In Time of Emergency: 1969 Civil Defense Film

[@docwilkey]

I was a Civil Defense Commander during the cold war era and I remember these programs. I'm glad there out there on YT so that this piece of history would not be lost.

[@williamcasadone5071]

docwilkey isn’t water the best

[@Woagoo]

Where were you? I was an Auxiliary Fireman in Randolph county, West Virginia starting early in 1956 and some years later an Air raid Warden.

[@juliangarberson6469]

Even though I have a mobility impairment severe enough not to be able to walk unassisted, and even though I would die without regular use of manufactured medications, still I for some reason feel strong support for civil defense and wish it still continued with strong education and focus on training to be calm and work together. I would like to be a preppier, but it is virtually impossible for the reasons already discussed.

[@ronalddaub9740]

I have a sign

[@daviddietrich9449]

I second that! YT has a wealth of vintage civil defense films, not only from the US, but also the UK. The UK's "Protect & Survive" series was done in the late 70's to early 80's. I am glad that films like these are on here because it is a part of our nation's history that needs to be preserved. I volunteer in Emergency Management, and these videos are excellent material for us who are Civil Defense/Emergency Management history buffs.

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

I love how much that guy looks like Gorbachev, at least in the thumbnail.

[@beverlycrusher9713]

those old rotary phones were so very durable, we had a couple in our house, still used them too, our house was almost like a lightning rod, [ literally ], lightning would strike VERY near our home, even in our back yard, and the more digital equipment that was plugged in to either the house power, or the cable tv, would get damaged or even destroyed, had several computers destroyed and tvs damaged , but even a direct hit on the phone line outside the house on the pole , that strike blew out the kitchen light, literally were sparks and smoke, welded the relay in one of our air conditioners closed, could not turn it off, fortunately, when a storm came around we unplugged the cable tv and unplugged them too, same for computers, sometimes when we could get to them in time, BUT those old rotary phones just shook it off and went right on working, couldn't press one for any thing, but we could still talk to people.

[@dayaninikhaton]

People make fun of these videos but they really are valuable prepper videos showing its FAR better to have it and not need it then need it and don't have it.

[@Ronbo710]

Reminds me of coming back in to the classroom from recess and seeing the projector set up. A Great afternoon of not getting picked for anything would follow.

[@ronalddaub9740]

Good times

[@ronalddaub9740]

We had one principle that every time he had a study hall he showed a film strip he liked that machine and I did too it was a 45 record player attached to a projector

[@sksman71]

I'm 43 and this civil emergency stuff during the cold war was not even a part of my memories.My parents mentioned the drills they would do during school but that's about it.My dad was in the army when JFK was president.I'm glad that these videos on yt are being presented and preseeved.Sad that Americans don't even know this part of our nation's history.

[@plymouthbelvedere]

The booklet is good old DCPA/FEMA H-14, probably the best single text ever produced on the topic of civil defense -- in terms of both its content and its artistic and cultural significance. The illustrations alone -- done in a Klee-like "sensitive line" style -- are worth the price of admission. Every home should have a copy.

[@ronalddaub9740]

When they raided the cans in our courthouse the morphine was the first to go

[@MrScottie68]

In light of the recent tensions with N Korea, this film should be updated and rebroadcast to refresh everyone on the importance of being prepared.

[@damanyocum149]

How unfortunate that we have come to this mentality "politically correct" is total bullshit-IMHO

[@211jump]

MrScottie68 a nuke from North Korea could little to no damage

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@damanyocum149 Is ANYBODY so stupid as to think the current American president gives two shits about being politically correct? Hasn't he given you sufficient proof to the contrary? His mental state scares me more than any attack from N Korea.

[@chineletteri2604]

I'm 70 so I'm old enough; I actually ducked under a desk in elementary school, as part of a drill. Recently on TV I saw a commentary on these old films. The narrator said, "In a real attack, as part of duck under the desk, you may as well kiss your a55 goodbye."

[@chrismac777]

This film made me the man that I am today.

[@jessiematthews2432]

Mr emergency 1969

[@homfri111]

back then america somewhat respected its people and needed a large citizens workforce and dare i say, milita, if nuclear attack or natural disaster . now its just. "have food for a few days and a flashlight, and we, the US gov't will take care of you, probably" katrina and sandy sure were a test of how well that works

[@beverlycrusher9713]

the things described in this film about fallout applies to today as well [2020] a lot of the cancers we see are, more than likely, related to the atomic tests from the 40's - the 80's when the test ban treaty was signed.

[@piratetiki1705]

Anyone not old enough to remember the Cold War just doesn't get it. I suppose our parent say the same thing about us and the depression.

[@jimmysuros6302]

Everyone should have at least 2 weeks of food and water in their homes. So next time a pandemic strikes, we can lock down completely and utterly for 2 weeks.

[@dreamcore]

the country of liberal individualists with the largest unprotected borders in the world would never manage that

[@StinzandL]

we still have that book...

