Interview with Chalmers Roberts, 1986

Item Information

Title:
Interview with Chalmers Roberts, 1986
Description:
Chalmers Roberts was a long-time journalist who covered international and diplomatic affairs beginning in the late 1930s, joining The Washington Post in 1949. He begins by describing life in the United States in the post-depression 1930s and the growth of interest in Marxism. For many of these Americans, the Hitler-Stalin pact was a turning point. The public's mood about the war was initially against involvement but after Hitler's invasion of the USSR sentiments turned in favor of helping the underdog Soviets. He briefly comments on Winston Churchill and his special appeal to many Americans. Turning to the war, he recalls his reaction to Pearl Harbor, as well as the public's response, and its effect in bringing an end to isolationism. Near war's end, FDR's death came as a major shock after 12 years as president, he recalls. In addition, Truman was not well-known. The public's reaction to Hiroshima, he notes, was largely relief given how many Americans were still in uniform and how anxious the population was for an end to the conflict. He adds that Japan's Kamikaze attacks were fresh in American minds. He personally believes that while the first atomic bomb was crucial to breaking Japanese resistance, the second was "a mistake." On a related theme, he traces the sense of public outrage at mass civilian casualties to events in Spain and Shanghai, then provides recollections of his personal visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He comments briefly on the view of many that FDR had sold Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union. On nuclear issues, he criticizes the Baruch Plan for its lack of balance, which left the Soviets feeling that they would permanently be locked in second place. He finishes by saying the most extraordinary thing about the nuclear age is that no one has ever dropped another bomb.
Interviewee:
Roberts, Chalmers M. (Chalmers McGeagh), 1910-2005
Date:
March 2, 1986
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
WGBH Open Vault
Series:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Baruch Plan (1946)
Hiroshima-shi (Japan)--History--Bombardment, 1945
Nagasaki-shi (Japan)--History--Bombardment, 1945
Espionage
Great Depression
Nuclear weapons
Isolationism
Nuclear warfare
World War I
Great Britain
World War II
Journalists
Communism
Soviet Union
Gouzenko, Igor, 1919-1982
Litvinov, M. M. (Maksim Maksimovich), 1876-1951
Churchill, Winston, 1874-1965
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
Luce, Henry Robinson, 1898-1967
Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953
Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945
Places:
District of Columbia > Washington
Germany
Japan
Extent:
01:25:53:02
Link to Item:
http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_C520F5DA930D4918A613100EEB4179F4
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation
Identifier:
V_C520F5DA930D4918A613100EEB4179F4