GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Weapon of Choice, The; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [2]
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
03/10/1986
For nearly half a century, Paul Nitze was one of the chief architects of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union. From 1950 to 1953, Nitze served as director of the State Department's Policy Planning staff, and from 1961 to 1963 he was assistant defense secretary. As his interview reveals, Nitze held key positions during the period after World War II when the United States emerged as a superpower and Cold War strategic policies were being debated and defined. His classified 1950 report, National Security Memorandum 68, remains a seminal document: it was initially designed to persuade President Harry S. Truman that an increasingly menacing world required major increases in spending on defense and foreign military assistance. He describes the American involvement in the Korean War and Berlin Blockade.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Weapon of Choice, The
- Program Number
102
- Title
Interview with Paul Nitze, 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
The United States and the Soviet Union, former allies, become adversaries in a “Cold War,” and nuclear weapons become the weapon of choice for both sides.
From 1947 to 1953 the threat to use nuclear weapons became the principal currency of conflict. During the Korean War, Texas Congressman J. Frank Wilson said, “We are dealing with mad dogs ... we must treat them accordingly. I urge the atomic bomb be used if it can be used efficiently.” Against this background, President Harry Truman made crucial decisions that affected the history of the Nuclear Age. The United states deployed the B-36, a huge intercontinental bomber. It started mass production of atomic bombs. In 1952, the US exploded the first hydrogen bomb, a quantum leap in destructive force. Less than a year later, the Soviet Union exploded its own hydrogen bomb.
- Duration
00:16:32
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Nagasaki-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
- Johnson, Louis Arthur, 1891-1966
- Lilienthal, David Eli, 1899-1981
- Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
- Japan
- Nuclear weapons
- Korean War, 1950-1953
- World War II
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
- Hydrogen bomb
- United States
- United States. Dept. of Defense
- Teller, Edward, 1908-2003
- United States. Dept. of State
- MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964
- China
- Attlee, C. R. (Clement Richard), 1883-1967
- Clay, Lucius D. (Lucius DuBignon), 1897-1978
- Soviet Union
- Locations
- Washington, DC
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- War and Conflict
- History
- Science
- Global Affairs
- Contributors
- Nitze, Paul H. (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Weapon of Choice, The; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [2],” 03/10/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 18, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_1FE63FB1ACF942A78F432D21D0B05EFB.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Weapon of Choice, The; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [2].” 03/10/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 18, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_1FE63FB1ACF942A78F432D21D0B05EFB>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Weapon of Choice, The; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [2]. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_1FE63FB1ACF942A78F432D21D0B05EFB