Supervisor: Hans Fynbo

After the Second World War, which saw the development of the nuclear bomb, the United States of America chose the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean as the location for the conduction of multiple tests of nuclear weapons - and later also thermonuclear weapons.

This colloquium will focus on how nuclear and thermonuclear bombs work, what happens when they are detonated, and what the consequences of these types of bombs are with a specific focus on three of the numerous tests conducted by the U.S. on the Marshall Islands in the 1940’s and 1950’s, including the largest yielding bomb ever detonated by the U.S. It will provide on overview of the historical context of these tests, and explain why the United States chose to conduct them and the role they played in the nuclear arms race during the Cold War.

Furthermore, the colloquium will also discuss the consequences for the Marshall Islands and people involved either directly or indirectly in the tests.