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And on his death-bed, is Alan Nunn May dictated a testament sentimental for your family and the new generations to understand their moral dilemma. The English physicist explained that it was not considered a traitor to his country for having passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union , since their only purpose was to contribute to the defeat of Hitler and to stop the advance of fascism.
Nunn May died in Cambridge in 2003 because of a lung condition. He was 91 years old and had enlisted in the ranks of the Communist Party in the mid-30’s when she participated in a doctoral seminar in the Kings College of London. It was a young and brilliant graduated in Physics that had been formed in Cambridge, where his ties with Donald Maclean , friend of Kim Philby and also spy in the service of Stalin.
at The start of World War II, the british Government he was dedicated to the secret project of development of a radar to detect aviation German. By then, he had abandoned his activism and contacts with communism british.
In 1942, he was selected along with the finest minds of Cambridge to be part of the group that had to develop a nuclear reactor and, in addition, to study the possibility of manufacturing atomic weapons. A year later, he was transferred to Ottawa (Canada) to work on the Manhattan Project , funded by the u.s. Government, whose objective was to use nuclear energy to build a bomb.
it Was at that moment when the espionage soviet came up to him and asked him for information about his work. Nunn May agreed to cooperate without any condition to change. Later, would recognize that she had been given us $ 200 and a bottle of whisky . From the beginning of 1944, the English physicist, began to spend not only documents photographed in the Manhattan Project but also samples of enriched uranium, which resulted in serious illness to those who custodiaron.
Nunn May was betrayed in September, 1945, by Igor Gouzenko , an agent of the GRU in Canada, who was in charge of encrypting transmissions. Gouzenko was changed to the opposite side, making his impunity in exchange for providing the evidence of the betrayal.
After being subjected to close surveillance, his arrest occurred in march of 1946. Fearing a trap, did not go to an appointment with your driver in the British Museum. But he was arrested soon after and put on trial. During the process, Nunn May acknowledged that he had been collaborating with the espionage, soviet, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. She was released in 1952.
The case Nunn May had a few consequences that exceed his role as a spy, since it marked the rupture of the collaboration between the united States and Great Britain to develop its nuclear program together. The FBI accused him of negligence to London and the trust was broken. After leaving the prison, the physicist tried to find a job in any british university, but soon realized that was vetoed by higher instances. For this reason, accepted an offer by the Government of Ghana as professor of Physics solid state. We also asked for the creation of a museum of science.
he Lived in that country for over two decades and returned to Cambridge at the end of the years 70. There, he resumed contacts with his companions, who had already been retired. His obsession was to clear his name and justify his loyalty to communism.
