Although the atomic bombs have stopped bursting after Hiroshima & Nagasaki in WWII, the threat of nuclear war was very real for many years in the US and around the globe. Knowing that the threat of death hung over the world, and a single misstep by high officials could lead to extinction, would have been a crucial aspect of growing up during the Cold War.

How would you see yourself incorporating the threat of nuclear war into stories set in this time period? Would your characters be inclined to ignore the threat, or perhaps be hypersensitive to the looming war? How would it have affected daily life?

I think people did live in fear, to some extent. Companies did use this to their advantage; there were bogus radiation-proof picnic blankets sold, and stuff like that. Some people probably did just go on living how they usually did, but others probably flinched whenever somebody dropped something beside them. It depends mostly on the kind of person and the impression you want your characters to make. The general mindset and atmosphere, however, was one of fear.

Well, having lived through some of it and studied it as a profession, I'd have to say it's a lot like it is today. We read stories about weapons of mass destruction and they are more prevalent now than they were then. People's minds seem to adapt to it and it's just one more topic of conversation. You see the fallout shelter signs on buildings, you learn to crawl under your desk, etc.

Diego

Now that's an interesting thought, Diego. I never thought of it that way, but you're right--there's more warheads these days then there ever were in the Cold War. Yet somehow we aren't perishing of insanity and fear. So, you're right: we humans have learned to adapt. Plus, there are other dangerous things we face in life that have an even greater possibility of death attached to them. Driving in a car, for example. How...interesting... *goes off to think*

I'd like to point out that the number of warheads owned by the US and the Soviet States has decreased significantly since cold war times. The difference is that more nations are developing this technology, so more have access to such methods of destruction. I think overall the number of warheads has decreased, even though more countries have them.

Perhaps, yes...although I think since so many more countries have them, it seems like there's a lot of 'em. I know a lady who was part of the negotiations for reducing nuclear missiles between US and Russia (she was in Geneva negotiating for the past two years!). Plus, she's designed some of the short-range missiles herself. So it was fascinating to get her perspective on the whole nuclear thing, too.

Cool.

Gotta love nuclear warheads.....

This is of course a really cool topic to write on. Whole games have been made on this topic sooooo.... It might be interesting to write on the events leading up to the dropping of the first bomb when scientists maybe had a feeling for what this weapon could do.

Is it okay if I don't? *sniffs dramatically *

The feeling for a lot of people in this time period was a happy resignation that the world was going to end badly, either sooner, or later. This added to, and was intertwined with the hedonistic, nihilistic, and then later on socially progressive attitudes of the era.

Good point, Eli. As important as it is to consider the actual bombs, the philosophies of the day played an important role in people's responses to the dangers they experienced.

I think it be a good bet that most people were preparing for a bomb to drop at any time.

I'm not sure about preparing, though of course shelters were being built in record numbers, but they accepted the perceived reality.

From what I have heard from some people that did live during this time, it was a very nervous time.

I would lean more towards the fear dissipating after the Cold War, rather than people's minds adapting to the idea. While many more countries have developed warheads now, we don't have two countries at each other's throats threatening to push the button.

Yeah. During Nixon, Carter, and Reagan it was a lot more mild.

True. And immediately after WWII ended, the main feelings were of victory and horror at Hitler, not a realization that their own ally was an even darker shadow looming about them.

^ True that. And then the Russians kept it all quiet somehow so nobody knew what was going on. Either that or they were tired of fighting all the bad guys and decided they didn't care .

Some people cared. Patton wanted to plow straight into the Soviet Union, using German troops on our side.

So far, the only time I incorporate any real-life events will be in my upcoming temporal series, along with things like the Napoleonic Wars, 9/11, the Titanic, the American Civil War, the Alamo, etc.



If I did do a present-time one, I would imagine there would be much fear. The most recent example I can think of right now is North Korea threatening to launch a nuclear strike on the U.S.

While I don't know what other people think and if they are concerned, I, for one, am slightly concerned about how capable the U.S. is of defending itself.

My Mama talks about what it was like when she growing up sometimes. I definitely get the impression that, whether an individual was nervous or not, the threat of the Cold War was pretty much on everyone's minds. It just comes up here and there in the things Mama talks about, how people were teaching this about Nuclear warfare in schools, and how some people thought this and that about USSR, and how most people had this constant wondering about whether or not they were about to die. I don't think you could write a story during the period of the Cold War accurately without showing fear among some of the people, even if not everyone you write about is afraid.