Primary Resources

Galstoff Collection (RG-370, Box 2)

Pratt, Haraden and Arthur Van Dyck. “Bikini Observations and Their Significance.”  1946.  “Bikini Observations and Their Significance,” was written by two government scientists shortly after the Bikini-Atoll tests.  Besides describing the tests and giving an overview of the observation data, the two scientists also make the case for the need for “world law and order,” noting that the only way to achieve this was to control the spread of nuclear technology and avert another world war by keeping the atom bomb out of the hands of those who aim to “destroy or subjugate the rest of us, before we can do anything about it.”  Pratt and Van-Dyck make the case that without the cooperation of the rest of the civilized world in policing nuclear armaments, the next war will be one of unimaginable destruction, hence setting the stage for the beginnings of the Cold War era.

Joint Task Force One.  “Operation Crossroads.”  Washington, D.C., 1946.  This informational pamphlet was created to distribute to the civilian scientists who joined the military aboard the U.S.S. Panamint, giving them an overview of the project, including explicit safety protocol for the tests, as well as helpful information such as what to pack for the 3-month overseas journey, the facilities onboard ship, and immunization and other paperwork required for boarding the naval vessel.

“The United States Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”  Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, June 30, 1946.  This pamphlet includes an assessment by the government of the atomic bomb and its damage to both infrastructure and civilian populations in Japan.  Included are pictures of structures before and after the blast, as well as maps of the blast area and an interesting “before and after” photograph of a Japanese man who was supposedly spared from receiving flash burns just by wearing a hat.