Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 8 Decades of Nuclear Terror

These historical panels, developed by the War Resisters League in 1995 and updated in 2012 and again in 2024, are used in street displays each year on the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Our apologies for the transcript, which is autogenerated by Slideshare and apparently cannot be edited, omitted, turned off or deleted.)

1. HIROSHIMA, NAGASAKI, AND
8 DECADES OF NUCLEAR TERROR

Om December 7, 1941, the Japanese cttacked Pearl Harbor, Hawai,

‘and plunging the United States into World War I.

BACKGROUND
TO W.W.Il 8:
THE ATOMIC
BOMBINGS

he Worldwide Depression
of the 1930s led to the New
Deal in the United States —but
in Germany and Italy it led to
the rise of Fascism, and in Ja-
pan, of a strongly nationalistic
militarism. This “war party”
destroyed trade unions and
3 all socialist and democratic
opposition. In 1931 Japan in-
vaded Manchuria and in 1937
they began a brutal war in

China. The 1940 Japanese at-
tack on Indochina threatened
raw materials needed by the
U.S. and the colonial interests
of France, Holland, and Great
Britain. In July 1941 Presi-
dent Roosevelt ordered a to-
tal embargo on all trade with
Japan. On December 7, 1941,
the Japanese military ordered
a surprise attack on Pearl Har-
bor, Hawaii.

2. ‘he war in the Pacific O». August 6, 1945, as Japan was already
was marked by bit- asking for the terms of surrender, the U.S.
terfighting andhigh ca- : Air Force dropped single atomic bomb on
sualties on both sides, TOKYO. KOBE YOKOHAMA P Hiroshima, destroying the city in an instant
as the U.S. fought, is- D! Three days later, after the Soviet Union had
land by island, toward entered the war against Japan, the U.S. de-

Japan. On the American stroyed Nagasaki

side there was a strong with another atomic
ee ane IPS DECLARE
age had begun and
À World War Il ended WAR ON [1 $.

soon after the war be-
gan all Japanese-Amer-

Japanese kamikaze attack onthe USS Soratoge off Iwo Jima, feb. IM a convulsion Of aura
1945. barbarism.

an
EE

icans on the West Coast
of the U.S. were rounded à
up and placed in concen- the, LS. es
tration camps. The Japa- Pe
nese, their cities destroyed by heavy American
air raids that started late in 1944, launched the
Kamikaze raids—suicide missions where Japa-
nese pilots aimed their aircraft directly at U.S.
military ships.

ing Span it

Typ f rest ares ofthe Jopoxes thet
« appeared in Wester press during Werk War I

5 5 = Note thatthe cartoon above appeared in Joy
Bevan ec Mac A 1902 ad bee 19H 184, before the Japanese tec on Peal Harbor.

3. DEVELOPING

THE BOMB

& THE

DECISION TO DROP IT

IR 1939, Albert Einstein, concerned about Germa-
Iny’swork with uranium, wrote to President Frank-
lin Roosevelt about Leo Szilard’s atomic bomb
idea. In 1941, before the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, the atomic bomb program, code named
‘The Manhattan Project, was under way. The proj-
ect employed 130,000 people in secret sites across
the country and cost $2 billion. The first atomic
explosion, called the “Trinity Test” took place in
New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The bombings of

‘On July 14, 1945, th complood bomb —
int firing position in preperation or the first dtonaien ofc nudes weapon.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place on Aug. 6 and
Aug. 9, 1945. The decision to drop the bomb was
based not on saving American lives and ending the
war, since Japan was already trying to surrender,
but on impressing the Soviet Union. Besides the
U.S. had spent all this time and money on the bomb
and wanted to test it on a city. Furthermore, the use
of the second bomb (over Nagasaki) constructed
with plutonium—would show how it was different
than the uranium one used on Hiroshima.

0.053 SEG

The fst meer explose ocre 529 an, July 16, tthe Tiny es Ste In New Mex.

ing of milter nd scientific heads of The Manhattan Project,
Gon Les Groves (bl) and Dr.) Robert Opa

4. TIS MY OPINION rHar THE USE OF THIS
BARBAROUS WEAPON AT HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
WAS OF NO MATERIAL ASSISTANCE IN OUR WAR AGAINST
Japan. THe JAPANESE WERE ALREADY DEFEATED AND
READY TO SURRENDER... MY OWN FEELING WAS THAT
IN BEING THE FIRST TO USE IT, WE HAD ADOPTED AN
ETHICAL STANDARD COMMON TO THE BARBARIANS OF THE
Dark Acts. | WAS NOT TAUGHT TO MAKE WAR IN THAT
FASHION, AND WARS CANNOT BE WON BY DESTROYING
WOMEN AND CHILDREN.”

—Apmirat Wıruam D. Leany,
Chairman, Joint CHIEFS OF STAFF

E SAID WE HAD SPENT two sition DOLLARS ON

DEVELOPING THE BOMB, AND CONGRESS WOULD WANT TO KNOW WHAT
WE HAD GOT FOR THE MONEY SPENT. He SAID, “How WOULD YOU
GET CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE MONEY FOR ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH
IF YOU DO NOT SHOW RESULTS FOR THE MONEY WHICH HAS BEEN
SPENT ALREADY?” HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIA”S POSTWAR
BEHAVIOR... RUSSIA MIGHT BE MORE MANAGEABLE IF IMPRESSED BY
AMERICAS MILITARY MIGHT, AND THAT A DEMONSTRATION OF THE

BOMB MIGHT IMPRESS Russia.”

