How to Survive a 1950s Nuclear Attack in Wake County

During a time that was dominated by I Love Lucy and the beginning of rock n’ roll, there simultaneously existed the ever present fear that at some point the Soviet Union was going to drop the big one that was going to turn everyone into crispy little piles of ash.

To address the fear, the federal government enacted the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) on January 12, 1951 to establish a “basic framework for preparations to minimize the effects of an attack on our civilian population, and to deal with the immediate emergency conditions which such an attack would create.”

Wake County’s branch of the Civil Defense distributed all sorts of materials from instructions on how to build a fallout shelter to priceless tips on how you can use your car to escape an h-bomb blast (yeah, good luck with that). These materials are not only amazing pieces of graphic design, but also serve as invaluable time capsules of naivety and fear gone awry. Here are a few pieces from the Raleigh City Museum collection.

How to Survive the H-Bomb
Favorite Tips:
- “No one can be sure how far the enemy will go. But it must be emphasized that even if an enemy confines his attack to our retaliatory bases, the radioactive fallout from his nuclear bombs would threaten life in the entire country.”
- “If the bomb cloud blows over you, you are in danger of ‘fall out’ and must get sheltered against it. Stay in your car and close the windows.”
- “If Raleigh gets an air strike, you and all others within a reasonable distance will know it.”

4 Wheels to Survival
Favorite Tips:
- “Tests under an actual atomic explosion in Nevada proved that modern cars, especially those with turret top construction, give a degree of protection against blast heat and radiation.”
- “If traffic gets stalled, don’t lean on the horn. Your impatience may become someone else’s panic. That can cost lives!”

Facts About the H Bomb…That Could Save Your Life!
Favorite Tips:
- “The H Bomb, despite the wider range of its destructive force, will not destroy the earth. There will always be much more of America undamaged, and many more millions of our people alive and eager to fight back and win, than there will be death and destruction.”

The Family Fallout Shelter
Favorite Tips:
- “To break the monotony while in your fallout shelter it may be necessary to invent tasks that will keep the family busy. Records such as diaries can be kept.”

You and the War
Favorite Quotes:
- “What did YOU do today for freedom?”
- “WANTED! Young people of high school and college age, and able bodied men and women of all ages, trades, and professions to harvest the greatest food crop in the history of the world.”

Facts About Fallout
Favorite Tips:
- “You can’t hear it, you can’t taste it you can’t touch it, you can’t smell it, often you can’t even see it. How will I know it? Here’s how you’ll know it. Civil Defense radiological monitoring teams will detect fallout if it is present in your area. They will tell you when it is safe.”
- “An old-fashioned storm cave or root cellar is ideal. Stock it with food staples as Grandmother did. Add water supplies, first-aid kits, blankets, a lantern, fuel…”

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Olde Raleigh , Other posts by Ladye Jane.

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