On August 6, 1945 a U.S. military airplane dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. President Harry S Truman authorized the attack. The bomb was the end product of a secretive operation called The Manhattan Project. A team of the world’s top nuclear physicists had gathered in Los Alamos, New Mexico to assemble the bomb. Three days later on August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Civilian casualties were numerous and the psychological impact on the Japanese people was devastating. Soon after, Japan surrendered and World War II came to a close.
The supposed war to end all wars had ended but the Cold War had begun. The United States and the Soviet Union had combined their powers to defeat Hitler’s Third Reich but after the war, the two superpowers began to compete for world domination. The two empires were on a collision course that had the potential of becoming a third world war. For the sake of defense, America began to build up an arsenal of nuclear warheads. Testing of atomic bombs for scientific research became routine occurrences in the deserts of the Southwest. Sometimes mushroom clouds could be seen from the gambling mecca of Las Vegas.
American intelligence agents soon learned that the Soviets had detonated Pervaya Molniya or “First Lightning”, also known as RDS-1 or Izdeliye 1. This was the first atomic bomb tested by the U.S.S.R. on the date of August 29, 1949 in the desert of Kazakhstan. Although the Soviets always claimed their nuclear program was set up for self-defense in case the United States or some other country launched an attack against them, a wave of fear spread across the North American continent as many Americans worried that they might be the next victims of a nuclear war.
America began mass producing nuclear missiles in the belief that having a bigger arsenal than the Soviet Union would act as a deterrence to any future provocations. The government of the U.S.S.R. had the same idea and soon both countries had more bombs than they could ever hope to use and the term “overkill” was coined to describe this absurd situation.
With the bigger-is-better mentality, Soviet rocket scientists developed the largest nuclear bomb ever made. They tested one and, although the explosion was massive, they never made any more because they did not have any airplanes sizable enough to carry one across the Atlantic Ocean and it was inconceivable that they could build a launching device to hurl one that far. Meanwhile in America, scientists invented the smaller and more potent hydrogen bomb, small enough to fit into a suitcase.
In the 1950s, the United States Civil Defense drew up plans for training American citizens in how to survive a nuclear attack. Their plans were largely educational and the use of propaganda films in grammar school was their first major effort. One notorious film, Duck and Cover, starred a cartoon character named Bert the Turtle who taught the kids how to protect themselves in a fetal position with their arms over their heads and their faces touching the ground. School teachers showed the films before duck and cover drills where students were directed to hide under their desks or cover their heads while laying on the floor in the hallways. Why anybody thought this could protect children from nuclear fallout remains a mystery to this day. Other propaganda films instructed families on how to survive in their homes after an atomic bomb had been dropped. Civil Defense also conducted some civilian drills but they were largely unpopular with the general public and received strong condemnation from the religious communities because the drills created an atmosphere of hopelessness and fear.
In the midst of all this, a mass media campaign was started to alert the general public to the dangers of nuclear war. Daily newspapers began running reports about what would happen to America in case of a Soviet attack. Magazines like Life, Forbes, and even Good Housekeeping began running “scientific” stories about the aftermath of being bombed. These stories were largely fictional accounts although they were based on legitimate scientific studies.
Also a new subgenre of science fiction was born, now known as “post-apocalypse fiction”, when the novel On the Beach by British author Nevil Shute got published. The story described the bleak and hopeless results of a nuclear war; it had no happy ending. Science fiction and horror B-movies that used aliens and monsters as metaphors for atomic warfare became popular as well, possibly because they acted as an unconscious escape valve for psychological distress. The 1950s are often thought of nostalgically as a rosy and innocent time but there was also an underlying sense of nervousness and paranoia that was rarely ever acknowledged.
By the mid 1950s the Civilian Defense department had drawn up evacuation plans for American cities in case of a nuclear attack. Gathering pavilions were to be built in urban areas and farmland was to be designated as places of refuge for urban dwellers fleeing the cities. Food, clothing, and toiletries were to be stockpiled at selected, centralized locations. Maps were drawn up to direct traffic out into the countryside. Medical professionals were to be ready to assist the sick and injured during a mass evacuation. But Civilian Defense’s plans ran into a major hurdle when they were presented to Congress. The cost of funding these schemes were far beyond what the government was willing or able to pay. Even worse, research done by the RAND Corporation think tank did not support the plausibility of these plans. People leaving cities to escape the atomic fallout would primarily be those who owned their own cars. The public transportation industry did not have enough vehicles to evacuate everybody else. Even so, the traffic jams would make such an exodus an impossibility and the inevitable fuel shortage would not help matters either. Bank runs would cause a financial collapse. The looting of stores, especially supermarkets, would be disastrous. Urban panic could result in rioting and death on a massive scale. The likelihood of people being able to flee from the cities would be low due to the injuries, sicknesses, and psychological trauma of being in a city that just got hit by a nuclear blast. In short, they concluded that a mass evacuation attempt would make a hopeless situation even worse.
