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The Bomb Test Programs 1946 - 1963

The Bomb Test Programs 1946 - 1963. Between 16 July 1945 and 23 September 1992 the United States of America conducted (by official count) 1054 nuclear tests, and two nuclear attacks. What are the reasons and results?. Art work by Grant Powell. List of US atmospheric Bomb tests.

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The Bomb Test Programs 1946 - 1963

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  1. The Bomb Test Programs1946 - 1963 Between 16 July 1945 and 23 September 1992 the United States of America conducted (by official count) 1054 nuclear tests, and two nuclear attacks. What are the reasons and results? Art work by Grant Powell

  2. List of US atmospheric Bomb tests Pacific Atolls and Nevada desert areas

  3. 316 tests until October 10, 1963; Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

  4. Preparation of Population Test program needed psychological preparation of population down-playing internal impact while up-playing external enemy familiarizing population and society through media & propaganda

  5. Play-Down of Dangers • Presenting Nukes just as “bigger conventional” weapons • Suggesting a “Communist take over” as bigger evil • Belittling the threat and dangers of radiation exposure • Declaring potential damage as manageable. • Rapid Growth of “Fear Industry”! In movies, shelters, and protection devices Reporter Burchett wrote: "In Hiroshima, thirty days after the first atomic bomb destroyed the city and shook the world, people are still dying, mysteriously and horribly—people who were uninjured in the cataclysm from an unknown something which I can only describe as the atomic plague.“ He continued, tapping out the words that still haunt to this day: "Hiroshima does not look like a bombed city. It looks as if a monster steamroller has passed over it and squashed it out of existence.“ Burchett's article, headlined THE ATOMIC PLAGUE, was published on September 5, 1945 in the London Daily Express. The story caused a worldwide sensation, and was a public relations fiasco for the U.S. military. The official U.S. narrative of the atomic bombings downplayed civilian casualties and categorically dismissed as "Japanese propaganda" reports of the deadly lingering effects of radiation. No way in stopping Hollywood!

  6. Just big conventional weapons

  7. The Commies are coming, the Commies are coming! The Red Nightmare: Federally funded propaganda film. The tale of an ordinary American town and its life as a Communist satellite, with everyone becoming emotionless automations. Invasion, USA is the key cold war 'scare' picture. Unlike pacifist weepies such as Arch Oboler's Five, this show depicts a Soviet Union so aggressive, Senator Joe McCarthy wouldn't recognize it. The Fear Factor

  8. Comic Book Industry Presenting violence and horror with “the good guys” beating “the bad guys”

  9. TheAmericanHeroattheEndofTimes No doubt or criticism was voiced in media, film, and popular literature towards arms race, weapons development and testing!

  10. Duck and Cover Training to be prepared and to accept the “unavoidable”!

  11. The public warning system

  12. Personal Preparation

  13. Preparation and Shelter Public shelter and warning system was installed Purchasing private “atomic bunker” system became big business. Business based on fear and false information.

  14. Shelter Guide By 1960, The Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization, estimated that a million families had constructed their own private bomb shelters. Shelters ranged in price from $1,795-$3,895, and of course many came in kits that make assembly much easier. Advertisements were found in magazines throughout the country. Many companies were capitalizing on Americans fear. Life Magazine in 1955, included a feature ad for a H-Bomb Hideaway, and the sale price was only $3000. Bob Rutske, a Michigan Sheriff at the time, remarked that "To build a home today without a shelter, would be like leaving out a bathroom twenty years ago." The number of shelters that were built in that era, show how well propaganda had penetrated the American mind.

  15. Back in business?

  16. But there were limits … To realistic movies and or satire was suppressed or forbidden to avoid the generation of criticism and/or panic reactions.

  17. Nukes as business motivator March 1, 1954 Hydrogen Bomb test on Bikini Atoll; Louis Réard, thought his daring new swimsuit would have an impact comparable to the impact of the bomb. Crater Fall-Out Pattern

  18. Nukes became normal part of everybody’s life But accidents occurred and criticism grew slowly but surely!

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