The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, established in 1946, used documentary filmmaking as one of its primary public outreach tools. Between the late 1940s and the agency’s dissolution in 1974, it sponsored hundreds of films that documented nuclear research, promoted peaceful uses of atomic energy, trained scientists and engineers, and shaped public opinion about the Atomic Age. To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the commission’s creation, the U.S. Department of Energy’s history program is providing direct, phased access to some of these films.
