The Beginning or the End (1947) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The United States pursued the atomic bomb primarily to gain a decisive military advantage over Axis powers, particularly Germany, which was also conducting nuclear research. Fearing Germany might develop the weapon first, President Roosevelt authorized up to two billion dollars for the Manhattan Project. The film depicts how the scientific breakthrough represented both a race against the enemy and a means to potentially end the war in the Pacific.

Foreshadowing: The newsreel opening establishes atomic energy as a discovery with the power to reshape history, setting up the urgency that drives the entire project.

• Manhattan Project
• World War II
• atomic bomb
• Roosevelt
• nuclear research

The film depicts the first controlled nuclear chain reaction occurring in December 1942 beneath the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. Scientists, including Dr. Enrico Fermi, achieved a self-sustaining reaction by creating a critical mass of uranium that produced controlled fission. This moment proved the scientific concept behind the atomic bomb was feasible and validated years of theoretical work.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes established Oppenheimer's theoretical breakthrough and the urgent race against Germany's potential progress.

• Enrico Fermi
• Chicago
• nuclear chain reaction
• uranium
• fission

The film depicts President Truman authorizing the bomb's use against Japan in July 1945 following stiff Pacific resistance. The bombing occurred on August 6, 1945, with the goal of forcing Japan's surrender and ending the war without a costly invasion. The decision represented the convergence of military strategy, wartime urgency, and the belief that the weapon's destructive power would compel Japan to capitulate.

Foreshadowing: The escalating Pacific front and the massive casualties from conventional warfare set the stage for this consequential decision.

• Hiroshima
• Truman
• Japan
• Enola Gay
• atomic bombing

Matt Cochran, a scientist working on the Manhattan Project, dies after being exposed to radioactive material during the bomb's final preparation on Tinian Island in August 1945. His death occurs just before the bomb is loaded onto the Enola Gay, personalizing the human cost of the scientific endeavor. Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nixon later returns home to inform Cochran's wife of his tragic death.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes showed Cochran working closely with Nixon on assembling the device, building the personal connection that makes his death emotionally significant.

• Matt Cochran
• radiation
• Tinian
• death
• scientist

The film presents scientists grappling with the profound ethical implications of their work. Oppenheimer notably expresses both reverence for the scientific breakthrough and warning about its dangers. The tension between scientific curiosity, wartime patriotism, and awareness of the bomb's devastating potential creates an undercurrent of moral conflict throughout the narrative. Scientists had to reconcile their pursuit of knowledge with the knowledge that their creation could cause mass civilian casualties.

Foreshadowing: Oppenheimer's opening speech sets up this central tension between scientific achievement and potential catastrophe.

• Oppenheimer
• moral dilemma
• scientists
• ethics
• conscience

General Leslie Groves was appointed to unify scientists, industrial partners, and the military into a single coordinated effort. The film depicts him consolidating the project across multiple communities, overcoming bureaucratic obstacles, and maintaining momentum toward weapon production. His leadership represented the intersection of military oversight and scientific research, enabling the rapid development that culminated in the weapon's deployment.

Foreshadowing: Nixon's assignment to Groves early in the film establishes the military chain of command that drives the project forward.

• General Groves
• military
• leadership
• Manhattan Project coordination

After Roosevelt's death in 1945, President Harry S. Truman assumed oversight of the Manhattan Project and authorized the use of the atomic bomb against Japan. The film shows Truman continuing the project's support and making the final decision to deploy the weapon. This shift in leadership marked the transition from development to combat use, with Truman bearing responsibility for the most consequential military decision of the war.

Foreshadowing: Roosevelt's authorization of funding and the project's momentum carry through to Truman's assumption of command.

• Truman
• Roosevelt
• presidential decision
• wartime leadership

The film depicts Albert Einstein assisting in briefing President Roosevelt about the nuclear discovery and its potential military applications. While Einstein's theoretical work underpinned the science, the film shows him in an advisory capacity rather than as a direct participant in the weapon's development. His involvement underscores the gravity of the discovery and helps frame the scientific breakthrough for political leadership.

Foreshadowing: Einstein's briefing connects the theoretical physics community to the wartime urgency driving the project.

• Einstein
• briefing
• physics
• theoretical science

The film depicts a complex partnership between scientists seeking to understand atomic energy and military leaders focused on weaponizing it. Characters like Cochran and Nixon bridge both worlds, with scientists conducting research while military personnel handle logistics, security, and deployment. This collaboration was essential to the project's success but also created tensions between pure scientific inquiry and the urgent demands of wartime weaponry.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes showing Fermi and Cochran working alongside military officers establish this cooperative yet sometimes tense dynamic.

• scientists
• military
• collaboration
• Manhattan Project
• nuclear research

The opening newsreel sequence presents a California time capsule sealed in 1947 and destined to be opened in 2446, containing the atomic bomb as a symbol of the era's technological power. This framing device establishes the documentary-style approach and positions the entire narrative as a historical reckoning. The time capsule serves as a metaphor for the lasting consequences of nuclear technology and the questions humanity must eventually answer about its use of atomic power.

• time capsule
• California
• documentary
• historical framing