The nuclear arms race between US and Russia during the Cold War created a fearful American society. The threat of a foreign attack created a need for public educational films teaching Americans how to prepare and respond to a biological, nuclear, or gas attack. Nuclear fallout, nuclear radiation, and radiation poisoning was on everyones mind. Civil Defense Videos Content Summary: Effects of the Atomic BombAtomic Bomb Explosions Atomic Energy Radiation Poisoning & Radiation Sickness Nuclear Fallout Civil Defense Biological WarfareGas Attacks
Included Films:
Our Cities Must Fight
Our Cities Must Fight
Produced: 1951
Length: 8 Minutes
This 1951 film, sponsored by the U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration, attempts to convince citizens to stay in their cities and fight in the event of a nuclear attack and nuclear war in America. Framed by a conversation between a newspaper editor and his colleague, the film claims that by fleeing threatened cities, citizens would be traitors contributing to decreased productivity and low morale. Instead the film insists citizens stay in their cities to help fight fires, clean up debris, and aid their neighbors. The film claims that people should not fear radiation and nuclear fallout as it clears up in a day or two. This downplaying of the dreadful effects of radiation is a recurring theme in American Cold War propaganda. Many different scenes showing war-torn European cities and mass evacuations, and even footage of New Yorks Holland Tunnel and Penn Station, punctuate this amazing civil defense film thats rank with propaganda techniques.
Stay Safe, Stay Strong: The Facts About Nuclear Weapons
Stay Safe, Stay Strong: The Facts About Nuclear Weapons
Produced: 1960
Length: 22 Minutes
This film was produced in order to educate U.S. Air Force members about atomic bombs. Through a combination of animation and stock footage of actual bomb tests, the bombs themselves are thoroughly explained and described. The film then sets out to dispel the myth that atomic bombs can be dangerous in peacetime. In a striking example of American propaganda, the film shows various situations during which a bomb might be dropped or otherwise damaged during peaceable transport and reassures the audience that the explosions that might result are not dangerous in any way. This film was an attempt to calm and reassure US Air Force pilots about the dangers of nuclear weapons, nuclear attacks and about nuclear war in general.
%20(c)_2.jpg){kind=spacer}
%20(c)_3.jpg){kind=spacer}
%20(c)_6.jpg){kind=spacer}
%20(c)_8.jpg){kind=spacer}
Survival Under Atomic Attack
Survival Under Atomic Attack
Produced: 1951
Length: 8 Minutes
Survival Under Atomic Attack is a 1951 Civil Defense film which focuses on what the average American can do to protect himself if caught out in the open or at home during a nuclear attack. Narrated by the magnificent journalist Edward R. Murrow, the film shows clips of actual nuclear bomb tests interspersed with dramatizations of citizens huddling in gutters, houses, and fallout shelters. Murrow advises the audience that the worst thing to do after an attack is to flee the area, saying that the enemy would love for our factories, offices, and homes to be empty and unproductive. Instead, he suggests, people should take cover for a short time and then continue working and producing. The dangers of nuclear fallout are not discussed and Murrow even cites Japan as an example for both how dangerous nuclear bombs can be (if theyd known how to take cover, lives could have been saved), and how benign fallout is (Murrow says that most Japanese survivors did not suffer from radiation sickness). Through editing, many different scenes of interest are shown including an air-raid alert, bomb blasts, and a typical American family preparing for an attack. Engrossing for its use of powerful historical footage and for its blatantly false optimism about the effect of nuclear war, Survival Under Atomic Attack is a powerful civil defense film that will amaze viewers. Cold War propaganda is one of the most insidious types of propaganda, and its at a fever pitch in this film.
What To Do In A Gas Attack
What To Do In A Gas Attack
Produced: 1943
Length: 14 Minutes
This hilarious 1943 film attempts to teach the public about poison gas attacks on American soil. While discussing poison gas effects on people and World War 2 propaganda, the film promotes the idea that panic and fear are more dangerous than the gas itself (wait, which causes death?) and that preparation is the key to survival. The film explains that preparing for a military attack on America is easy! Common household items, such as baking soda and bleach, are discussed as remedies for exposure. Reminiscent of similarly ineffective survival tips for nuclear attacks, this film suggest taking off gas infected clothing, immediately! Funny chemical warfare facts. Civil defense has never been so ridiculous. WW2 gas attacks were not as prevalent as in WW1, but a growing fear of chemical warfare is represented by this soothing government propaganda survival guide.
