GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Europe Goes Nuclear; Interview with Jean Daniel, 1986
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
03/25/1986
Jean Daniel is a French journalist and founder of Le Nouvel Observateur. In the interview he mainly recalls the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, from the vantage point of his meetings with President Kennedy and Fidel Castro in October 1963. Kennedy admitted to him his sense of guilt at American colonial attitudes toward Cuba under Batista and its subsequent failure to communicate to the Cuban population its approval of their revolution (i.e. their release from Battista, not the Communist character of the uprising). He recounts Kennedys request that he convey two points to Fidel Castro, whom Mr. Daniel was about to interview: that he was not worried about Castros Communism, only his alliance with the USSR; and that he wanted to know whether Cuba might be willing to enter into a new settlement with the United States. Mr. Daniel goes on to relate Castros comments in response, but notes that he refused to talk about aspects of the crisis. Castros remarks indicated that his feelings were not entirely negative toward Kennedy. Mr. Daniel was with the Cuban leader when he heard the news about Kennedys assassination, pronouncing it very bad news. In Mr. Daniels view, the assassination frightened Castro into radicalizing his attitude. He relates the lessons the two leaders learned from the crisis.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Europe Goes Nuclear
- Program Number
104
- Title
Interview with Jean Daniel, 1986
- 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
France and England rush to acquire their own nuclear weapons, NATO worries about the threat from the East, and Europe becomes the most nuclear-saturated place on Earth.
British and American scientists worked side by side to build the first nuclear bombs. “There was a strong desire on the British side for that collaboration to continue into peacetime. There was no such desire on the part of the United States,” recalls British diplomat Roger Makins, Lord Sherfield. Britain decided to proceed on its own and in 1952 joined the US and the Soviets in what pundits would call “the nuclear club.” General Charles De Gaulle, president of France, wanted to join the club, too, and not rely on the US for nuclear protection. Prestige was also an issue. In 1960, France exploded its first atomic weapon. Since World War II the Soviet Union had had a superiority in conventional forces in Europe. NATO countered by deploying thousands of nuclear weapons. “They were accepted as being perfectly reasonable weapons to use in a tactical battle in continental Europe,” said Sir Richard Powell of the British Defense Ministry.
- Duration
00:54:21
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Soviet Union
- Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
- United States
- Cuba
- International relations
- Journalists
- Bradlee, Benjamin C.
- United States. Central Intelligence Agency
- Castro, Fidel, 1926-
- Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
- Cuba -- History -- Invasion, 1961
- Communism
- Batista y Zaldivar, Fulgencio, 1901-1973
- Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
- Nuclear weapons
- Szulc, Tad
- Locations
- Paris, France
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Global Affairs
- War and Conflict
- Science
- History
- Contributors
- Daniel, Jean, 1920- (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Europe Goes Nuclear; Interview with Jean Daniel, 1986,” 03/25/1986, GBH Archives, accessed April 16, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_AD5E116E1049423592E4B2E6FCAB92C5.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Europe Goes Nuclear; Interview with Jean Daniel, 1986.” 03/25/1986. GBH Archives. Web. April 16, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_AD5E116E1049423592E4B2E6FCAB92C5>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Europe Goes Nuclear; Interview with Jean Daniel, 1986. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_AD5E116E1049423592E4B2E6FCAB92C5