To Run or Dig In
Early strategies of civil defense during the Cold War centered around evacuation of "critical target areas," cities where at least 40,000 people were employed in heavy industries. By removing people from urban centers to the rural countrysides that surrounded them, it was thought the loss of life could be minimized.
Yet as nuclear weapons became more destructive and delivery systems - such as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) - reduced warning times from hours to minutes, there was a shift from the strategy of evacuation to that of the fallout shelter. Civil Defense exercises underwent an evolution as well: from evacuation rehearsals to shelter drills, like the one pictured above involving students at Harris Street Elementary School in Atlanta (c. 1950).
Evacuation: The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 - signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower - allocated $25,000,000,000 for the construction of over 40,000 miles of highway across the country over a 10 year period. Although the birth of the modern interstate system did not originate as a civil defense program, it is difficult not to make a connection between evacuation strategies and the new expressways. The "four wheels campaign" of the 1950s encouraged families to keep the car fueled and ready should the alarm be sounded and escape to the countryside be necessary. Dispersing industry away from population centers was one of the results of the highway system; the birth of the modern suburb was another.
from the archive
Evacuation as a feasible plan was put to the test in a nationwide series of exercises known as Operation Alert (OPAL) between 1954 and 1960. OPAL 1955 was conducted in 55 cities across the country as simulated attacks on the east coast were then followed by those in Chicago and Southern California. In some places, these mock evacuations were mandatory; however, participation ranged from well-organized processions to indifference.
Click on the two items (top, right) to discover the ways in which evacuation drills were handled in the Fulton County School district during the weeks leading up to OPAL 1955. Even after evacuation was regarded as an impractical method for civil defense, there were instances where it was the only option. Click on the items (bottom, right) to learn how evacuation was approached in the school systems during the height of the Cold War. Then search all items using the evacuation or exercise/drill tag above.
Shelters: Nuclear weapons tests conducted at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific revealed how radioactive fallout could spread over thousands of miles, which helped define the need for shelters that not only could survive the initial blasts from bombs but also keep deadly gamma rays from penetrating its walls and roof. These were constructed using a protection factor (PF) measurement as a standard: a shelter with PF100 meant that there was 100 times less radiation inside than in an unsheltered space. PF standards were reduced over time to justify more shelter spaces as suitable for use.
At no time did the Cold War seem "hotter" than in the years 1961 and 1962 when confrontations with the Soviets in Berlin and Cuba forced President John F. Kennedy to recommend an increase of 3.25 billion dollars in the defense budget, 207.6 million of which would be allocated for civil defense - with emphasis to be placed on the identification, construction and stocking of public fallout shelters.
In the 1960s, this fallout shelter logo could be found throughout the built environment. As a means to mark a designated public shelter space, it was poisitioned on the exteriors of everything from schools to skyscrapers. In urban areas, the signs were so prevalent they usually went unnoticed. Now however, it has become the most recognizable icon of the Cold War.
from the archive
In the 1960s, the federal agency known as the Office of Civil Defense was placed under the command of the Department of Defense. During this decade, a massive campaign of publications emphasized the need for shelters across the country - and put onus for their construction on both local governments and the private sector, which became the primary problem for this effort: a lack of consistency. But perhaps the greatest challenges faced by the fallout shelter crusade were the moral questions concerning who could afford to own one and who would be left out should there not be enough spaces.
Click on the items above to examine the shelter efforts in Atlanta and the Fulton County School System. Then search all items using the shelter tag above.