Atomic Bomb Survival

An image matching game "For Parents and Teachers: Six Survival Secrets for Atomic Attacks... and "Five Keys to Household Safety."

^{(Truman Presidential Library)}

Recently PBS aired a special about how to talk to kids about nuclear tensions and The New York Post suggested parents tell "the truth."

This booklet, overseen by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, contains concrete instructions written in a calming authoritative voice. (Read the full booklet.)

This 1955 booklet offers simple tips for protecting your family against fallout. "The best protection comes from three feet or other heavy material between you and the fallout."

A letter from President Kennedy accompanied a fallout shelter handbook sent to every American home. The President said: "Nuclear weapons and the possibility are facts of life we cannot ignore today."

A radio spot from 1953 —Take the Step — Grandma's Pantry tells families what needs to be on the shelves in any shelter.

Mom: Powdered milk
Boy: Right
Mom: Canned meat
Boy: Yeah

Duck and Cover is probably the most emblematic face of Cold War. The hero of the cartoon, Bert the Turtle, teaches children to avoid the effects of a nuclear blast by ducking and covering under their school desks. 

The Civil Defense Administration called on many celebrities to get the message across. Here Johnny Cash intones: "This is Johnny Cash. I'd like all of you to remember that America can withstand enemy attack if we support the emergency plans of our community and learn to help ourselves."

Survival Under Nuclear Attack combines visions terrifying blasts and families reviewing common sense information:

"With the knowledge of the first atomic explosions to guide us, our chances for survival will be far better ["Survival Under Atomic Attack" pamphlet] than those of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If we act on our knowledge and are prepared." (Read the transcript.)

Broadcast in May 1946, on the eve of the atomic weapons test at Bikini Atoll, the show introduced a variety of well-known public figures who discussed their solutions and fears on the problem of world control of atomic energy: General George Kenny, U.S. Air Force; Dr. Harold C. Urey, Nobel Prize winning chemist; Senator Brian MacMahon; Edith Willkie; Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes; Congressman Gerald Voorhees; Harold Stassen; Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas; former Ambassador to Moscow Joseph E. Davies; Dr. Albert Einstein; Secretary of Commerce Henry A. Wallace; and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish.

A business card from the 1950s — for a profession coming back into popularity. The Guardian reported that one shelter builder is now getting 3000 requests a month and even the popular blog Apartment Therapy passes on some design strategies from the past.

A modern young couple makes civil defense look like a fun weekend chore. Here in 2023, you can download a fallout shelter blueprint book from Amazon — for free. 

Smithsonian magazine presents a lushly illustrated 75-year history of the fallout shelter. The National Museum of American History documents the life of a real family shelter — the Andersons of Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Detailed plans (with useable blueprints) provided by the Civil Defense authorities appeared in a number of popular magazines like LIFE and Better Homes and Gardens.

On July 11, 2022, the City of New York released a public service announcement about how to survive a nuclear attack. The video was met with surprise, the "New York Times" calling it "bizarre."

You can purchase (for $4.95) an app that will direct you to the nearest fallout shelter in New York City. "When the power and communication grids go out and chaos ensues, this app will continue work as long as the GPS satellites remain in orbit and a solar charger keeps your phone battery charged."

Every Cold War family needed something like a "Nuke Buster" in the den. Today you can but a personal geiger counter from Amazon.