But the government could not face the general public and simply say that if the Soviet Union bombed America, there would be no chance of survival. Even though it was true, something had to be done. So the idea of the fallout shelter was born.
Possibly the first fallout shelter ever built in America was in a secret location. If Washington, D.C. ever were to be attacked the priority would be to remove the elected government officials from the immediate area. The Greenbrier Resort is located in the Appalachian hills of White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. In case of such an extreme emergency, all members of Congress were to be airlifted by helicopter out of the Capitol building and relocated to the basement of that hotel where the secret chambers of the Congressional Fallout Shelter were hidden. Up until recently, this underground bunker was clandestinely maintained by staff who kept it well stocked with non-perishable foods, clothing, and up to date medical supplies. This austere complex had hallways and rooms with fluorescent lights, bunk beds, a dining area, exercise equipment, and an assembly hall with metal folding chairs where sessions could be held to continue the business of governing the country while it burned. Trained hotel staff would be on hand to maintain the facility when occupied and a team of doctors would be ready to render their services if need be. A team of psychiatrists would also be available to help the Representatives and Senators cope with the trauma of their situation. With the divisive political climate of the 21st century, one might have to wonder if housing Congressional members of the Democratic and Republican parties together in one inescapable shelter would be a wise move.
While it was obvious that mass urban evacuations were logistically and financially not feasible, two things the government could realistically pay for would be an emergency alert system and public fallout shelters. The Emergency Broadcast Network was established to transmit information over the radio airwaves on stations throughout the country. Emergency sirens were also installed in all cities and towns. Soon, fallout shelter signs began to be posted in various places. The notorious yellow and black signs depicted three triangles with apexes pointing downwards inside a black circle which was placed against a yellow field with the words “fallout shelter” written along the bottom. They could be found in the basements of public places like gymnasiums, recreational centers, public schools, libraries, and churches. They were stocked with blankets, canned foods and really nothing else. Most were located in middle-class or upper-class neighborhoods. Apparently the survival of the poor or the ethnic minorities were not a priority.
One of the first fallout shelters was an experimental one built in Artesia, New Mexico. The Abo Elementary School was constructed entirely underground. Like other fallout shelters, this one was well-stocked with survival supplies. The children were carefully monitored to see the psychological effects of spending entire days in rooms with no windows. The students adapted surprisingly well. It was noted that their attention levels were higher and their behavioral problems were lower than in other public schools. Psychologists decided that without the visual impact of windows opening into the world outside the building, the students were less distracted and more focused on what was happening in their immediate environment. Considering this amazing discovery through serendipity, you have to wonder why more schools did not adapt this model to facilitate higher levels of learning in the general public.
By 1963, the Cold War had begun to heat up. In Germany the Berlin Wall was built to separate communist controlled East Berlin from the Democratic side of West Berlin. At Bandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie was manned by soldiers surrounded by protective sandbags to effectively control the flow of people into and out of the two halves of the city. U.S. President John F. Kennedy arrived to deliver one of his most famous speeches, the Ich Bin ein Berliner address. He spoke of American solidarity and military support for the people of West Germany, declaring that a communist invasion of the democratic side would result in the same retaliation that would be faced if an attack were made on American soil. He also made a pitch for refugees from East Germany to come find their freedom on the other side of the wall. Nikita Khrushchev scoffed at this offer but back in America, paranoia reached a new high as millions of Americans saw this as a taunt that greatly increased the chances of a Soviet nuclear attack.
A couple years before Kennedy’s watershed speech, Civilian Defense began to push the idea of home fallout shelters. Advertisements began to appear in newspapers and magazines. Displays were constructed at county fairs, department stores, and urban public gathering places. Then at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, the Avon Company sponsored a fallout shelter display that proved to be massively popular. Shady business owners and salesmen saw this new fascination as a way to make easy money.