— Leo SZILARD'S CONVERSATION
with Secretary oF State James Brenes

“WE KNEW THE WORLD WOULD NOT BE THE SAME. À FEW LAUGHED,
A FEW CRIED, Most WERE SILENT. | REMEMBERED THE LINE FROM THE
Hınou scrverure..’Now À am BECOME DEATH, THE DESIROTER OF

—Dr. J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER,
‘OW SEEING THE FIRST NUCLEAR EXPLOSION

Se ae
“1 WAS AGAINST IT ON TWO COUNTS. FIRST, THE
JAPANESE WERE READY TO SURRENDER AND IT
WASN'T NECESSARY TO HIT THEM WITH THAT AWFUL
‘THING. SECOND, Í HATED TO SEE OUR COUNTRY BE
THE FIRST TO USE SUCH A WEAPON.”

— Genera Dwiont D, Eiseunowtr

“Cuurchnu & I are ALONE. Discussed MANHATTAN (IT 15 A
success). DECIDED To TEL STAUN ABOUT IT. STALIN HAD TOLD
CHURCHILL OF TELEGRAN FROM JAP EMPEROR ASKING FOR PEACE.
SSTAUN ALSO READS HIS ANSWER TO ME. IT WAS SATISFACTORY.

Beuieve Japs witt row ur strore Russia comes 14.”

=Presipewt Haney Truman, Jur 19, 1945, um omer

5. GROUND ZERO AT

HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

Ti At Dane” of esting te ble et o was be ona mar So, whith wes of cen ond ts hn it
bing.

O: August 6, 1945, the Hiroshima bomb,
equivalent to 13 thousand tons of TNT,
killed 130,000 civilians by flash, blast, fire,
and radiation, destroying 90 percent of the
city. On August 9, the more powerful Naga-
saki bomb, equivalent to 22 thousand tons
of TNT, killed 70,000 civilians and resulted
in greater physical destruction than in Hiro-
shima. In both cities, two to three hours after
the blast, firestorms created 40-mile-per-hour
winds that lasted for six hours, Tempera-
tures climbed to 5500° F Many people near
the hypocenter were instantly cremated, oth-
ers had their clothes burned off, skin hung
peeling from bodies. Wood and fabric burst
into spontaneous flames. Steel structures and
wooden buildings were flattened, glass and
stone objects were melted and fused. Within
an hour of the bombings “black rain” (made
up of highly radioactive debris thrust up from
the ground lo mix with moisture in the ait)
fell on the city contaminating food and wa-
ter. People fleeing to the river to escape the
firestorm became countless floating corpses
Tens of thousands of Ilibakusha—survivors
of the atomic bombings—suffered radiation
poisoning, birth defects, permanent keloid
scars, increased cancer rales, psychological
traumas, and social ostracism.

6. toni Boning cal bal, bald a menor eres

7. GROUND ZERO AT
HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

QUOTES FROM SURVIVORS
THOSE WHO WATCHED THE PLANE HAD THEIR
EYE GROUNDS BURNED... THE FLASH OF LIGHT
[APPARENTLY WENT THROUGH THEIR PUPILS...EYE
GROUND BURNS ARE THIRD DEGREE SO CURE 15
IMPOSSIBLE.”

—Dr. Kovama

THE SKIN OF THEIR ARIAS IS PEELED OFF AND
DRIPPING FROM THEIR FINGER TIPS.”
— 10-YEaR-o1D GIRL

FOR MIR ao A first id worker tries to sve e smal boy wih a ed cocked nd burned head.
YOU COULD HARDLY TELL WHERE THEIR EYES AND He gently reso pash the boys bein bck int place.

MOUTHS WERE.”

— S-YEAR-O1D GIRL

% ANOTHER MAN PRESSING WITH BOTH HANDS
THE WOUND FROM WHICH BLOOD 15 STEADILY
DRIPPING, RUSHING AROUND AS THOUGH HE HAS
GONE MAD AND CALLING THE NAMES OF HIS WIFE
AND LD.”

— 11 -viaR-oLD BOY

“SCREAMING CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOST SIGHT
OF THEIR MOTHERS, VOICES OF MOTHERS SEARCHING
FOR THEIR LITTLE ONES, PEOPLE WHO CAN NO

7
Vina wl saree the bombas

LONGER BEAR THE HEAT COOLING THEIR BODIES IN ted babes bere ko deter
babies did

CISTRNS, EVERYONE AMONG THE FLEENG PEOPLE IS evn eu le
Ve MP a wee preserved te stdy the genetic Kao caigas ares of he Nogo-
— Junior Conese Woman damcge by mdesr ratietion, sak bombing.

8. The wounded, some wih lohing sipped sh
after blast in Hiroshima.

“ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN PRESENT AT THE BIRTH

OF A DEFORMED BABY, NEVER WITNESSED THE VIHIMPERING
SHOCK OF ITS MOTHER, DARE TO SAY THAT NUCLEAR TESTS
SHOULD BE CONTINUED.”

— DR. ALBERT SCHWEITZER

Injured policeman on duty In Hireshime Issuhg certificates to sufferers,
ag. 5, 1045.

Tue Story oF SADAKO
& THE PEACE CRANES

AA JAPANESE TRADITION SAYS THAT ANYONE WHO
FOLDS A THOUSAND PAPER CRANES WILL HAVE A WISH
COME TRUE. SADAKO SASAKI WAS A YOUNG GIRL IN
HIROSHIMA WHEN THE
BOMB WAS DROPPED.

