Good commentary here, Zion. I agree with all of it. But it's not quite complete. There is another much grimmer aspect to all this.
For all of its history since 1945, Germany was on the front line of the Cold War conflict between NATO and the USSR. This meant that Germany was likely to experience the first use of nuclear weapons if the Cold War ever turned into an active war. Over the eight decades since WW2, this understandably would have traumatized the German population about nuclear technology. The difference between nuclear power and military use of nuclear technology has never been clearly explained to the general public.
Second, the Soviet Union had a strong incentive to corroding German use of nuclear power generation. The USSR produced nothing that Western economies wanted. Except oil and gas. There was a huge demand for oil and gas in Germany if the alternative (nuclear power) could be discouraged or shut down. This was a principal project of the KGB starting in the 1960s. Its success was the principal reason why Yuri Andropov was chosen to succeed Leonid Brezhnev in 1982.
Andropov's program included extensive work in supporting an assortment of antinuclear groups and political causes. So to some degree, German antinuclearism is at least in part an artifact of Soviet political interference in a NATO front line state during the Cold War. The fact that the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 in no way diminishes the strength of this effect.
Thank you, Zion, for refreshing my memory on how fears of radiation have been pushed higher and higher in Germany.
Another example, not just in Germany but worldwide, is the HBO mini-series Chernobyl that lives from pushing radiation fears high and higher.
From a historical and physics perspective, this series was very well made. However—and this however is a big one—all aspects of radiation damages were extremely exaggerated and in most cases pure nonsense.
You may be interested in Dr. Shapiro assessment. Shapiro holds both a medical degree and a PhD from Kiev, Ukraine. In 1986, when Chernobyl happened, she was one of the first medical responders sent to the most radiation-contaminated areas of Chernobyl and led the field team surveying the medical effects on children in the vicinity.
You can see her assessment about the HBO mini-series on YouTube, where she clearly states where and how complete nonsensical exaggeration were made by the producers of the mini-series.
Die Wolke and these books for children about the horrors of nuclear was (which somehow get blurred together with nuclear power) remind me of the book for children by Father Furrniss about the horrors of Hell which he described in horrifying detail. ("The Sight of Hell", 1861) Wikipedia has a bit about this: "an eighteen-year old girl who cared only about fashion and dancing is burnt to cinders by a dress made of fire; a sixteen-year old girl who disobeyed her parents is forced to live in a cell with a burning hot floor scorching her feet; a young boy who went to pubs, dancing-houses, and theatres has his blood literally boiling and roasting him from the inside out, but acknowledges that his punishment is just; and a little child is trapped inside a scorching hot oven forever, their face frozen with despair. Furniss wrote "the same law which is for others is also for children. If children knowingly and willingly break God's commandments, they also must be punished like the others.""
Then there's Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter book from around the same time; it seems there's quite a tradition of cautionary tales for children in Germany :)
As as been observed by others before, the history of the modern world, and the meeting of its energy needs, would be so different today if the invention of nuclear energy had preceded the invention of nuclear weapons rather than following it.
I spoke with a German man about nuclear energy once and he broke down in tears over this subject.
He described a deep guilt in German society from WWII atrocities.
I think he speaks truth. This strong sense of historical guilt I think you've missed in your article. The way I've come to interpret this situation, is German guilt, particular in the older generation, has made them latch onto 'doing good' very forcefully as a reaction, which in the case of nuclear energy means being forcefully against it, mainly because it is tangled up with atomic weapons and a deep fear of avoiding further nuclear warfare, but also around environmental concerns, which are of course falsely overemphasised.
To them, it's a morally righteous cause.
They're wrong, unfortunately..
It will take time for the German anti's to understand this.. or perhaps they never will.. perhaps we have to wait until the next generation. Hopefully articles such as this can speed up the process, good work.
I see your point, but nuclear energy had nothing to do with WWII. The confusion between energy and weapons still persists, and that’s where the storytelling comes in, linking the two together as if they’re one and the same. Die Wolke does this masterfully.
One has to ask why they are so militant about it while, for example, the Finnish Green Party is openly pro-nuclear energy. It still comes down to the stories many Germans believe.