Soon, some people who could afford it began to have underground bunkers constructed in or near their homes, either in their basements or in their backyards. Typical fallout shelters were entered through trap doors that opened onto a staircase. Hoiwever, some shelters were simply shacks built above ground. The walls could be made of wood or concrete, often lined with lead or other metals meant to protect the inside from radiation. Some were only one room while others were bigger. The walls would be lined with shelves holding canned foods, toiletries, clothes, and first aid kits. Light was provided by kerosene lamps and gas stoves would be used to cook food and provide heat. Some people were smart enough to have card decks, poker chips, board games, books, and magazines to keep themselves occupied. Cigarettes and ashtrays were necessities and some of the more militant minded owners had guns and ammunition on hand as well. Fallout shelters were most popular in the suburbs as most city dwellers did not have enough yard space for them. Some of the more socially upscale owners would have cocktail parties to show off their fallout shelters to their friends while sipping martinis and smoking pipes. Some husbands and wives even used their underground bunkers as discreet locations for adulterous liaisons.
As the fallout shelters grew in popularity, psychologists took interest in this phenomena and decided to study how living in one would effect the human mind. In experiments, families would be hired to live in their fallout shelters for two weeks at a time. A couple families did quite well. They maintained their sanity by sticking to routines, regular exercise, spending time on recreational activities, and taking turns at spending time alone. Most other families did not do so well. The subjects became depressed, claustrophobic, and anxious. Insomnia and disorientation resulted from not being able to see the differences between night and day. Body odor, stale cigarette smoke, and bad smells from human waste made people feel sick. Fighting, arguments, and bickering became common. Lack of privacy made people feel irritable. Many lost their appetites after a few days of eating nothing but canned food. Some families had to leave their shelters before the experimental time was over to avoid going crazy or physically assaulting one another.
Even worse, the RAND Corporation studied the possibilities of fallout shelters actually preventing people from dying. Aside from the psychological distress inhabitants of a shelter might experience, other problems made the situation look even more grim. The disposal of human waste without leaving the shelter would be a major problem. Ventilation would be too; while pumping air out of the bunkers did nit pose a risk, bringing air in from the outside would be a serious danger since that air would be toxic due to high levels of radioactivity. Serious injuries like broken bones or medical conditions requiring surgery would be fatal and the dead bodies would have to be disposed of. Water supplies would run out in a very short time. Also, simply put, the materials that fallout shelters were made of were found to be too flimsy to withstand to a nuclear assault. The conclusion was that the maximum amount of time for survival in a fallout shelter would be about three weeks. Eventually, people would have to leave but chances of survival would be slim to none since everything in their immediate environment would be severely contaminated with radiation.
In actuality, fallout shelters were a fad and a craze that did not last long. By the mid to late 1960s, sales of shelter materials and supplies had begun to diminish rapidly. Market research was done and the studies found that most Americans feared nuclear war and liked the idea of fallout shelters but found that being in their presence made them feel depressed. Seeing the door to a fallout shelter every day was a constant reminded that doom might be just around the corner. People enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of their neighborhoods and the thought of living someplace that looked like a military zone did not appeal to them. Many people thought the low-level undercurrent of paranoia and fear of dying in a nuclear holocaust was preferable to the miserable images of security that would make America look like a country expecting impending destruction. So the sale of fallout shelters and their stocks eventually disappeared.
Eventually the government dismantled their warning sirens too. During the early years of the Cold War, drills were conducted in which the sirens were turned on to alert people of the possibility of an attack. People found these exercises to be frightening and, even worse, they were not exactly sure what to do when the sirens sounded. By the 1970s, the government had stopped funding fallout shelters in public places. Most people have given up on the hope of surviving a nuclear war. The Emergency Broadcasting Network is still in operation though it is mostly used to alert people to dangerous weather conditions now.
But while the fad of fallout shelters came and went, the accompanying paranoia remains today. The culture of survivalists and doomsday preppers is thribing and so is the far right-wing Militia Movement alongside the Evangelical Christians who are all anticipating an end-of-the-world scenario. Some of them even believe in encouraging the collapse of society. These cultural movements all have their roots in the mid-century Cold War era and the propaganda of the American Civilian Defense department. The nuclear emergencies and disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima have not made people feel any more secure. Lately, sales of fallout shelters have been increasing again, although they are primarily a market for the idle super-rich who have nothing better to do with their excessive amounts of money. These new fallout shelters are little more than small mansions with metallic walls would be no more secure in an atomic blast that the old plywood and lead shelters of the 1960s.
In terms of general psychology, things like paranoia, gullibility, hysteria, and over-confidence have not really changed much in America over the last 70 years. At a significantly deeper level, things like that probably never will change.
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