Atomic Bomb: The Rise Of The Nuclear Superpowers | M.A.D. World | Timeline

The Cold War: When nuclear weapons kept the entire world on the edge of M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction. As Russia, China and the USA flex their military muscles on the global stage today, ‘M.A.D. World’ takes a close look at the last time we were threatened by the might of world superpowers: The Cold War.

In this episode:

– As World War 2 draws to a close, 50 Nations sign up to a new organisation in the hope of
bringing peace to the world. Some were enemies only weeks before but the United Nations
is born.

– A single bomb with the power of 20 000 tons of TNT flattens Hiroshima and creates a horrific burst of nuclear radiation. This terrible new weapon stuns the world and the
nuclear age begins.

– As part of an agreement signed by the victorious allies after World War 2, the Soviet
Union occupies Eastern Europe. The West watches in helpless horror as soviet-controlled
communist dictatorships are imposed in every country.

– The USA tests its first atomic bomb since Nagasaki at Bikini Atoll. More tests follow.
There is no doubt the USA is ready to use the atomic bomb again if necessary.

– As an impenetrable border of barbed wire, land mines and watch towers divides Europe,
people from Eastern Europe use desperate means to escape the Iron Curtain. They reveal
stories of secret police, torture and execution in the soviet occupied territories.

– Greece is the battleground for the first proxy war of the Cold War as communist rebels
supported by Eastern Bloc neighbours rise up and the USA delivers money and arms to the
Greek government.

– Chinese communist rebels flood across the country and defeat the US-supported Imperial
government to create a second major communist power.

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