GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Valentin Berezhkov, 1986 [2]
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
03/27/1986
Valentin Berezhkov was Stalin's interpreter at conferences with Roosevelt and Churchill during World War II. In this brief second interview, he summaries some of his own and the Soviet leader's reactions to key moments during the war including Germany's declaration of intent to confront the USSR; the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences; Churchill's October 1944 meetings with Stalin; and Stalin's discussion with other Soviet officials immediately following Truman's revelation of the existence of a new, powerful weapon. He also recalls the atmosphere on Victory Day in Moscow.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Dawn
- Program Number
101
- Title
Interview with Valentin Berezhkov, 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
Amid the violence, fear and desperation of World War II, nuclear weapons are created and used for the first time.
“Dawn” traces the development of the first atomic bomb, from 1932 with the ominous rumblings that led to World War II and the ground-breaking scientific experiments that led to the bomb. Atomic physicist Victor Weisskopf explains, “we did not think at all that this business would have any direct connection with politics, or with humanity.” The frantic rush by American scientists who feared the Nazis were ahead of them and the first nuclear explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945 are described by eyewitnesses. Physicist Philip Morrison was ten miles away from the blast and will never forget the heat on his face. “Dawn” concludes with the failure of the first attempts to reach agreement on international control of atomic weapons after the war.
- Duration
00:18:51
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
- Yalta Conference (1945)
- Kurchatov, I. V. (Igor¿ Vasil¿evich), 1903-1960
- Potsdam Conference (1945 : Potsdam, Germany)
- Zhukov, Georgii Konstantinovich, 1896-1974
- Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950
- Germany
- Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- Great Britain
- World War II
- Nuclear weapons
- Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953
- Teheran Conference (1943)
- Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich, 1890-1986
- United States
- Soviet Union
- International relations
- Attlee, C. R. (Clement Richard), 1883-1967
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- History
- War and Conflict
- Science
- Global Affairs
- Contributors
- Berezhkov, V. M. (Valentin Mikhailovich), 1916 (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Valentin Berezhkov, 1986 [2],” 03/27/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 26, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_2C2329221B2E450A96A8B781A3811B47.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Valentin Berezhkov, 1986 [2].” 03/27/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 26, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_2C2329221B2E450A96A8B781A3811B47>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Dawn; Interview with Valentin Berezhkov, 1986 [2]. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_2C2329221B2E450A96A8B781A3811B47