salvage their honor.

They need to buy more time.

Their hesitation is
interpreted by the Americans

as a refusal.

The United States will
now be able to demonstrate

their brand new
power to the world.

- [Narrator] Death
comes from the sky.

Little Boy weighs 4 1/2 tons.

It requires a heavy
bomber to carry it.

The B-29 appointed
for the mission

has been named Enola Gay.

For safety reasons,
the 16-kiloton bomb

is armed in flight.

The plane must not descend below
an altitude of 30,000 feet.

At 8:15 a.m. and 17 seconds,

the bomb is dropped
over Hiroshima

and its 350,000 inhabitants.

The fall lasts 43 seconds.

During this time, the bomber
must get eight miles away

if it is to survive.

At 2,000 feet above the ground,

Little Boy's pressure sensors

trigger the
conventional explosives

that create the
nuclear chain reaction.

A giant flash blinds
anyone looking at it

without protection.

Everything within a radius
of two miles disintegrates.

At the epicenter, the
temperature reaches

11,000 degrees Fahrenheit,

destroying everything around it.

Just after the explosion,
the heat dilates the air,

causing over pressure and
an enormous blast effect

that spreads at
500 miles per hour.

Air pressure at the center
collapses in an instant.

The rush of air reverses.

The mushroom, sucking
in dust and debris,

begins to rise and reaches
a height of 50,000 feet.

It is laden with
highly radioactive dust

that falls as a black
rain on the survivors.

70,000 people die in one second.

During the months that follow,

the number of deaths
will rise to 140,000.

The city is wiped off the map.

- [Narrator]
Hiroshima is no more.

Japan still doesn't surrender.

Three days later,

the second nuclear bomb
if dropped on Nagasaki.

American calculations
were correct.

Killing more than 100,000
civilians with just two bombs

intimidates Japan sufficiently

for it to resolve to
accept the inevitable.

On August 15, 1945,
the Empire surrenders

to the Americans.

(dramatic music)

The second World War is over.

Together the Allies
have succeeded in

overcoming their enemies.

But the apparent cohesion
conceals growing dissension.

The Soviet Union and
the United States

have become too ideologically
opposed super powers.

Even before the end of the war,

frictions are clearly visible.

During the conflict,
the Allies realize

the major importance
of scientific research.

From 1943, Russian secret
services had been obtaining

precious information on
the Manhattan Project,

which drove Stalin to launch
his own nuclear program.

With Germany defeated,
the Allies fight over

the remains of
German Uran Project.

The Alsos Mission
is a special branch

of the Manhattan Project.

It's objective is to
recover what they can

before the Soviets
reach Germany.

Conducted in the form
of commando raids,

the Alsos Mission made
it possible to recover

secret documents,
valuable equipment,

and above all, many
German scientists.

Study of this information
will show that

the Nazis were, in fact,
not very far advanced

compared to the
Manhattan Project.

They would not have been able
to produce nuclear weapons

for several years.

However, this was
the main reason

that drove the United States
to develop the atomic bomb.

Einstein will never
forgive himself

for having contributed to
the creation of this weapon.

In 1955, at the age of
76, he will confess,

"I made one great
mistake in my life,

"when I signed that letter."

Several years later,
hugely assisted by

the dismantling of
German installations

and the nuclear spy network.

The Soviet Union will
carry out its first test.

Since then, eight
other countries

have acquired atomic weapons.

Formally allies, the United
States and the Soviet Union

will enter a race
to nuclear armament.

It's the start of the Cold War.

But that is another story.

- [Narrator] Total war.

During its Civil War, the
United
States applied the concept

of waging war by every means.

The method doesn't
matter, but you must win.

During the second World War,

this principle is widely
applied by both camps,

right up until the
final hours of the war.

In Germany, for example, the
cities of Dresden and Hamburg

are destroyed by
massive Allied bombing.

70,000 people die, burned
by incendiary bombs

dropped night and day
by thousands of bombers.

In Japan, Tokyo is literally
peppered with bombs.

There are 100,000 dead.

Legally, this is
not yet a war crime.

We must wait until 1949 and
the Fourth Geneva Convention

for civilians to be protected
by law in times of war.

It's difficult to know what
the Nazis would have been

capable of if they
had had the bomb.

Fortunately, Hitler's
fanaticism brought about

his own destruction.

But in the end, history has
taught an important lesson.

No matter in whose
hands they may be,

these weapons of
mass destruction are
terribly dangerous

and must be controlled.

Einstein did not want Hiroshima.

He simply hoped to prevent
a terrible apocalypse.

And sure enough,
humanity is still here.