WATCH History 4 - 2024

While reporting in Nevada, I once spoke to an older woman who, as a child, lived near the Nevada Test Site, the place where America tested its first generation of nuclear weapons. She told how 'men in suits' came by and asked her mother to keep the children indoors between 3 and 4 pm. Then a nuclear test was planned and it would be a shame if the kids were shocked by that. “Immediately after the impact, while the radioactive dust was still swirling down,” the woman recalled, “we were playing outside again.”

It was the time when atomic energy was still viewed with childish fascination, especially in the US. You could power cars with it, heat factories and offices, cook the beepers in the evening... Moreover, a strategically placed 'atomic bomb' could help in the construction of, for example, a reservoir. And then there was the Russian bear that had to be kept off its neck with more and more nuclear weapons.

To understand and control the extreme power of nuclear explosions, nearly a thousand atomic bombs were detonated in the deserts of Nevada and New Mexico alone. We now know the direct and indirect dangers of nuclear power and there is mainly a cautious level-headedness. What remains are the fascinating stories and impressive photos from the beginning of the atomic age.

Have fun with this VIEW History!