Nuclear Triggers and Atomic Gambits: Confrontations and Disasters in the Atomic Age

During World War II, humans developed nuclear weapons, which then evolved into megaton-class thermonuclear weapons capable of destroying entire cities in minutes. This has brought mankind close to a potential nuclear apocalypse on multiple occasions, especially during the Cold War. Despite the existential threat posed, global nuclear-weapons states continue to swear by dangerous doctrines such as ‘nuclear deterrence’ and ‘mutual-assured destruction’.

The nuclear age has seen discussions of both the ‘Atoms of War’ and ‘Atoms of Peace’, but little attention has been given to the ‘Atoms of Doom’. This aspect has been conveniently overlooked to maintain global acceptance and reliance on the ‘Nuclear Juggernaut’. This close look at historical moments when the ‘Atoms of Doom’ almost led to doomsday sheds light on the unimaginable horrors of nuclear exchange and the enduring effects of nuclear testing.

Former Soviet premiers Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachov captured the gravity of the threat, with Khrushchev noting that “the living will envy the dead” following a nuclear exchange, and Gorbachov expressing firm belief that nuclear weapons should never be held by any mere mortal again.

It’s chilling to think about Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany coming close to developing nuclear weapons during World War II. The potential devastation and human suffering they could have inflicted on the world are unimaginable. Such a scenario, with the Nazis having functional ballistic missiles and no defenses, is a horrifying thought.

It is crucial that mankind never faces such a situation again. We must work to prevent the ‘Atoms of Doom’ from bringing the world to the brink of extinction.

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