TEN YEARS AFTER
THE WAR SHE DEVELOPED
RADIATION SICKNESS.
'SADAKO'S REMAINING
DAYS WERE SPENT IN A
HOSPITAL. FROM HER
BED, SHE BEGAN TO FOLD
A THOUSAND PAPER
CRANES AS A PRAYER FOR IQ
PEACE. AS HER ILLNESS
‘GREW WORSE IT BECAME
VERY DIFFICULT TO FOLD THE PAPER. WHEN SHE DIED IN
1956 she HAD COMPLETED 644. FROM HER DEATHBED
SHE HELD UP ONE CRANE AND SAID, “I WILL WRITE
PEACE ON YOUR WINGS AND YOU WILL FLY ALL OVER THE
WORLD.”

‘THE STORY OF 12-YEAR-OLD SADAKO BECAME
WIDELY KNOWN, MUCH THE SAME WAY THE STORY OF
‚Anne FRANK BECAME KNOWN IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
(OTHERS TOOK UP HER UNFINISHED TASK.

SINCE HER DEATH MILLIONS OF ORIGAMI CRANES
HAVE BEEN FOLDED, ESPEGALIY BY CHILDREN IN JAPAN.
Since 1958, cHipRen
FROM ALL OVER JAPAN
come to HiRosHima’s
Peace Park BRINGING
CRANES TO THE SADAKO
MEMORIAL WHERE A
STATUE OF A GIRL WHO
DIED IN THE BOMBING
AND A STATUE OF A GIRL
HOLDING UP A CRANE
STAND SURROUNDED BY
THOUSANDS OF CRANES.
THE CHILDREN MOURN THE
DEATHS OF THE ATOMIC
BOMB VICTINS— STILL CONTINUING TO DIE OF RADIATION
ILLNESS MORE THAN SIX DECADES AFTER THE BOMBING.

(ON THE BASE OF THE MEMORIAL ARE CARVED THE
WORDS, “This IS OUR CRY: THIS IS OUR TASK; TO
ESTABLISH PEACE IN THE WORLD.”

Nogesai, Ang. 10, 1945

9. EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR

TESTING AND PRODUCTION

Nv weapons have done

News to poison than protect.
While nuclear bombs have been
used in anger only twice, nuclear
weapons testing and production
have contaminated the earth and
exposed uncounted millions to ra-
diation and other poisonous prod-
ucts of the nuclear age. A cloud
of secrecy often followed the ra-
diation cloud, as those exposed
to radiation were not told of its
dangers in the name of “national

oom deud from an a
mor weapon on on andi th

‘est of a US.
Pad.

‘encate o stop the speed of edition.

security.” Those exposed include
atomic veterans, forced to witness
nuclear weaponstests: downwind-
ers from the Nevada test site, the
Hanford nuclear site, and Pacific
Island tests never warned as radia
tion was deliberately released; and
medical patients deliberately irra-
diated in unethical experiments

These victims and uranium min-
cts, the workers and neighbors of
nuclear weapons production fa-
cilities, and those who as children

The US. Nuclear Weapons Facilities

in the 1950s and early 60s drank
milk contaminated by nuclear
‘weapons tests all face cancer and
other radiation-induced illnesses.
Indigenous peoples have been at
particularrisk in placesas farfiing
as the Nevada desert, Polynesia,
and the Australian outback. The
environmental and health costs of

j
i. :
einai

NUCLEAR DETONATIONS: 1945-2009

1m

1000

00

600

am

200

0

the nuclear age remain with
us. The estimated price tag to
clean up contaminated nucle-
ar weapons production and
… testing sites runs into the hun-

dreds of billions of dollars in
the United States alone

‘ap shows the ates ofthe US. coed by pudor
dons fram aboegrond detentions which ended ia
1962) of mst weapons a the Nevada Tet Sie.

fer decades of lobbying, the

U.S. in 2001 began compen-
sating radiation workers who suf-
fered illnesses or deaths resulting
from exposure to radiation. Pay-
ments of $150,000 to workers or
certain survivors of beryllium dis-
ease, silicosis, or a cancer-related
illness contracted at a covered
facility. Over 34,000 individuals
have received more than $4 bil-
lion

10. NUCLEAR POWER & NUCLEAR WEAPONS:
TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

E year a typical 1000-mega-
¡watt commercial power reactor
will produce 300 to 500 pounds of
plutonium — enough to build be-
tween 25 and 40 Nagasaki-sized
atomic bombs.

the same nuclear fuel cycle —

mining, willing, enrichment,
and fuel fabrication stages — pre-
pares the uranium ore for use in
reactors, whether these reactors
are used to create plutonium for
bombs or generate electricity. In
the end, both reactors produce the
plutonium. The only difference
between them is the concentra-
tion of the various isotopes used
in the fuel.

THERE IS NO TECHNICAL DEMARCATION
BETWEEN THE MILITARY AND CIVILAN
REACTOR AND THERE NEVER WAS ONE.
WHAT HAS PERSISTED OVER THE DECADES
1S JUST THE MISCONCEPTION THAT SUCH A

LINKAGE DOES NOT EXIST.
—Los Aramos Narıonaı Las, 198

E 1953 Pres. Eisenhower an-
Inonnced his “Atoms for Peace”
program to promote the “peace-

fal” uses of the atom by offering
nuclear technology to the rest of
the world. A year later the Atomic
Energy Act was amended to allow
commercial utilities lo receive
uranium fuel in exchange for the
plutonium they produced, which
was to be shipped to Rocky Flats
in Colorado, which made plutoni-
um triggers for nuclear weapons.