Thank you for an interesting contribution, Zion. The vulnerability of children to scary stories stands out here, and young people are the deliberate targets of Climate Catastrophists, as we see with Gretha's influence and Extinction Rebellion. When I was a teenager I was deeply troubled after viewing an apocalyptic movie based on Neville Shute's novel "On the Beach". It is about a global nuclear war that decimates humankind. Harrowing scenes show families committing suicide to forestall the horrors of death by radiation. A submarine survives the holocaust and sets off to look for signs of life on the devastated planet. Hopes are raised when they pick up a radio signal, which they follow to Australia, where they find a a morse code key tapping out random beeps via a window blind moving in the breeze.I had nightmares about this movie for years!
Another recent factor I think we should also consider is Germany's valuable renewable energy equipment industry and fears that it could be thretened by nuclear electricity generation. In South Africa the Germans are particularly active in marketing their wind turbines and other RE equipment exports, as well as pushing the Green Hydrogen boondoggle. In Namibia a German consortium has persuaded gullible government officials to permit the construction of a green hydrogen facility inside a national park of significant biodiversity value. The German, Danish and to a growing extent Chinese wind turbine manufacturers are selling billions of dollars' worth of hardware in South Africa, as this country forges ahead with its own foolish and short-sighted 'Energiewende'. The Germans and Danes also pour lots of money into programmes that push the 'Just Transition' and 'Net Zero' that South Africa is falling for. Our politicians are even accpting loans for these futile activities, adding to South Africa's already precarious financial situation. Years go, the Danes started targetting childen in this country with propaganda story books like "Bad Mr Coal and Good Mr Wind". Denmark has also funded a major Wind Atlas project for South Africa. I see a clear agenda here to promote the lucrative RE commercial business in wind turbines. The biggest threat to this industry is nuclear, and in particular SMRs as they are (hopefully) going to be deployed in the coming decades.
Great article. The German psyche is difficult to understand. One small error. In Germany 99 Luft Balloons came out in 1983. I was living in Hamburg then and it was a key part of Neue Deutsche Welle music
Good commentary here, Zion. I agree with all of it. But it's not quite complete. There is another much grimmer aspect to all this.
For all of its history since 1945, Germany was on the front line of the Cold War conflict between NATO and the USSR. This meant that Germany was likely to experience the first use of nuclear weapons if the Cold War ever turned into an active war. Over the eight decades since WW2, this understandably would have traumatized the German population about nuclear technology. The difference between nuclear power and military use of nuclear technology has never been clearly explained to the general public.
Second, the Soviet Union had a strong incentive to corroding German use of nuclear power generation. The USSR produced nothing that Western economies wanted. Except oil and gas. There was a huge demand for oil and gas in Germany if the alternative (nuclear power) could be discouraged or shut down. This was a principal project of the KGB starting in the 1960s. Its success was the principal reason why Yuri Andropov was chosen to succeed Leonid Brezhnev in 1982.
Andropov's program included extensive work in supporting an assortment of antinuclear groups and political causes. So to some degree, German antinuclearism is at least in part an artifact of Soviet political interference in a NATO front line state during the Cold War. The fact that the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 in no way diminishes the strength of this effect.
Thank you, Zion, for refreshing my memory on how fears of radiation have been pushed higher and higher in Germany.
Another example, not just in Germany but worldwide, is the HBO mini-series Chernobyl that lives from pushing radiation fears high and higher.
From a historical and physics perspective, this series was very well made. However—and this however is a big one—all aspects of radiation damages were extremely exaggerated and in most cases pure nonsense.
You may be interested in Dr. Shapiro assessment. Shapiro holds both a medical degree and a PhD from Kiev, Ukraine. In 1986, when Chernobyl happened, she was one of the first medical responders sent to the most radiation-contaminated areas of Chernobyl and led the field team surveying the medical effects on children in the vicinity.
You can see her assessment about the HBO mini-series on YouTube, where she clearly states where and how complete nonsensical exaggeration were made by the producers of the mini-series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1GEPsSVpZY
Die Wolke and these books for children about the horrors of nuclear was (which somehow get blurred together with nuclear power) remind me of the book for children by Father Furrniss about the horrors of Hell which he described in horrifying detail. ("The Sight of Hell", 1861) Wikipedia has a bit about this: "an eighteen-year old girl who cared only about fashion and dancing is burnt to cinders by a dress made of fire; a sixteen-year old girl who disobeyed her parents is forced to live in a cell with a burning hot floor scorching her feet; a young boy who went to pubs, dancing-houses, and theatres has his blood literally boiling and roasting him from the inside out, but acknowledges that his punishment is just; and a little child is trapped inside a scorching hot oven forever, their face frozen with despair. Furniss wrote "the same law which is for others is also for children. If children knowingly and willingly break God's commandments, they also must be punished like the others.""
