ae f pe re ° a rs m= ovr ccm Le cv igy LOONPIDENTIALFE ANNEX "A" SPECIFIC TREATMENT OF THE FALI-OUT ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE GENERAL TOPIC OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS OF FEBRUARY 21, 1955 SOVIET BLOC Bast Germany. The East German Home Service on 16 February briefly outlined the mass destructive effects of atomic (sic) bombs as described in the announcement, coupled it with commentary on the total destructive effect of cobalt bombs, alluded t» the fact that the Soviet Union also has atomic bombs, and used the total as a peg for propaganda against ‘est German ritificatinn of the Paris Accords, pointing out that ratification would bring on a war in which Germany would be an atomic battleground. Commmnist China. There was no comment on the report itself, though there were charges the U.S. Government is whipping up an A-Bomb scare in the United States to create acceptance of atomic warfare as an inevitability. This was contrasted with the Chinese Commmist signature campaign to ban atomic weapons. A series of eight broadcasts on atomic energy, with emphasis on peaceful uses was announcede FREE WORLD There was a surprising absence of reaction reported in ‘'estern Furope, with the exception of England, and in most of the free world. The only widespread press coverage was in Japan, where all matters of atomic warfare are regarded with special interest, conditioned by Japanese experiences. Japane The Tokyo press received the report with alarm headlines and maps of the potential fall-out area centered on Tokyo. However, there were no reports of an anti-American reaction in the press; one pro-American paper recalled Bulganin's remark to the effect the USSR will not limit experiments in atomic weapnns. By the 2list, although discussions of a Yokohama fire and Soviet-Japanese talks pre-empted top play, atomic developments continued in the fore of Japanese news. Sunday Mainichi featured a summary Washington AEC announce- ment with scathing comments by three left-wing University professors. The fact that injuries to the Fukuryu Maru fishermen and Rongelap natives were not mentioned was particularly criticized. Yomiuri reported Radio Moscow as denying possibility Soviet atomic experiments would cause dangerous radioactivity this country. All papers carried news over weekend of the Soviet disarmament proposals es well as British proposals for H-Bomb. CONFIDENTIAL