[nukeman]

1. Being on the front lines of the Cold War, in the event of a hot war, most nuclear weapons would be used in West Germany. (Yes, weapons aren’t power plants, but they can be hard to separate in popular discourse.)

2. Plans to build a nuclear power plant at Wyhl were opposed by locals, who occupied the site, and were forcefully removed by police. This was broadcast on television and helped galvanize the anti-nuclear movement.

3. The Chernobyl accident led to fallout being deposited on German soil, which furthered opposition, and in my view, was the killing blow.

[jansan]

> The Chernobyl accident led to fallout being deposited on German soil, A

That was long after the anti nuclear movement had gained full steam, not a reason for it. People in Poland or Bulgaria are not nearly that extreme in their thinking, even though they got a much bigger dose of the Charnobyl fallout.

[nukeman]

But the severity of Chernobyl definitely fomented anti-nuclear sentiment much further than it had been. It “showed” that a major radiological release could happen in a civilian power plant (nonwithstanding that such designs weren’t used in Germany). Ultimately the formation of the sentiment was a process, of which Chernobyl is a core part.