Then there's Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter book from around the same time; it seems there's quite a tradition of cautionary tales for children in Germany :)
As as been observed by others before, the history of the modern world, and the meeting of its energy needs, would be so different today if the invention of nuclear energy had preceded the invention of nuclear weapons rather than following it.
I spoke with a German man about nuclear energy once and he broke down in tears over this subject.
He described a deep guilt in German society from WWII atrocities.
I think he speaks truth. This strong sense of historical guilt I think you've missed in your article. The way I've come to interpret this situation, is German guilt, particular in the older generation, has made them latch onto 'doing good' very forcefully as a reaction, which in the case of nuclear energy means being forcefully against it, mainly because it is tangled up with atomic weapons and a deep fear of avoiding further nuclear warfare, but also around environmental concerns, which are of course falsely overemphasised.
To them, it's a morally righteous cause.
They're wrong, unfortunately..
It will take time for the German anti's to understand this.. or perhaps they never will.. perhaps we have to wait until the next generation. Hopefully articles such as this can speed up the process, good work.
I see your point, but nuclear energy had nothing to do with WWII. The confusion between energy and weapons still persists, and that’s where the storytelling comes in, linking the two together as if they’re one and the same. Die Wolke does this masterfully.
"The situation had all the elements of the perfect apocalyptic scenario." Except for any of the actual qualities of an apocalypse!
Also: "Chornobyl: What Happens When We Play God?" Answer: We get better at it.
I'm surprised you don't mention the enduring role of Germany's Greens in leading the charge against nuclear power.
One has to ask why they are so militant about it while, for example, the Finnish Green Party is openly pro-nuclear energy. It still comes down to the stories many Germans believe.
Thank you for an interesting contribution, Zion. The vulnerability of children to scary stories stands out here, and young people are the deliberate targets of Climate Catastrophists, as we see with Gretha's influence and Extinction Rebellion. When I was a teenager I was deeply troubled after viewing an apocalyptic movie based on Neville Shute's novel "On the Beach". It is about a global nuclear war that decimates humankind. Harrowing scenes show families committing suicide to forestall the horrors of death by radiation. A submarine survives the holocaust and sets off to look for signs of life on the devastated planet. Hopes are raised when they pick up a radio signal, which they follow to Australia, where they find a a morse code key tapping out random beeps via a window blind moving in the breeze.I had nightmares about this movie for years!
Another recent factor I think we should also consider is Germany's valuable renewable energy equipment industry and fears that it could be thretened by nuclear electricity generation. In South Africa the Germans are particularly active in marketing their wind turbines and other RE equipment exports, as well as pushing the Green Hydrogen boondoggle. In Namibia a German consortium has persuaded gullible government officials to permit the construction of a green hydrogen facility inside a national park of significant biodiversity value. The German, Danish and to a growing extent Chinese wind turbine manufacturers are selling billions of dollars' worth of hardware in South Africa, as this country forges ahead with its own foolish and short-sighted 'Energiewende'. The Germans and Danes also pour lots of money into programmes that push the 'Just Transition' and 'Net Zero' that South Africa is falling for. Our politicians are even accpting loans for these futile activities, adding to South Africa's already precarious financial situation. Years go, the Danes started targetting childen in this country with propaganda story books like "Bad Mr Coal and Good Mr Wind". Denmark has also funded a major Wind Atlas project for South Africa. I see a clear agenda here to promote the lucrative RE commercial business in wind turbines. The biggest threat to this industry is nuclear, and in particular SMRs as they are (hopefully) going to be deployed in the coming decades.
Great article. The German psyche is difficult to understand. One small error. In Germany 99 Luft Balloons came out in 1983. I was living in Hamburg then and it was a key part of Neue Deutsche Welle music
You're right, 84 was the UK release date, 83 was the German one.