The British and West German Protests against Nuclear Weapons and the Cultures of the Cold War

Abstract

This article compares the ways in which Cold War culture in general and ‘nuclear culture’ in particular framed British and West German anti-nuclear-weapons campaigns in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Rather than interpreting the movements as protests against nuclear weapons only, this article suggests that the movements mounted a more fundamental resistance against the Cold War's effects on international relations, politics and society. In order to express this resistance, the protesters in both countries revitalised very specific national protest traditions. In exploring the relationship between Cold War culture and political traditions, the article highlights the ambiguities of Cold War culture in Britain and West Germany.