[@rah62]

John Davis was elected Governor of North Dakota in 1956 and 1958. Instead of running for another term as Governor, he ran for the US Senate in 1960, losing to Democrat Quentin Burdick. He tried again in 1964 but lost in the Republican Primary. Richard Nixon appointed Davis as Director of the Office of Civil Defense in 1969.

[@CAinfowarrior]

Bring back the community fall out shelters!

[@garywemmer9342]

We remember, the CD signs at the home town bank, that led us to the basement, in hopes, it would save us. Relish those days!!!!!

[@razvandobos9759]

Good old 1969. Moon landings, Woodstock, civil defense dying out.

[@johnmonty1976]

Listen well everyone. Time, mass, distance.

[@daviddietrich9449]

I think it is interesting to point out that much of the stuff they are saying back then about being prepared for an emergency is the same stuff they are saying today, although it is worded and packaged differently. The Friendly Emergency Mismanagement Agency still advocates that you "get a kit, make a plan, and be informed". The two weeks of supplies has been cut down to around 72 hours, but still it is all the same stuff they have been preaching since the time this film was released.

[@fairfaxcat1312]

He is the National Director of Civil Defense.

[@ah1rooivalk]

Bank of Bethesta has Fallout Shelter at @11:19

[@len322]

"I witnessed this awesome destruction" Yep it's the sixties alright

[@HockeyVictory66]

Where are all of these extra doors, trunks, and appliances for a makeshift shelter supposed to come from. Where does all the shit and piss go while you are living in a shelter.

[@frankeimer3906]

Of all these earlier videos, no mention of EMF, some today's electronics wouldn't work. So if the radios or TV's didn't work .What would you do. Better have tube type radio or may be a transistor radio may work .But does the present communications systems work. Just observation from a viewer.

[@kellyvaters1689]

The technology we have didn't exist in 1969-1970. Not even Kearny's seminal work is from the 1980s and didn't account for issues that were unknown then. Look up "Faraday cage", however, for information about protecting your electronics from EM pulses.

[@TheUnatuber]

And don't forget to cover your ducks! It's a known fact the sound of quacking boosts human morale!

[@stevedogan]

As I understand these fallout "safety" shelters would've been useless anyway because no one really knew how potent those gamma rays from nuclear bombs are. That they'd be able to penetrate above ground concrete buildings anyway.....? Or am I misunderstanding this?

[@ClubZlut]

Big heavy solid things can cut down gamma exposure. And the direct gamma radiation from the bomb itself is so energetic it won't even get through air very far. With that said if you're close enough to worry about the direct gamma rays from the blast itself you have a bunch of other issues lol.

[@gridgalaxy_]

Nice

[@DanielSnedden]

The best book on nuclear disaster is "Nuclear War Survival Skills" by Cresson A. Kearney. He helped design and test expedient shelters and many other needs for a disaster. Food, water first aid etc. The number 1 authority on Nuclear protection. His book is the Emergency Management bible even today.

[@PlatinumEagleStudios]

Daniel Snedden This was made to scare kids. ALL of these types of videos, even the famous Duck And Cover with Bert The Turtle was made to scare kids............Wanna know why????? The nuclear bomb was never used :-)

[@DanielSnedden]

Sure, tell me why.

[@PlatinumEagleStudios]

Daniel Snedden The bomb was never used

[@inkey2]

+EpicEverythingDude75 so, we shouldn't warn anyone about anything because it might not happen? At the time this film was made it was only 8 years after a nuke standoff with Russia...."the Cuban missile crisis"

[@allandavis8201]

Whilst I honestly hope and believe that nuclear war will never happen I do recognise the need to “carry a big stick” and I for one am extremely glad that we in the United Kingdom are so closely allied to the USA, however I am disappointed by my government for totally dismantling our civil defence provisions, except of course for those facilities that the powers that be would use, I don’t know why they need it, in the event of a M.A.D scenario the United Kingdom would effectively cease to exist, no country=no government required, oh I know why they need those facilities, because they think they are indispensable, boy do I have news for them. Anyway, sarcasm over, soapbox put away, thanks for uploading this look back into our History, where everything was simpler and more optimistic, except for the fact that there is no way to protect against gamma radiation this was quite informative as well as interesting. 👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@bunnyfoofoo9695]

Wouldn't it be nice if they showed such concern for the American people nowadays? (Even if they were just humouring the public.)

[@TheBoysTopSecretisOrganization]

22:06 A Thunderbolt 1000T

[@stevedogan]

BOY! IS THIS DATED! I'd like to show this to all the liberationists today! :P

[@Trainlover1995]

Why did these civil defense films only talk about fallout? If you're within a mile or less of Ground Zero, kiss your ass goodbye!