PROLIFERATION. France, Chi-
na, India, Pakistan, North Korea

Iraq (before 1981), and presum-
ably Israel have pieced together
nuclear weapons from the fuel of
“peaceful research reactors.” It is
feared that other countries, such
as Iran, are doing the same.

saffred a number of miscorigas alo:

Joo Harding was a ranium enchmant worker whe
died of cancer. Harding end felow workers were ex-

y, plant. OF the 200 employees at the plot
inthe 1950s by the early 1980s over 50 had ded
of loko, cance, and other aliments thonght to be
work related.

THEFT. Bomb-grade nuclear ma-
terials that are frequently unac-
counted for may have been stolen.
Tnaddition, nuclear waste couldbe
stolen and used in a “dirty bomb”
not a nuclear weapon but a way
to spread radioactive material ina
military or terrorist attack.

HEALTH EFFECTS. Themining
and production of uranium along
with the “normal” operation of
commercial nuclear power plants
releases harmful radiation every
day lo the environment. Because
such radiation causes cancer in
humans as well as deformities in
developing fetuses, extraordinary

“IN ESSENG, A NUCLEAR REACTOR IS JUST
AA VERY SOPHISTICATED AND DANGEROUS
WAY TO BOIL WATER — ANALOGOUS TO
CUTTING A POUND OF BUTTER WITH A

CHAIN SAWN.”
— Hexen Cauoicorr, 2006

care must be taken to minimize
contamination.

REACTOR ACCIDENTS. There
have been about 100 nuclear ac-
cidents worldwide (most in the
U.S), seven of which were consid-
cred severe, including Three Mile
Island in Pennsylvania (1979),
Chemobyl in the Ukraine (1986),
and Fukushima in Japan (2011).

ATTACKS. Nuclear reactors are
targets during wars and from ter-
rorists. Since 1980, reactors have
been repeatedly attacked by bom-
bardment, occupations, and inva-
sions. In the Middle East alone,

‘ar ying madear fuel sed int the medion
barir on 191 in Springfield, Mass, in 1991. The
speed ofthe tuck threw mudecrconciners over the
‘edge of he highway ard some conter shed ont
the ead below the highway,

11. REACTOR ACCIDENTS

THREE MILE ISLAND (1979)
worst commorcial accident in

nd Fukushima were
‘caro meltdown and the
nilion cres of radioactivo gases and

15 caries of 1-131, dumping of 40,000
galos of radloaciie water Into the
Susquehanna River, ond the evaqation of
140,000 pre-school cildren and pregnant
women. The oficial figures im 480,000
terabecquerels gases were released, The
cloaruplastod 14 yoors and cos $1 bilion.

CHERNOBYL (1986) and tho graphi
fire (100 times worse than Thee Mile
Islnd) rloased large quantiis of
rodioactive contamination — 14 million
terabecquetels — that spread over much
‚of westem Soviet Union and Europe.
‘Gan involved over 500,00 workers and
an economically cippling amount of money.
It was estimated that 4,000 additional
carcer deaths would eventually ecu.

FUKUSHIMA (2011), œusod by tho
9.0 earthquake, 15-meter fll tsunami, and
catastrophic fire ofthe cooling systems
in threo reactors, resulted in tho evacuation
‚of 140,000 residents within 12 miles of
‘the plant. Dangerous levels of radi
(2 milion terabecquerels so far) were
released int the ar and soa —
12,000 tons of contaminated we
with radioadvity detected thousands

(rowel pols Ls he oia thet
it might take 100 years before the melted
fuel rods can be safoly removed. Final
‘containment will probably involve concrete
entombment ofthe reactors ond setup of
an exduslon zone.

Unit 3 of he Fokushimo Deich eacorptered six months ter the

Iran, Israel, Iraq, and the U.S
have bombed nuclear facilities in
Traq, Tran, and Syria.

‘TRANSPORTATION. Radioac-
tive materials — uranium ore, en-

11, 2011, core meltdown.

siched uranium, plutonium, fuel
assemblies, low-level to high-lev-
el nuclear wastes, nuclear weap-
ons — are routinely transported
on public roads, railways, and
ships. The Department of Energy

Belarus

reported in 1996 that
there have been over
70 accidents involv-
ing nuclear waste in
| the US

Russia.

NUCLEARWASTE.
Besides its connec-
tion to nuclear weap-
ons, the Achilles Heel
of nuclear power is
managing the waste.
which occurs dur-
ing mining and mill-
ing (piles of tailings),
enrichment (deplet-
ed uranium, some of

1986 map ofthe radiocctive contaminetion zones folowing the Chemoby!

‘cde

which is used in mili-
tary attillery), nuclear

‘SOURCES OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTES IN U.S.

reactors (spent but extraordinari-
ly radioactive fuel rods), and re-
processing to extract usable fuel
by separating fission byproducts.
While some waste decays rela-
tively quickly, other waste re-
mains dangeronsty radioactive
and thus must be safely stored for

thousands or millions of years
In the United States alone, the

DOE states there are “millions
of gallons of radioactive waste,”
as well as “thousands of tons of
spent nuclear fuel and material,”
and “huge quantities of contam
nated soil and water.” The United
States has at least 108 sites des-
ignated as areas, some of them
many thousands of acres, that are
contaminated and unusable.

