HAVING had the privilege of watching the film Oppenheimer, it is worth remembering the pivotal role played by Scotland in hindering Hitler’s dash to producing an atomic bomb.

So-called “heavy water”, which was being explored as a key component in the development of the atomic bomb, was being produced in Norway by the Germans. Prior to Norway’s invasion, a stock of this was successfully removed by French agents from the Vermork production plant at Telemark to Oslo, and then to Perth, before ultimately arriving in France.

Between 1940 and 1943, a series of sabotage actions by the Norwegian resistance movement ensured the destruction of the plant and the loss of its heavy water. These operations – code-named Grouse, Freshman, and Gunnerside – knocked the plant out of production in early 1943.

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In the earliest mission in 1942, Operation Grouse, Norwegian commandos undertook outdoor training near Aviemore and were supposed to have liaised with British commandos who mounted the failed mission Operation Freshman, comprising military gliders which took off from near Wick.

The commandos from Operation Grouse ultimately combined with commandos as part of Operation Gunnerside, to successfully destroy the heavy water production facility in February 1943, hence living long in folklore and on screen as the Heroes of Telemark.

This raid saw the entire inventory of heavy water produced during the German occupation destroyed, and although 3,000 German soldiers were dispatched to search the area for the commandos, all successfully escaped.

Let us not just remember those, such as Oppenheimer, who played such a critical role in developing the atomic bomb, but also spare a thought for those who prevented Nazi Germany from producing it.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

THE new Oppenheimer film was released just two weeks before the 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.

When J Robert Oppenheimer learned what the atomic bomb did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he fell into a deep depression, telling Harry Truman, “I feel I have blood on my hands.”

He campaigned against using the bomb ever again, convinced it would end civilisation. The US “security” state grew so concerned about Oppenheimer’s about-face that it revoked his security clearance in 1954, ending his career.

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The world lives with 12,500 nuclear warheads in nine countries – 90% of which are held by the US and Russia. Scientists estimate that just 100 warheads are needed to destroy humanity. Politicians have ignored mass protests against their use, spending vast sums on upgrading arsenals to make the weapons even more deadly. The UK is hell-bent on spending £41 billion on Dreadnought.

Mining of uranium, the fuel for nuclear weapons and energy, has left its own deadly legacy. Just within the US, 15,000 abandoned uranium mines, mainly amongst indigenous communities, has forever poisoned the land and water and caused cancers and birth defects.

The UK has used Scotland as a dumping ground for its nuclear weapons and waste, poisoning our land and seas. The lesson Scotland has learned from Oppenheimer is that we don’t want or need nuclear weapons or power.

To end this scourge, the Scottish people must come together to escape from an entity that masquerades as a union but is in reality a colonial overlord.

Leah Gunn Barrett
Edinburgh

REGARDING the news piece about Alba general secretary Chris McEleny’s objection to a swastika displayed in Edinburgh Castle.

Firstly, I have not seen the display. Let me relate a story.

In the 1970s, while walking down Glasgow’s Union Street, I was shocked to see in a book shop I frequented a display of swastika flags advertising a book.

I went in and spoke to the manager, a young man, and told him the insignia was associated with mass atrocities. He said others had also been in and voiced their objections. It was removed that day.

READ MORE: Remove Nazi symbols from Edinburgh Castle displays, Alba say

The 1970s was a period in which the extreme right/fascist/Nazi-adherent groups were very active – the National Front was the most prominent.

The point I make is this: the displaying of Nazi insignia must be viewed in the context of why it is displayed. That’s how the Edinburgh Castle display should be considered. However, having not seen it I am unable to judge its appropriateness.

What is of more concern to me at present are the fascist elements and tendencies that are arising and becoming more open in British politics alongside the emboldened fascist groupings that are becoming more active and extensive, and who need to be consistently challenged whenever and wherever they voice their poisonous ideology.

Bobby Brennan
Glasgow