Evening star., 1950-05-10
0ppenheimer Denies
Communist Link, Says
He Renounced Leftists
Continued From First Page0

(COnCnueo from f1rSL fage.1
changed to full support for the
war effort after Germany at
tackled the Soviet Union.
Mrs. Crouch said:
"The two persons I positively
identified as being present at the
special section meeting Of the
Communist Party were DR.. Joseph
Weinberg and j. Robert Open
heimer."
Identified Through Photograph.
She said she identified DR.. OPP
penheimer through a photograph
and DR.. Weinberg personally after
seeing him later at a Washington
hearing.
DR.. Weinberg. now assistant
professor of physics at the Uni
versity of Minnesota, had no COM
ment last night on her testimony.
i. Like DR.. Oppenheimer. he was in
the University Of California
physics department at the time.
Last year, he was named by the
House Committee on Un-Ameri-
can Activities as the Scientist
K" accused of giving away i'm
portant scientific information in
1943 to q Communist Party off,
cial. DR.. Weinberg denied that
accusation.
Issues Statement.
In his statement last night is
sued through the Atomic Energy
Commission, DR.. Oppenheimer
said:
II learned this evening Of testi-
mony concerning me, given by
Mrs. Paul Crouch, said to be a
former Communist, and wife Of a
former Communist official, in an
appearance before the Un-Ameri-
can Activities Committee of the
California Senate.
'I have not yet seen the details
Of the testimony, but understand
its general import is to the affect
that a group Of people assembled
with Mr.. and Mrs. Crouch at my
house in Berkeley, Calf, in mid
July, 1941. for a closed Communist
meeting. The implications of such
testimony are obvious, and I
should like to comment at once.
II have never been a member
Of the Communist Party. never
assembled any such group of peo-
pie for any such purpose in my
home or anywhere else. am un-
able to recall any gathering in my
house that could reasonably have
been mistaken for such a meet
ing. Neither the name Crouch
nor the accounts of Mr.. and Mrs.
Crouch recall to me any one ]
have ever known.
'I think I should add a further
comment. I have made no secret
of the fact that I once knew many
people in left-wing circles and be-
longed to several left-wing organ
izations.
1.-THE Government has known
in detail of these matters since
first started work. on the atomic
bomb project. These matters also
came up in a story about me in
Time magazine some Is months
ago in which an interview with
me was reported in part as fol-
lows:
go. Until 1886, Oppenheimer
had never even voted; he was
certainly one of the most un-
political people in the world But
in the depression he watched
young, finely trained physicists
cracking up because they were
unemployed; he also heard about
relatives forced to leave Nazi Ger
many.
"'SayS Oppenheimer: I woke
up to a recognition that politics
was part of life. I became a
real left winger. joined the Teach
ers' Union. had lots Of Commu-
mist friends. 1t was what most
people do in college or late high
school =. Most of what I be-
lieved then now seems complete
nonsense.
DR.. Oppenheimer has probably
had more to do with the atomic
bomb than any other scientist.
He directed the Los Alamos lab
ratory that produced the first
bomb. At California. he was in
the forefront of research proceed
ing actual attempts to make the
bomb. AS present chairman of
the Acc Advisory Committee. he
is in a position to know top Sc
crets and to WELD a powerful in
fiuence in shaping policy.