War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Kenneth Nichols, 1986 [2]
Item Information
- Title:
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Kenneth Nichols, 1986 [2]
- Description:
-
Kenneth Nichols served as Director of U.S. Army Research and Development, worked on the Manhattan Project, and was the Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. In this interview, the focus is on a number of issues that surfaced in the years after World War II. These include the state of the nuclear stockpile and the desirability, in his view, of having the military take custody of nuclear weapons. In 1949, he backed increased production as the cheapest means of promoting national security. He also advocated a growing role for nuclear weapons in military planning, and he recounts the competition between the Air Force and Navy over control of certain systems. On the subject of the hydrogen bomb, his position is that if a country has the capability to develop a new weapon "you're derelict if you don't do it." He questions allegations about the immorality of the H-bomb, asking rhetorically whether morality depends only on the size of the weapon. Gen. Nichols recalls several particular events and issues from the period, including the "tremendous" impact of the Soviet atomic test and the influence of the Klaus Fuchs episode, which he says contributed to the expansion of the H-bomb program and "killed any cooperation with Britain." Similarly, the Korean War helped resolve various custody and testing questions in the military's favor, and precipitated further arguments over the use of nuclear weapons. Gen. Nichols was closely involved in that debate as well as deliberations over whether to develop an anti-ballistic missile system. He also reflects on the Robert Oppenheimer security case, a subject he claims to know more about than anyone. In his view, the controversy, which he explores in detail, "ruined a damn good man," although he believes Oppenheimer was not entirely blameless.
- Author:
- Nichols, Kenneth D. (Kenneth David), 1907-
- Date:
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March 4, 1986
- Format:
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Film/Video
- Location:
- WGBH
- Collection (local):
-
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
- Series:
- WGBH > War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Subjects:
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Global Affairs
Military Forces and Armaments
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Forrestal, James, 1892-1949
Lilienthal, David Eli, 1899-1981
Norstad, Lauris, 1907-1988
Soviet Union
United States
Antimissile missiles
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
Nuclear weapons
Espionage
Hydrogen bomb
Korean War, 1950-1953
Military Liaison Committee to the U.S. Department of Energy
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (U.S.)
Fuchs, Klaus Emil Julius, 1911-1988
Groves, Leslie Richard
Hickenlooper, Bourke B. (Bourke Blakemore), 1896-1971
Clay, Lucius D. (Lucius DuBignon), 1897-1978
Johnson, Louis Arthur, 1891-1966
Webster, William H.
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972
Gray, Gordon, 1909-1982
United States. Army
United States. Navy
United States. Air Force
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
- Extent:
- 01:24:41
- Link to Item:
- https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-wp9t14tz76
- Terms of Use:
-
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
- Publisher:
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WGBH Educational Foundation