GBH Openvault

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2]

Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.

11/07/1986

Frank Roberts was with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office starting in the late 1930s, and served as Ambassador to the USSR from 1960-1962. In this interview, he reviews Ernest Bevin's role and goals in getting the United States involved in the defense of Europe, as well as other events that contributed to the end result. Of particular importance were the fears generated by the Korean War. He recounts Churchill's desire to be the "best man" in bringing Germany and France to the "altar" and end centuries of enmity. Mr. Roberts then crisscrosses between nuclear issues and the broader subject of European defense and the politics underlying it. Europeans, in his opinion, did not begrudge Britain its possession of the atomic bomb but were much less pleased with its possible military withdrawal from the continent. He delves into the German question, describing British and Soviet (especially Khrushchev's) attitudes toward Germany, then describes British views of their close relationship with the U.S. France was always something of a challenge as a partner, as he retells the experience, particularly at times when de Gaulle would propose ideas such as the triple entente, which left Mr. Roberts and his colleagues "rather horrified."

Series

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age

Program

Education of Robert McNamara, The

Program Number

106

Title

Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2]

Series Description

The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.

In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989

Program Description

In the 1960’s Secretary of Defense Robert Mcnamara confronts the possibility of nuclear war and changes his views on questions of strategy and survival.

McNamara was Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1968. By the 1960’s the Soviets’ increased nuclear capabilities raised disturbing questions. What would the United States do if attacked? American strategy had been “massive retaliation.” But, as McNamara explains, it became increasingly apparent to the Soviets that the US was unlikely to respond. If the United States did launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, the remaining Soviet forces would destroy the US. McNamara’s Defense Department developed a new strategy. “Flexible response” was based on a “ladder of escalation” from conventional to nuclear options. But by 1967, McNamara, who tried to create rules for limited nuclear war, concluded, “The blunt fact is that neither... can attack the other without being destroyed in retaliation. And it is precisely this ... that provides us both with the strongest possible motives to avoid a nuclear war.”

Duration

00:54:31

Asset Type

Raw video

Media Type

Video

Subjects

Capitalism

Tactical nuclear weapons

Eden, Anthony, Earl of Avon, 1897-1977

Nuclear weapons

Adenauer, Konrad, 1876-1967

Korean War, 1950-1953

Communism

Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965

Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970

Great Britain

Strauss, Franz Josef, 1915-1988

United States

Germany

Bevin, Ernest, 1881-1951

Canada

Mendes France, Pierre, 1907-1982

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Edicia Sputnik

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971

Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953

Soviet Union

International relations

France

Genres

Documentary

Topics

War and Conflict

History

Science

Global Affairs

Contributors

Roberts, Frank, Sir, 1907- (Interviewee)

Publication Information

WGBH Educational Foundation

Citation

Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2],” 11/07/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 24, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_D6D4FFF6E17A4A3CA769CDC432CB2862.

MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2].” 11/07/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 24, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_D6D4FFF6E17A4A3CA769CDC432CB2862>.

APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Frank Roberts, 1986 [2]. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_D6D4FFF6E17A4A3CA769CDC432CB2862