Uranium matters : Central European uranium in international politics, 1900-1960

Examines the impact of the Czechoslovak and East German uranium industries on local politics and on societies, particularly in the decade or so after the end of the Second World War. The Erzgebirge – the Ore Mountains – on the border of Czechoslovakia and East Germany of the time, was the oldest uranium mine in the world, whose important resources were badly needed for Stalin's atomic bomb. Table of Contents List of Tables Preface Part 1. Unparalleled Power Terminal The Race for the Ultimate Weapon Uranium Monopoly and the Division of Europe The Erzgebirge and the Soviet Uranium Gap Notes Part 2. The Erzgebirge Region The Silver Mines and Healing Springs An Early Atomic Age in the Erzgebirge National Tensions in Jáchymov Notes Part 3. The Politics of Czechoslovak Uranium Part 4. Wismut AG: A State Within a State The Consequences of War Wismut and War Reparations Maltsev and His Team Soldiers of the Party Migration into the Erzgebirge Labor and Its Shortage The Soviet Secret Police and Its Assistants From Compulsory to Voluntary Employment An Overview of the Wismut Workforce, 1946–1953 Becoming a Model Enterprise Uranium Towns The Cold War of Words and Spies The Miners Between Riot and Adjustment Radiation Damage and Accidents A Final Remark on the Special Position of Wismut AG Concluding Remarks Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Archives Bibliography Name Index