This animated film tells the story of a family which lived in the village next to the Chernobyl reactor, and whose lives were destroyed during the 1986 disaster.

The essay sheds light on the implications of Chernobyl as a national site of memory in Germany, France, and Belarus. The comparative perspective reveals the importance of underlying structures such as national (nuclear) politics, elite and expert culture, environmentalism, and the role of individual agency.

Nuclear Humanities showcases interdisciplinary approaches to the problem of nuclear harm through a five-day workshop sponsored by Whitman College’s 2016 O’Donnell Endowed Chair in Global Studies.