Cold War Bomb Shelters

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Cold War Bomb Shelters

• Atomic Nightmares
• Create
• Survival Fantasies

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Japan Atomic Effects

• With the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
  Nagasaki, the world became aware of the
  destructive power and effects of nuclear war
• By the early 1950s most Americans had a growing,
  and graphic, understanding of atomic weapons and
  the dangers of radiation

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Hiroshima Before and After
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Atomic Babies Birth Defects
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Nagasaki
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More Unsettling Images

• The U.S. continued atomic tests and developed the
  even more destructive hydrogen bomb (H-bomb)
• Americans were exposed to images of these tests
  and statistics such as blast radius damage and
  wind patterns that would spread radioactive
  fallout

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Effects of Nuclear Explosion
http//www.nv.doe.gov/library/films/film.aspx?ID2
0
Click the hyperlink above to view atomic test
video showing effects of nuclear explosions seen
in 1953 and 1955 tests.
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Nuclear World Destruction

• By the 1950s both superpowers (USSR and USA) had
  nuclear weapons and, by the 1960s, delivery
  systems to send them across continents and oceans
• For the first time, complete world annihilation
  became a real possibility

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A Feeling of Safety

• Elaborate systems were developed to give warning
  before a nuclear attack
• Some hoped to survive by protecting themselves,
  and their families, by creating protective
  shelters to survive the explosion and effects of
  radiation

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Civil Defense Instructions Nuclear Attack
Warnings and Information
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Civil Defense Propaganda Spreads Fear and Paranoia

• U.S. Civil Defense used ads to try to prepare the
  public for possible attack and use of shelters
• School children routinely practiced duck and
  cover drills where desks would supposedly help
  provide protection

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Duck and Cover Civil Defense Film
http//www.archive.org/details/gov.ntis.ava11109vn
b1
Click the hyperlink above to view classic 1950s
civil defense film about duck and cover
protection from nuclear attack.
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Duck and Cover Instructions
Click above to hear audio of Civil Defense
information on Duck and Cover protection.
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Bunker Mentality

• Governments, and individuals, searched for a
  feeling of safety and control
• Bomb shelters seemed to offer the possibility of
  surviving a nuclear war
• Public and private bomb shelters were built
  throughout the Cold War

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Public Shelters

• U.S. Civil Defense began assigning basements of
  public buildings as bomb shelters
• Some of these shelters were stockpiled with food,
  water, medicine, etc.
• There was never enough shelter space, or
  supplies, for all citizens

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Shelter in the basement of the courthouse in
Ottawa, IL
Shelter in the basement of the Roxy Theatre in
Ottawa, IL
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Civil Defense Instructions What to Bring to a
Public Bomb Shelter
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Public/Private Bomb Shelters

• When the Randhurst Mall was built in the early
  1960s, they added a bomb shelter in the basement
• It was supposed to be able to protect all the
  residents of Mt. Prospect, IL from nuclear attack

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Private Shelters

• To protect their families, some Americans built
  bomb shelters in their homes
• Many were built in secret to prevent neighbors
  from trying to come in during attacks
• It is estimated that more than 1500 private
  shelters were built during the Cold War

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Shelter Construction

• To provide maximum protection, most shelters were
  built below ground with concrete blocks
• Many were built below patios and driveways to
  provide extra protection
• Some hid the construction from neighbors,
  claiming to be building swimming pools or
  remodeling their homes

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Shelter Supplies

• Public and private shelters were stocked for a
  minimum two-week supply of essentials
• Water
• Food
• Sanitation facilities
• Radiation meters
• Medical supplies
• Radios, books, games, etc.

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Drinking Water
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Survival Food
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Sanitation Facilities
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Geiger Counters to Measure Radiation Levels
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Dosimeters to Measure a Persons Cumulative
Exposure to Radiation
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Medical Supplies
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Civil Defense Instructions Find Shelter!
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Private Shelters in Rockford

• It is estimated that less than a dozen private
  bomb shelters were built in Rockford
• Most builders did not apply for permits or
  register their shelters with local or federal
  civil defense
• Two of these Cold War era bomb shelters are known
  to exist today

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Local Shelter Locations
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Private Shelter off Rural St.

• This small house looks like the rest on the block
• But under the driveway is a secret bomb shelter
• It was built in the 1950s by the Richard McGaw
  family

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Mrs. McGaw Explains Why They Built Their Bomb
Shelter

• It was a scare at the time, you wanted to be one
  of the safe ones.
• Everyone was made to feel that there would be an
  atomic war and since we had two little children
  we felt we should build one.
• The neighbors laughed at us at the time and if
  they (the government) came out with something
  like that again, I would be like them.

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• A door in the basement opens to the small
  entryway
• 5 ft. high, 3 ½ ft. wide, and about 16 ft. long
• The original foundation ends with the red floor
• Entry to the shelter is on the left at the end of
  the passageway

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• Shelters had a sharp bend, or turn, to enter to
  protect the shelter from heat and radiation
• The entry to the shelter on the left would be
  covered with an asbestos curtain to give further
  protection

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• The shelter has storage for supplies
• The shelves on the right could also be used for
  childrens bunks
• Equipped with an electrical light
• Shelter was about 10 ft. wide, 8 ft. high, and 16
  ft. long

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• The shelter and entry way are completely
  protected by thick concrete block, even over the
  entry way and ceiling of the shelter
• The dirt and driveway above provided additional
  protection

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Area of Underground Shelter
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Discussion Questions

• Why would some families choose to build bomb
  shelters and others would not?
• What possible psychological effects would the
  civil defense warnings and duck and cover drills
  have on young people growing up in the 1950s and
  1960s?
• Would public or private shelters have been
  effective protection against nuclear attack?
  Explain.
• While the threat of nuclear war continued until
  the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, most public
  and private shelter building ended by the late
  1960s and early 1970s. Why?

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Assignments

• You are building a private bomb shelter in the
  1950s. Design your shelter including layout,
  building materials, and a list of survival
  equipment and supplies. Describe why you might
  feel safer with a shelter.
• After 9/11 there was widespread fear about
  possible biological or chemical attacks.
  Research what methods of protection from such
  attacks were urged by the U.S. government. Can
  you make any comparisons with the bomb shelters
  of the Cold War? Contrasts?