In August 1939, Szilard, Teller and Wigner thought that the Germans might make use of the fission chain reaction and were spurred to attempt to attract the attention of the United States government to the issue. Towards this, they persuaded Albert Einstein to lend his name to a letter directed to President Franklin Roosevelt. On 11 October, the Einstein–Szilárd letter was delivered via Alexander Sachs. Roosevelt quickly understood the implications, stating, "Alex, what you are after is to see that the Nazis don't blow us up." Roosevelt ordered the formation of the Advisory Committee on Uranium.