GBH Openvault

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Zero Hour; Reforger: Inspecting NATO Troops

Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.

07/01/1976

Haig inspects NATO troops before Reforger exercise.


License Clip
Series
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Program
Zero Hour
Program Number

110

Title

Reforger: Inspecting NATO Troops

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

President Reagan and Soviet Secretary Gorbachev sign the INF Agreement to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons from Europe. No one had expected the European Missile Crisis to end this way.

The story begins in 1979, when the Western Allies were worried about the Soviet Union’s buildup of SS-20 nuclear missiles aimed at Western Europe. Under pressure from the Carter Administration, NATO issued a threat, if the SS-20s were not removed, NATO would install new American missiles in Europe. The threat revived the dormant anti-nuclear movement in Western Europe, giving them an anti-American tone. In 1981, President Reagan made a proposal that the US would cancel deployment of the missiles if the Soviet Union would dismantle all the intermediate range missiles it had pointed at Europe. This was the “zero-zero” option. The Soviet Union was entering a period of change with three leaders dying in three years. In 1986 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev offered to accept the “zero-zero” option and in 1987 the INF agreement was signed.

Duration

00:00:43

Asset Type

Stock footage

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Military weapons
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Genres
Documentary
Topics
War and Conflict
Global Affairs
Science
History
Rights Summary

In perpetuity ; Public Domain Rights Holder: NAFB

Citation
Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Zero Hour; Reforger: Inspecting NATO Troops,” 07/01/1976, GBH Archives, accessed March 28, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BF1BCBF2F1FB4E58AA82C52322B8535D.
MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Zero Hour; Reforger: Inspecting NATO Troops.” 07/01/1976. GBH Archives. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BF1BCBF2F1FB4E58AA82C52322B8535D>.
APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Zero Hour; Reforger: Inspecting NATO Troops. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BF1BCBF2F1FB4E58AA82C52322B8535D
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