12. n 1995, to celebrate

the SOth anniversary
of the atomic bomb-
ings, the Smithson- |
ian Institution restored
and put on display the
fuselage of the Enola
Gay — the plane that
dropped the Hiroshima
bomb. Originally, the
exhibit was to be ac-
companied by photos
of ground zero at Hiro-
shima and Nagasaki, the legacy of
the nuclear arms race, the debate
surrounding the bombings, and
World War II battles. However, the
script, considered balanced by h
torians, was labeled “anti-Ameri-
can” and too sympathetic to the
Japanese by the American Legion

and some members of Congress.
Consequently, the Smithsonian
tossed out the entire script, say-
ing it would simply have a plaque
and video displayed with the fse-
lage. As a result, several protests
were organized by the Enola Gay
Action Coalition,

h Er be =
Protesters during the June 28, 1995, opening dey ofthe Enola Gay exit tthe Snithsonin’s A & Spece

Museum in Washington,DC which resulted in 21 eres.

>< All quotes by U.S. officials or
military leaders who opposed or

1d the atomic bombings

5< Any mention of “sending a signal
to the Soviets” in the decision to
drop the atom bombs

>< All military information or political
documentation of the fact that
Japan was close to collapse and
making diplomatic moves to
series August 1945

< Recognition that at the end of the
war, the U.S. accepted a surrender
which was not “unconditional”

|< Information that the $2 billion
spent on the Manhattan Project
was a factor in using the bomb

3< Medical statistics about bombing
survivors having five times the
normal chance of getting leukemia

7< All references to officials
questioning the bombing of
Nogasaki

3< All information about the nuclear
arms race, nuclear testing,

sents, and anti-

>< The photos of the dead and
ictims of the bombings,
wotes from survivors, artifacts of
the children, discussion of racism
against the Japanese

“WHAT WAS CUT:

[© Japanese peace-eclers were not
worth pursuing

(© Many veterans say that the
‘atomic bombings saved their lives

(© Fes did not know much

ion effects before the
per were used
© An invasion of Japan was
‘navitablo” without the atomic
bombings, and that would have
cost many more American lives
‘than the 31,000 maximum
predicted by General Marshall,
Army Chief of Staff
(© Japan was not close to collapse
‘and the war might have gone on
into 1946
[© Since school children and
women did do some activities
to support their country’s war
forts, therefore all civilians
were “soldiers” and it was then
Lu to kill them with an
atomi
E br; Manhattan Project
Physicist, opposed those scientists
who protested the use of the
bomb.

© An incorrect statement that
warning leaflets were dropped on
Nagascki before it was bombed

13. NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY

or decades, the United States and the Soviet

Union (now Russia) steadily built more nu-
clear weapons, long range bombers, and inter-
continental missiles. The world lived, every
day, with the fear of a final conflict in which
by accident, insanity, or political miscalenla-
tion, a nuclear war would begin. Each side felt
its “protection” was the power to make sure
that, even if its own nation were destroyed,
it could destroy the other nation. Known as
“Mutual Assured Destruction” (MAD), an en-
tire generation grew up fearing that at any mo-
ment diplomacy would fail and a final flash of
light and terrible rush of wind would signal
the end. Both sides, not satisfied with MAD,
began work on “first strike” weapons. For sev-
eral years there was a serious danger that one
side or the other side would strike first, hop-
ing to destroy the other side totally, while los-
ing “only” a few major cities of its own.

he closest the world came to deliberate nu-
clear war was during the 1962 Cuban Mis-
sile Crisis, but there were many times when
a war almost started by accident. American
radar once detected a
flock of geese that was
interpreted as “incom-
ing” Soviet missiles. A
final counterattack was
nearly ordered. Sev-
eral times the U.S. has
freres threatened to
use nuclear weapons in
order to give weight to
Zits diplomacy. The So-
Éviet Union also made
Ésuch a threat in 1956
"during the combined
British, French and Is-

Mia sos on US. cer sub
mire.

The doses ete world bus come
of missile ls in Cube 1 tho UN Sony Council

rael invasion of Egypt to try to regain control
of the Suez Canal.

he dangers of nuclear diplomacy far out:

weigh its effectiveness at maintaining peace.
given the hundreds of conventional wars and
millions of lives lost since the end of World
War IL. In addition, the economies of the U.S.
and Soviet Union (now Russia) were devas-
tated by the arms race, and the world is left
with a legacy of secrecy, muclear waste, and
steadily lower standards of living,

Armed with rudear weopons, B-52 bombers have been an essaniolele-
e US. neo strategy.

14. INSTANCES OF U.S. THREATS TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS:

—1948: Atomic-capable B-29s were sent to Berlin at the
start of the Berlin Blockade.

—1950: Truman threatened China when Chinese troops
surrounded U.S, Marines at the Chosin Reservoir, Korea,

— 1953: Eisenhower threatened China with nudeor
wenpons to force a settlement in Korea,

—1954: Secretary of State John Foster Dulles secretly
offered France three nuclear weapons to assist French
troops in Vietnam.

— 1958: Eisenhower directed preparation for the use of
nudear weapons to prevent Iraq from seizing Kuwaiti

oil fields during the Lebanon Crisis.

ha
Ne use an Jh Kesey 19.
Kennedy).

— 1958: Eisenhower appr
against Chinese troops if China attempted to invade —. 1969-1972: Sec. of State Henry Kissinger threatened
Quemoy island. North Vietnam with possible use of nudear weapons.

— 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis (President John —1980: The Carter Doctrine on the Middle East threatened

CAN THI E THE Tae? the use of nuclear weapons to protect American
vs interests. Reaffirmed by President Regen 1981.

—1980: U:
Soviel

f nudear weapons hinted at to de
15 massing on the Iranian border.

height of th old War tenso, Soviet leader Nike Khrssh-

chev esses the UN Generel Assembly, Lo, he nd Present
ame very des to soto o third Worl Wat daring the Cen Mics
CL

A151 on showing Stalin an he being Teed ofl er
the US. mosh testing of mec pos.

id use of nuclear wenpons + —1968: Khe Sanh, Vietnam (President Lyndon Johnson).

