Henry Maar
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hmaar.bsky.social
Henry Maar
@hmaar.bsky.social
Historian, humorist, beer enthusiast! H-Diplo Review Editor. Board Member, Peace History Society. Cold War/Arms Control/abolition/peace activism. Author of Freeze! The Grassroots Movement to Halt the Arms Race and End the Cold War (Cornell UP, 2022)
Reposted by Henry Maar
The Censored History of Able Archer 83:
Archive Publishes “War Scare” Documents Deleted from State Department History (click below to read)
nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-boo...
The Censored History of Able Archer 83
Washington, D.C., November 14, 2025 - The State Department quietly deleted important archival records from an official history detailing how a 1983 NATO war game could have led to a catastrophic nucle...
nsarchive.gwu.edu
November 14, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Now maybe I’ll finally get a chance to watch House of Dynamite 🤷‍♂️
From @theathletic.com: The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games to become the first repeat World Series winners in 25 years. www.nytimes.com/athletic/676...
November 2, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
A charismatic Mormon attorney lobbied LDS leadership to oppose nuclear weapons during the Cold War. In this interview by @inkstickmedia.com's @tkbarnes.bsky.social, his son reflects on that legacy.
https://loom.ly/wnPulYs
Interview: My Dad Moved the Mormon Church on Nukes - Ploughshares
A charismatic Mormon attorney lobbied Latter-day Saints leadership to oppose nuclear weapons. His son shares behind-the-scenes details on the campaign.
ploughshares.org
September 3, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
A massive attack on several humanities units (Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, Holocaust Studies, Classics, Religion, German & Scandinavian, Russian/East European/Eurasian Studies) *and* tenure now unfolding at the University of Oregon (a blue state!). Closure of units and faculty layoffs threatened.
August 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
While atomic bomb survivors warn the catastrophic risks, leaders of nuclear-armed states and self-proclaimed 'realists' argue that the deterrence of nuclear weapons is what keeps them from being deployed.
As arms race in Asia intensifies, a-bomb survivors make final plea for peace
While atomic bomb survivors warn the catastrophic risks, leaders of nuclear-armed states and self-proclaimed 'realists' argue that the deterrence of nuclear weapons is what keeps them from being deployed.
n.pr
August 16, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
Grateful for this ringing endorsement (and blaring warning alarm) from Henry Maar for the new Nuclear Times.
These Are Still Nuclear Times
Historian Henry Richard Maar III for Nuclear Times: “The entwined history of arms control and peace activism should remind us—we can stop and turn the clock back.”
www.nucleartimes.com
August 15, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Nuclear Times—the voice of the 1980’s peace and antinuclear movement—is back. I wrote a short piece for it, talking about its history and relevancy both for contemporary peace activists and policymakers, as well as its usefulness for Cold War history scholars.
These Are Still Nuclear Times
Historian Henry Richard Maar III for Nuclear Times: “The entwined history of arms control and peace activism should remind us—we can stop and turn the clock back.”
www.nucleartimes.com
August 15, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
Eighty years is a lifetime and we’re losing the most compelling messengers about nuclear war.

Frank Von Hippel also reminded me that because it’s been a lifetime since nuclear weapons were used that people think it can’t happen again. But disarming is as urgent as ever. apnews.com/article/japa...
Japan's aging atomic bomb survivors speak out against nuclear weapons
The number of survivors of the U.S. atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is dwindling 80 years later, but they are increasingly speaking out against nuclear weapons.
apnews.com
August 5, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
At exactly 8:15 a.m. JST, around the time you’re reading this, 80 years ago, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Today, we remember the lives lost, the survivors who continue to speak out, and the urgent need for nuclear disarmament. Read more here: www.icanw.org/remembering_...
August 6, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
80 years after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the world has blundered into a new age of nuclear perils, Jason Farago writes. “To survive this second nuclear age we are going to need models from the first one: artists who faced up to what the bomb did, and what the bomb made of us.”
80 Years After Hiroshima Bombing, Art Needs ‘Courage to Be Afraid’
Eighty years after the city’s destruction, we seem to be blundering into a new age of nuclear perils. It is time for culture to rediscover “the courage to be afraid.”
www.nytimes.com
August 3, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
“The Sentinel ICBM is completely unnecessary, wildly expensive, and so far behind schedule the Pentagon has only a vague idea of when it will be deployed. Given that ICBMs are vulnerable to attack, and therefore kept on hair trigger alert, they create pointless risk."— UCS's @atomicwonk.bsky.social
Sen. Markey, Rep. Khanna Introduce Legislation to Pause Sentinel Nuclear Missile Program | U.S. Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts
Bill Text (PDF) Washington (July 23, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative...
www.markey.senate.gov
July 24, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
A new study in JAMA shows how proximity to Coldwater Creek, where nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project was improperly stored, affected cancer rates over the decades.
A creek with atomic waste from WWII is linked to increased cancer risk
A new study in JAMA shows how proximity to Coldwater Creek, where nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project was improperly stored, affected cancer rates over the decades.
n.pr
July 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Williams’ Empire was published nearly 50 years ago, but I find the wisdom worth returning to regularly: “empire as a way of life only leads to war and more war.” More pessimistically he warns, “empire a a way of life will lead to nuclear death.”
June 22, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
There's no declaration of war, and no AUMF that covers this. Entering this war is wrong on the merits; we had a perfectly peaceful way to address Iran's nuclear program. It's also unlawful. A democratic republic should not be able to enter a war of choice on one man's say-so.
The US has hust dropped bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites, according to Trump, bringing American military forces into Israel’s war with Iran.
June 22, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
An Army vet heading to the VA took a wrong turn—and was detained by Marines in LA. While they acted professionally, their detaining him was likely illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act. It’s another line being crossed—and it puts our Marines in a bad spot. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
Exclusive: US Marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles, video shows
Marines deployed to Los Angeles carried out the detention of a civilian on Friday, the U.S. military confirmed after being presented with Reuters images, in the first known detention by active-duty troops deployed there by President Donald Trump.
www.reuters.com
June 14, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
The JCPOA was very good, actually.
June 13, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Henry Maar
To learn more about the nuclear freeze movement and the unprecedented June 12th march and rally and its impact, check out these recent books by @hmaar.bsky.social and @vincentintondi.bsky.social.
June 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
Today in 1982, an estimated 750,000-1,000,000 people marched through New York City from the United Nations to Central Park to demand a US-Soviet freeze on testing, production, and deployment of new, dangerous, and expensive nuclear weapons—at the time, the largest political protest in US history.
June 12, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
Hearing more reports from people I know of ICE chasing down farm workers in fields in Oxnard. This is all not very good, for countless reasons, but mostly for snatching hardworking citizens of this county for no reason but racists in the WH. #venturacounty #ice #politics #agriculture
June 11, 2025 at 3:31 AM
I attempted to get ChatGPT to help me ChatGPT proof part of an assignment. I’m not so convinced of its “subtle” blending of text into a political cartoon 🤷‍♂️
May 24, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Henry Maar
This is delusional and reckless. There’s no way to design, test, construct, and deploy a comprehensive system to reliably stop any missiles launched from land, sea, or space, and do it in “two-and-a-half to three years” for $175 billion.

But some of our adversaries may believe Trump—and respond.
Trump estimates Golden Dome will cost $175B over three years
President Trump also announced he has appointed Gen. Michael Guetlein, the Space Force’s second in command, to oversee the effort.
www.defensenews.com
May 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM