1945: Fallout. 1951: Asia rising. 1957: Skin deep

Episode number 5 of Series “People’s century: 1900-1999”.
This tape contains episodes fourteen to sixteen of the ‘People’s century 1900-1999’ series. “1945: fallout”; a nuclear bomb ends the war and signals a new age for society - the nuclear age. Eager to posses nuclear weapons of their own, Stalin institutes secret factories to manufacture nuclear weapons, but Russia is only one of the many countries who now have their own armament of nuclear weapons. America and Britain promote the benefits of this “new” power, encouraging people to make the most of its benefits as nuclear plants are built across the world. With this scientific progress however comes suspicion and fear, thoughts which prove founded as the side effect of radiation become known and disasters like Chernobyl have far reaching repercussions. Narrated by Sean Barrett. “1951: Asia rising”; Japan becomes the first of many Asian countries to rebuild after the war and match Western standards. Post war success is achieved by a strong work ethic and high standard of education, the paternalism of large companies who provided living arrangements for their employees, a ban on imports, and strong authoritarian rule. The pinnacle of Japan’s progress is reached when they host the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Tiger economies have arrived. Narrated by Sean Barrett. “1957: skin deep”; in the deep south of America in the 1950s, state laws enforce segregation between black and white. In South Africa the same laws apply and are enforced by the minority ruling Afrikaans who institutionalise apartheid in the late 1940s. Resistance in America comes in the form of the civil rights movement, while in South Africa the African National Campaign (ANC) begins to take form under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, who is quickly imprisoned, thus contributing to his cult status as a civil rights activist. Narrated by Veronika Hyks.