What You should Know About Biological Warfare
What You should Know About Biological Warfare
Produced: 1951
Length: 7 Minutes
In the event of a biological attack on America, be sure your kitchen floor is scrubbed well! Such is the wisdom found in this great old film. The US governments response to fear about biological warfare was to make falsely reassuring videos like this one. According to this film, eliminating germs and toxins from the home prevents biological assaults from threatening a household. A gripping new fear of germs was pervasive in the 50s, and this film attempted to frame civil defense in terms of cleanliness. A few of the facts about biological warfare are true, mostly in dealing with the prevention of epidemics. But most of these survival tips now serve a different purpose: to entertain people while educating them about the silliness and concerns of 1950s America about biological weapons effects.
Atomic Alert
Atomic Alert
Produced: 1951
Length: 10 Minutes
Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, this video seeks to educate American schoolchildren on how to take cover in the event of a nuclear warning or attack. The child safety tips are dated and hilarious, consider what little help covering up is against a nuclear weapon or a nuclear explosion. Three different situations are shown, including when children are at school, at home, or at a playground. Children are shown cowering against buildings and hiding in basements. Fictional characters, Sue and Ted, are shown at home alone during an attack. The narrator even recommends that children caught outside far from home enter a random house for shelter, advising them that strangers will understand. The film also gives a simplified explanation of how nuclear bombs work throughout the lessons on child home safety. This is a classic Cold War era propaganda film that is light on atomic bomb facts and heavy on reassuring government rhetoric.
Atom and Biological Science
Atom and Biological Science
Produced: 1952
Length: 11 Minutes
This 1952 Encyclopedia Britannica film gives an interesting overview of the kind of tests scientists of plant cell biology conducted at that time regarding radiations effect on plant and animal biology. This was during the birth of nuclear science, and so of course all the possible applications were being explored, sometimes with experiments that today are considered horrible. The tests themselves are explained and the radiation safety measures protecting the experimenters is touched upon as well. The effects of exposure to radiation are the chief topics for discussion. Antiquated footage of researchers handling nuclear charged rods and infusing corn with nuclear radiation are not to be missed! The positive applications of radiation are also explored, mainly in the area of cancer research. Medical radiation therapy was one of the chief areas of research that the government was promoting in order to make nuclear power and energy seem more benevolent than atomic bombs. Cancer treatment radiation therapy persists today, of course, but many of the other applications dreamed up before have fallen by the wayside as too dangerous. This film is a nice chapter in the history of science and scientific discovery.
Hanford Science Forum
Hanford Science Forum
Produced: 1957
Length: 10 Minutes
Radiation isn’t harmful! Or so claims “Hanford Science Forum.” A television hosts talks to a man who studies the aquatic life in the Columbia River, where a nuclear plant is stationed, and we learn that radiation isn’t that bad really, and doesn’t affect the life in the river at all. The quirky message is made ironic by the sponsorship of the Atomic Energy Commission. Though strange in the light of today’s research, it provides insight into the science of aquatic biology and the misunderstandings of the 1950s with regards to atomic radiation.
A Is For Atom
A Is For Atom
Produced: 1953
Length: 14 Minutes
A is for Atom, an award winning short film, promotes the peacetime applications of atomic energy. The animated residents of Element Town illustrate nuclear fission – the process of an atom splitting that produces byproducts, including massive amounts of nuclear energy. The film is a cutesy plug for all the advantages of nuclear power while answering the question what is an atom? Known for its destruction in the past, atomic energy is represented as a harmless figure, which, with mans wisdom, on his firmness in the use of that power, can be controlled and purposed for better things. Nuclear medicine is one of the stressed uses. Still an effective teaching resource today, A is for Atom is a clever depiction of the history of the atom that will entertain children and adults with its 1950s style presentation of what nuclear fission reactions could mean for the future of America.