—1991: President George H.W. Bush refuses to rule
out use of nuclear weapons in Persian Gulf War.

—1996: An Asst. Sec. of Defense announces
that if the U.S. decided to destroy an (alleged)
underground chemical weapons facility it would
use nuclear weapons. The existence of a specific
plan for this was later denied.

—1997: A Clinton Presidential directive allows
‘targeting of “rogue states” with “prospective
access” to nuclear weapons. Regarding Iraq, the
administration refused to rule out any option.

—2005: To stop Iran from developing nuclear
weapons, George W. Bush's administration
used diplomacy and the threat to attack nuclear
fadlities, even
flying simulated
udeor-weapons
delivery missions

Bulletin wre

Early
Warnings

Homie 2

near Iron and Near
2017-18: North if Misses
Korean missile fey Lessons
tests demon ne
strate the Bi. learned

Hawaii; during an
‘emergency alert
drill an accidental alert Fr Hawaiians to seek
shelter from an incoming ballistic mi

—2022-23: Russian President Putin repeatedl)
threatens use of nuclear weapons agoins U
‘nd pulls out of a key arms control treaty

—2023-24: A member of Israel’s parliament urges
the government to consider nudear weapons
against Hamas; tensions increase regionally und
with Iran (on the brink of building its own nudear
weapons)
tm Kt mich forn Pets hr Deal ra)

15. HISTORY OF THE ANTI-NUCLEAR
WEAPONS MOVEMENT

Su the beginning of the nuclear era, the un-
precedented threat to all life on earth posed
by nuclear weapons has motivated uninter-
rupted opposition. Hundreds of thousands—
and even millions—of people at a time have

a

À »
Salle ened x rms a andare! orme send:

ing prices towards domsst rogram, th Co
mamen ond Sci Justice mrived in Washington, DC, in October of 1976
alter string a Color ine months ete. The liked up in Was
ington with marcher rom two other mein roses = ne wnt trough the
deep south binning in New Orleans end the other from New Enlond
tha! bogen in Boston,

for Diar-

taken to the streets to demonstrate against The
Bomb, carrying their message to the Penta-
gon, weapons factories, research facilities, test
sites, and military installations where nuclear
weapons are stored or deployed. While the
USS. role in initiating the arms race received
primary attention, the anti-nuclear weapons
movement has been global. Moreover, many
thousands have risked arrest and have been
jailed for acts of civil disobedience demand-
ing an end to the nuclear threat.

L the 1950s and 60s people marched in the
streets against atmospheric testing, refused to
participate inmandatory air-raid drills, crossed
onto military bases, sailed boats into Pacific
Ocean test areas, and interrupted launchings
of nuclear submarines by swimming to the
subs with banners and signs. In the 1970s and
80s people engaged on a global scale in mass
marches, sit-ins, die-ins, blockades oppos-
ing nuclear weapons, and well-publicized lo-
cal and statewide referenda, Some undertook
individual acts of direct disarmament called
plowshares actions, often receiving long pris-
on terms because they accepted responsibility
for these acts.

T: this day efforts ranging from letter writing,
campaigns urging congressional legislation
to thousands of acts of civil disobedience have
annually voiced the increasing demands of
millions of people for a world without nuclear
weapons and, indeed, for a world without any
weapons at all

TESTS tue
EAST or WES

A ill reads the 1962 "Da. Spock is woried” New York Times placed
by the tue group Sane. The welbinown dild-rearag spect
Sel, “Iam wor rot so much abat the effec past tsi but at the
prozpoc a endless ftur oes. As the fests mali so wil he damage
Te children — bere and around he werd”

Y YS
In one of England's largest anti-nuclear marches protestors walked to
Lendon’s Trfalger Square from the nuclear weapons site in Aldermaston,
1902.

16. a Sete 5
In 197%, the Now Zealand Pence Squadron unleash
‘let of 80 boc canoes, and ounces 1 Hoc he
aval ofthe U.S. meer submarine Pintado. Y
temporary ipeded te sb dd make fhe harbor
‘burnt without considerable poly.

March ta Mig api atmospheric wear bomb ests, 1958.
Iren Ts mes compte fe iden md mb

During te 1982 Usted Nains Sand Sp Ses
Barmen, pa como NT Gy fom

ing and orl events were bell lng o er

drmement, The rest gathering was the ach

5 erh abe 1, and yn ln oe

be ACTIONS beastie [00 z eb was a re

rain pop el soho est [E ‘ein nse BR Fa a Ge
terms heve averaged one spot soko mous

US.
ATOMIC ENERGY
COMME

aig orme D E the odepin of
snr ssn fo dtr he 1961 Sen Fir Dia Macs Dcamanen ga una” deli
disc to Moscow Wak for Moscow cftor yilateral nuclear élsammanent, demonstrators march tothe

Gucci o fon Traty Review Conference in HYG, Mey 2010.
US. amd Europe.

11962 Wanen Sit for Pesa dones retro torpor o
¿leas weapons ln Nevado.

17. THE NEED FOR DISARMAMENT

"EVERY GUN THAT IS MADE, EVERY
WARSHIP LAUNCHED, EVERY ROCKET
FIRED, SIGNIFIES IN A FINAL SENSE A THEFT
FROM THOSE WHO HUNGER AND ARE NOT
FED, THOSE WHO ARE COLD AND ARE NOT
AOTHED.”

