Settling In

Abstract

The British code name for the recording of the ten German scientists at Farm Hall was “Operation Epsilon.” Until the group arrived in England on July 3, 1945, they were not being recorded. Hence the cover memorandum or “Preamble” to headquarters covering this period has a narrative character. It deals with the two months from May 1 to June 30, 1945, and describes the complications of getting “the professors,” as they are called, although not all were professors, from the Continent to Farm Hall. We have already given some of this history in the Introduction and Prologue, but it is interesting to see how it appeared to the Allied administrators involved at the time. The “I” in the narrative is Major T. H. Rittner, the officer in charge. The tone is very much his. It is not clear if it had been explained to him who these Germans really were and why they were significant. There is no indication that he knew of the atomic bomb project—either that of the Allies or the Germans. His comments show a mixture of frustration and bemusement.*