{"id":9795,"date":"2021-10-06T10:20:36","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T14:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9795"},"modified":"2021-10-11T15:48:35","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T19:48:35","slug":"looking-over-our-shoulder-the-ever-present-fear-of-atomic-attack-and-atomic-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9795","title":{"rendered":"Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Ever Present Fear of Atomic Attack & Atomic Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Newspaper clipping from New York World Telegram<\/em>, March 25, 1950 detailing the potential effects of the Atomic Bomb, Francis McNamara papers, C0024, Box 57, Folder 7.<\/p><\/div>\n

This post is part of a series pertaining to SCRC’s current exhibition, Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War in American Culture.<\/em><\/p>\n

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“You and the Atomic Bomb: What to Do in Case of an Atomic Attack” from the Francis McNamara papers, C0024, Box 12, Folder 11.<\/p><\/div>\n

On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The weapon was similar in design and explosive power to the United States\u2019 \u201cFat Man\u201d plutonium bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan four years earlier. The Soviets did not make any public statement about this development, but American intelligence agencies discovered evidence that was consistent with an explosion. It was formally announced on September 23 by President Harry S. Truman and confirmed the next day by the Soviet government. In only four years the U.S. monopoly on atomic weapons was over, and the country began an arms race with an enemy that appeared determined to destroy us and our way of life.<\/p>\n

Almost as disturbing, it was discovered that the U.S.S.R. received help from U.S. citizens in developing their atomic bomb. In January 1950 Klaus Fuchs, a refugee from Germany and scientist working on the United States atomic weapons program, was arrested and charged with passing classified materials to the Soviet Union. Six months later, it was determined that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, along with Ethel\u2019s brother David Greenglass, were part of the spy network. During the highly publicized twenty-three-day trial, the Rosenbergs insisted they were innocent, though Greenglass himself testified very strongly against them. They were convicted on March 29, 1951 and sentenced to death. While most Americans thought the trial was fair and the penalty just, there were many who believed the Rosenbergs were innocent. There were large rallies in major cities in the United States and around the world in their support during the two years between their convictions and executions in June 1953.<\/p>\n

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The Rosenberg Case: Fact and Fiction<\/em> by Dr. S. Andhil Fineberg, 1953, HX 89 .F48, Special Collections Research Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Throughout the Cold War the U.S. government promoted the idea, and many citizens clung to the belief that nuclear war was survivable for those who took the proper precautions and had knowledge of how to protect themselves. The 1951 film Duck and Cover<\/em> was created by the Federal Civil Defense Administration to teach school children how to protect themselves from a nuclear blast. Its main character Bert the Turtle showed children how to hide under their desks and cover their heads to protect themselves from the effects of a bomb. Oliver Atkins, photographer for The Saturday Evening Post<\/em> visited a high school in Bethesda, Maryland to photograph the school\u2019s preparations for a Soviet Attack to supplement a story in a 1954 issue. Multiple authors instructed readers how to survive a nuclear attack in books, newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets. Some homeowners took these suggestions to heart, building fully functional bomb shelters in or near their homes.<\/p>\n

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Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School students practice an atomic bomb drill for photographer, Oliver Atkins to illustrate an article entitled: \u201cThis School is Ready for the H-Bomb\u201d in The Saturday Evening Post<\/em>, September 25, 1954. Oliver F. Atkins photograph collection, C0036, Box 54. Folder 118, Special Collections Research Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster resulted in significant health problems for those who lived in the area. Exposure; Everlasting<\/em> deals with 30 individuals who survived the event. Exposure; Everlasting by Obara, Kazuma, photographer, 2018. Artist Books TR 655 .O22 2018, Special Collections Research Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Organizations decrying nuclear weapons and nuclear energy emerged during this period. SANE (National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), which began in 1957 and FREEZE (Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign), starting in 1987, helped promote public concerns regarding the proliferation of atomic energy and the arms race. These issues were brought to larger public attention after the Three Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986) nuclear plant accidents.<\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. \u00a0To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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This post is part of a series pertaining to SCRC’s current exhibition, Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War in American Culture. On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The weapon was similar in design and explosive power to the United States\u2019 \u201cFat Man\u201d plutonium bomb detonated over Nagasaki, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,3,198,326],"tags":[892,27,51,91],"class_list":["post-9795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibits","category-news","category-photography-collections","category-rare-books-2","tag-atomic-bomb","tag-francis-j-mcnamara","tag-oliver-f-atkins","tag-saturday-evening-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/C0024_B012_F011_001_sm.jpg?fit=1267%2C1735&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2xZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9911,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9911","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":0},"title":"Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War Comes Home for Supper","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"November 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a series pertaining to SCRC's current exhibition, Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War in American Culture. The text was borrowed from the exhibition. Not only were American politics and diplomatic relations greatly affected throughout the Cold War, but so were the home lives, shopping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dom.jpg?fit=716%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dom.jpg?fit=716%2C416&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dom.jpg?fit=716%2C416&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/dom.jpg?fit=716%2C416&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9743,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9743","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":1},"title":"New Exhibition in SCRC – Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War in American Culture","author":"Bob Vay","date":"September 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, I was extremely conscious of the fact that my country was locked in a contentious rivalry with the U.S.S.R., China, East Germany, Cuba, and the other, in my father's words, \"Godless communist\" countries.\u00a0 This struggle seemed to span all facets of life on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/C0036_B054_F118_12001_sm.jpg?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/C0036_B054_F118_12001_sm.jpg?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/C0036_B054_F118_12001_sm.jpg?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/C0036_B054_F118_12001_sm.jpg?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/C0036_B054_F118_12001_sm.jpg?fit=1200%2C947&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=134","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":2},"title":"Satan's Blueprint in the Francis J. McNamara Papers","author":"admin","date":"January 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One of our graduate student workers found this interesting document while processing the Francis J. McNamara papers. McNamara collected a large number of documents on Communism and Anti-Communism while working for the United States government in the 1950s, including this pamphlet from 1958. This pamphlet reveals the extent to which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "SCRC interest"","block_context":{"text":"SCRC interest","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"mcnamarablogpostimages_00012","src":"https:\/\/specialcollections.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/01\/mcnamarablogpostimages_00012.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5717,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5717","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":3},"title":"From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki","author":"admin","date":"August 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On August 6, 1945, the United States of America dropped an\u00a0atomic bomb on the Japanese city, Hiroshima. A few days later on August 9th, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It has been estimated that the total casualties from both bombs was under\u00a0230,000 individuals. \u00a0 Japan was fighting for control\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography collections"","block_context":{"text":"Photography collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=198"},"img":{"alt_text":"Document from scrapbook 14 of the Arthur E. Scott Photography Collection #C0096, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/C0096V14P3-160x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2503,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=2503","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":4},"title":"Notes from a Photograph Collection","author":"admin","date":"July 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Although the Oliver F. Atkins Photograph Collection contains tens of thousands of prints, negatives, and slides, there is also a small amount of papers that consist of handwritten notes, correspondence, and caption guidance forms.\u00a0 These documents assist with identification, such as the Ku Klux Klan photographs from December 1965 for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Klavern.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1950,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=1950","url_meta":{"origin":9795,"position":5},"title":"On Exhibit: The 1960s","author":"admin","date":"September 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The 1960s is regarded as one of the most turbulent times in recent history. SC&A has a new exhibit that highlights elements of the dramatic changes that took place during this decade using materials from the collections. The exhibit is divided into three parts: Popular Literature, American Life, and Politics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/exhibit_banner_1960s.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9795"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9833,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9795\/revisions\/9833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}