—PRESIDENT DWIGHT

EISENHOWER

Hiro-

shima bombing there remain
about 12,100 nuclear warheads
in (he United States, Russia,
Britain, France, Israel, China
India, Pakistan, and North Ko-
rea. Just one of these bombs can
destroy an entire city. There are
other dangers:

PROLIFERATION. Iran (and
likely others) has been cager to
get nuclear weapons to balance
the threat it feels from Israel. In
Asia, Pakistan, fearful because
India had nuclear weapons, de-
veloped its own. North Korea
has The Bomb and South Korea
has the technology. Only South
Afica has shut dowu its nuclear
weapons program (1991)

«NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS.
During the Cold War both the
U.S. and the Soviets nearly went
lo war because of false alanus
and technological errors

«NUCLEAR WASTE general-
ed by nuclear production cannot
be safely stored anywhere.
«THE EXPENSE. in a world
where even rich countries, such
as the U.S., are facing cutbacks
in essential services, nuclear
arms are too expensive

+ FINALLY, it is not enough to
move toward a world free of nu-
clear weapons. Since World War
II, “conventional” weapons
the US. is the world’s #1 arms
merchant — have killed millions
of people in hundreds of wars.
Getting rid of nuclear weapons
is only the first step toward gen-
eral and complete disarmament
by all nations

‘TOTAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS

‘nie sues
so

rn Fr a nm,
(Re aes,

EEE 4
Seat) (y)
eae y ne \

Yak chy Poh of
ood oe ”

18. spect er ond fel ge bomb ev
US ev Tsk Frc 5 am cept l 250 fet
Palas Sin 1946

“BROKEN ARROWS” OR
ACCIDENTS INVOLVING.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS,

MARCH 11, 1958, 8-47 acidetaly
roped nude bomb en South Carola, o
conventional explosive used as a “tigger”
for th near bomb did explode lev
an id 35 le Rare
o ration Ichege was deleted Luddy no
er explosion ocorad ard no oo was ile.

“JUNE 7, 1960. Fre et MeGuire Ai ore
Bose led 1 a series ef explosions. One Bomarc
ec mise was destroyed. No neat
explosion red, through there was otage of
rodiocivi.

+1961. 8-52 over Goldsboro, North Cocina
jetisond a 24-megoton bon, 1800 mes
mare powerful thon the Hioshima bomb. Five
of the sx safety devices were st of. The one
remaining switch presented hrrbl explosion

-JAN. 17, 1966. 8-52 colido wih nother
plane ceusig the dec of 5 crewmen nd he
Selena ppg 4 bone oh em
off ofthe coast of Spin. Rodicton ecked ou.

“JAN. 21, 1968. ln molirg on emergency
landing ot Thule ir Force Eos in Greenland,

8-52 cashed and bured, producing a plotoiom-
(ontaminted area ofa lost 2200 fot lng and
mor than 300 feet

Iie ent vs. Tv ey tr sn
the filmic whl undertow.

“AUG. 2000. A Rosson submarine Kursk
sank inthe Barents Ses fer en explosion in
3 torpedo gen the detonation of fren
torpedo warkeeds abort two minutes later. A

118 board dic.

“| am AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF U.S. TACTICAL
NUCLEAR WARHEADS...IN GREICE...AND IN
Tunker...Is GRESCE AND TURKEY SHOULD COME
TO BLOWS AND SIEK TO GAIN THE ADVANTAGE 31
FORCIBLY TAKING THESE WARHLADS TO USE UPON
‘THE OTHER, IT WOULD UNDOUETEDLY COST MANY
“American LIVES AND PLUNGE THE U.S. INTO AN
UNTENABLE POSITION...NO MORE THAN 4 10 6
US. SOLDIERS GUARD THE BUNKERS WHICH STORE
me muxes! Most of THE TRooPs—asour 40
PER DETACHMENT— ARE HOUSED ABOUT A QUARTER
‘OF A HUE FROM THE BUNKERS AND COULD EASIY
BE ISOLATED FROM THE WARHEADS.”
—Lerren From A CONCERNED
US. SOLDIER ro SEMATOR SYMINGTON

WE STRATEGIC PLANNERS IN THE PENTAGON
DEVELOPED A SYSTEM WICH WAS HIGHLY
AUTOMATED … WE HAVE ALL OUR
INSTRUCTIONS ON TAPES +» SOME MONTHS.
AGO THE TAPE WAS INADVERTENTLY PUT
INTO THE MACHINE, IT WAS A TAPE WHICH
ACTUALLY SENT ALOFT SOME OF OUR STRATEGIC
AIRCRAFT. ANY SYSTEM AS COMPLICATED.
AS THE ONE WE DESIGNED AND PUT INTO
OPERATION CAN EASILY MALFUNCTION BECAUSE
OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES OR BECAUSE OF A
PERSONNEL ERROR BY SIMPLY THROWING A
WRONG SWITCA.”

—Apminat GENE LaRocque

In the US. aloe, there are nearly 120,000 people
working closely wih mer weeps. Congres ol
records show that in one year over 3,500 of these
prove merde e pr

Folies, drug abuse, echo or plie preblems.

NUMBER OF JOBS CREATED WITH SI BILLION
ms 19000

15900 |

STRUCTION

MASS TRANSIT

3

cons

Siting Federal Government spending profes from
the mitry woud produce mony more cv jos.

