Scientific Collaboration and the Cold War: 1945-1970

This thesis is an examination of scientific collaboration between 1945 and 1970, covering the end of World War II and through the early stages of the Cold War. Prior to the Second World War, scientific collaboration was frequent and necessary to development and research. World War II created a new atmosphere of secrecy, preventing scientists from collaborating as they once had. This paper examines what that collaboration looked like, how it was derailed and why, how some scientists sought to return to collaboration, sometimes at personal expense, and finally what those effects looked like throughout the Nuclear Age and Space Age.This thesis approaches these questions from a Western and Soviet perspective, indicating that scientists had a unique experience throughout the Nuclear Age and Space Age. Held by new restrictions under penalty of treason, scientists were forced to modify their traditional methodology. Still, some scientists found ways to speak out against these restrictions, resulting in moments of collaboration, even at the height of the Cold War. In examining these collaborations, much is revealed about Soviet contributions that post-Cold War students may not be aware of the Soviet interests in nuclear and space technologies. This paper argues that the scientists of the Cold War offer a new, unique perspective on the dynamics of the Cold War and in looking at their experiences, one can gain a better understanding of the Cold War