WHERE YOUR INCOIAE TAX MONEY REALLY GOES
2013 US. FEDERAL FUNDS EXPENDITURES

HUMAN,
RESOURCES

18%
PAST

mirar /7%6

‘CURRENT.
MILITARY

“THE SAME CULTURE OF VIOLENCE THAT
HAS LED THE U.S. TO BUILD THE LARGEST
[MILITARY SYSTEM IN HISTORY SUPPORTS
THE MANUFACTURE, SALE AND USE OF
HANDGUNS AND ASSAULT RIFLES IN U.S.
COMMUNITIES.”

— FeuLowsHIP oF Reconcianion

IN ONE YEAR, GUNS MURDERED
ADA NTE UND STATES

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

ONE BILLION DOLLARS — just 0.2% of he
‘Afghanistan war cost — COULD PAY FOR:
+ 300,000 schools with desk, chars, ables

#3 millon Weld Respenso Mal
+ 4 milo al terry desses
2 25 min schoo desks nd opps
431 mien di mization

+89 ml health worker trae courses
2 bilion meek for hrgry people

+100 ion core tablets 10 make water sole 3

“SOMEHOW WE MUST TRANSFORM THE
DYNAMICS OF THE WORLD POWER STRUGGLE
FROM THE NEGATIVE NUCLEAR ARMS RAC,
WHICH NO MAN CAN WIN, TO A POSITIVE
CONTEST TO HARNESS MAN’S CREATIVE
GENIUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING PEACE
AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL THE WORLD.”
—Dr. Martin Luruer Kino Jr.

19. TAKING

IGHT DECADES after the bombings

of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, op-
position to the bomb remains strong.
People continue to campaign for an
end to funding for the weapons. Pro-
tests continue at test sites, weapons
research facilities, the Pentagon, and
the Smithsonian’s Enola Gay exhibit
in Chantilly, VA. People are regular-
ly jailed for participation in disarma-
ment actions, Millions demand that
nuclear nations sign and implement
the U.N.’s nuclear weapon ban wealy.

low can you become involved?

Lear more about peace and dis-
armament issues. Contact a peace
group in yourarea and join their work.

LLEAFLETTING: With sor tent, simple rap
Te deves heading, nd a ures fr moe information
‘ny group even re parson—cen reat ntfs
flyer which cn be copied then istrbned ot street
fais, shopping conter, police rs, town meet-
ing, pos ofes, Federal buildings, outside movie
ers, or anywhere a congrega.

ACTION

Letters-to-the-editor are simple and
effective ways to communicate your
views. Visit elected representatives
to voice outrage at cuts in human ser-
vices while massive spending on ar-
maments and wars continues. Invite
a speaker lo address disarmament is-
sues in your school.

N: consider organizing a boycott
[against stores that sell war toys or
violent video games; protesting mili-
tary recruitment on your campus or
in your community; supporting peace
activists at trial or in jail: organizing
demonstrations against U.S. nuclear
modemization plans, participating
in a civil disobedience action at the
Pentagon, White House, or nuclear
power or weapons facilities: investi-
gating how to resist paying taxes to
the military.

JOYCOTTS/DIVESTMENT:
fag maker of mer wenn er
military hardware will only be effect
Fate econ pod the company
ik Oe i ni ls
tag Honey Itemetenel & nude: mno-
en rer thot makes fons, heoters, thermastats,
nd ome ter rame pods Don Berk
ete cl dolo tod
reine! Kom compis Id ho ro
dic mobles ode
iva o men es.

NUCLEAR FREE ZONES: Commons cos th mir have
dedered themselves “nudear fre.” Of the estimated 130 NFZ comuni:

da, ee

ties, some prohibit ronsprt end storage
Investments or contracts wih crpections comectd 1

jf nar weapons Cmpigns are

ars at
indy. Often hese od reper ra
xs sty Ole ese ren ee mr sable tno css
thay ve suite imma hot er pre

LOBBYING AND PETITIONING: I of

les 1 be chor powertl when ty
lated fil, however ordinary ci

ingot. The most efcive aproed

or er ff rit personal ete, or mae a phone

ca Us oh o

Form eters or nie petitions.

CONTACT you Conressperson of US. House of
Repcevenaives Washington, DC20515,worwhows.
gor [phone]; your Senor e US. Sera
Weshingen DC 20510, ww seneego, 2021224:
3121 te eset a he We ons, Heston
DC 20500, www wbltohossa go, (202M56-1414.
DEMAND the US. ig ond implement the LA. Tresty
nt Prohibition of Nudeor Weep.

DEMONSTRATIONS: Marches, rallies, ond
Pog coin ec we
lor umbers of people participating. The photo
thorn tome pote as wees Lab
‘eigen ed net
pe Meme Sur mago
Gem nd et hey we pete
isa ne ih belo ou oy wie
‘hadrons ed pr eno be meda

EDUCATION: The first slp o ation is edu
hon, Ordering tecture fro the groups ted below
begin the process Having discussion group with

ings od ideo. Img speaker o ving pol or
tig wl id in tig dsc

ee
Son nd seo nee, soma oo ng

men

20. HERE ARE GROUPS YOU CAN
CONTACT FOR INFORMATION
ON ACTIONS AND LOCAL WORK

war DÉC

RESISTERS ‘5
LEAGUE

[phone]

worm warreristers.org,

BEYOND NUCLEAR NUKE WATCH
‘evn bay ondauc ar og smalennichnte or
fi Pi
BULLETIN OF THE PAX CHRISTI USA
ATOMIC SCIENTISTS ws paeimenmaerp
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e CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE, patient
E DISARMAMENT AND
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(NUCLEAR WEAPONS. MOMEN AGAINST
mico MILITARY MADNESS
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