[@kellyvaters1689]

It was estimated that the vast majority of casualties in a nuclear attack would be from the initial blast, fires and immediate exposure to radiation. The intent of the "fallout" shelters was never to protect against those effects, but from the radioactive particles that would thrown into the atmosphere and carried along the prevailing winds for weeks afterwards. "Duck and Cover" has been shown to have some protective effect, but if you're close enough to that blast, you'd be like a snowflake in a furnace, sadly. The intent of these strategies, morale-wise, was to remind people not to give up hope.

[@synsam12345]

Who needs shelters when we have tables!

[@allandavis8201]

Walter Thatcher, in the case of gamma radiation a table is as much use as a twenty foot lead wall, gamma radiation can’t be stopped by anything, Alpha and Beta particles are easily dealt with, but gamma, bye bye, but then of course the authorities wouldn’t want to tell us that because people would just not bother trying to protect themselves, at least if they try it gives hope and might work depending on other factors like weapon yield and type of burst, weather conditions and most importantly how far from ground zero you are.

[@dreamcore]

@@allandavis8201 You may have been thinking of neutron or cosmic radiation. Gamma is stopped by inches of lead or most anything that puts sufficient mass and quantity in the way

[@iVenge]

"worshington dc" ha ha ha

[@dayaninikhaton]

Missouri accent.

[@venangoproductions]

@@dayaninikhaton my grandma was born in Titusville PA and says Warsh

[@RealCptHammonds]

Why didn't Americans raise hell when Obama shut down the CD program?!?

[@jonnyjackson6050]

What the fuck is a "useless death?)

[@user-kz8ik8cg2c]

what about the homeless?

[@Loki1701e]

Homelessness was suprisingly really small back then. And there is the community falloutshelters.

[@N0die]

Baring my breast to radiation, is a privilege... Not unlike driving is, I get it!

[@jessiematthews2432]

Troll

[@Ronbo710]

If this comes true. Pray you *ARE* at ground zero. Believe Me.

[@Springbok295]

Surprised the gov't even made civil defense films by 1969. Unlike the 1950s and early 60s by '69 the Soviets had plenty of SLBMs and ICBMs to fry the entire US.

[@bboucharde]

Spring, Some people whom I know are thinking of relocating to the southern hemisphere, to have at least a better chance to protect their children and survive after the war. Australia and New Zealand have raised high barriers against American immigration........Unless there is a marriage or some other insider connection, the cost is at least one million dollars for a permanent resident status. That leaves only one other major English-speaking option: South Africa. It would be interesting to speculate what life would be like in SA after WW3. The international trade and financial systems will collapse, so South Africa would need to convert largely to an agricultural subsistence economy. Exports of gold, diamond, and minerals would stop for many years. Radioactive fallout to South Africa is very unlikely, since the southern hemispheric air masses do not convect into the northern hemisphere. Compared to all of the other risks of post-WW3 life, radiation would be a negligible factor. I expect that SA would go under martial law under national emergency provisions. The destruction of most grain-exporting nations in the northern hemisphere, along with the collapse of international trade and communications, will mean starvation in some Black African nations to the north. Regional wars are very likely, as desperate governments scramble for the last crumbs of food aid. SA will need to establish a very tight northern border. Some of the southern and western Anglo communities in SA could be quite livable, with everyone organized and heavily armed. Life will shrink down to the local level---subsistence farming and regional bartering.

[@edbo10]

A million bucks for permanent residency? Where the actual fuck did you get that figure?? Unless the US dollar has suddenly experienced hyperinflation, A permanent residency visa in australia will set you back approximately 5.4k, around $3k for the visa alone, and the rest going towards other application fees, tests and examinations...not a million bucks hahaha, oh man if the government made a million bucks off every traveller the politicians up in parliament would quickly become the richest and most hated people on this planet

[@bboucharde]

edbo10 Edbo, I have traveled widely in both NZ and Australia. And, I have met with immigration folks in both Wellington and Canberra. This information is also on official and advisory websites. NOTICE: I am NOT referring to visa, application, and testing fees. I know about those. I am referring to LIQUID ASSETS that an American must possess, so that he/she will not be a burden to NZ/AU social services. Now, I will clarify: 1. If you are an AMERICAN citizen who has no blood relatives or marriage in NZ/AU, and no listed shortage skill/degree/certification, and experience, you will not be able to obtain a work permit and landed immigrant status for permanent residency and employment. 2. I am NOT referring to temporary tourist visas to visit, for vacations and business. I am referring to a legal, permanent relocation. 3. Retired AMERICANS absolutely must have at least one million US dollars deposited in NZ/AU to retire legally and permanently there. And, there are other requirements and restrictions. 4. Again, I am not referring to citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, which Americans are not. The bottom line is this: The average adult American (working or retirement age) will face tall hurdles to legally and permanently settle in NZ/AU---unless he/she has family, marriage connections, or significant liquid assets far higher than those of the average American. Prove me wrong with official links, and I will be very happy, and will plan my relocation to Perth. (I have three college degrees plus certification, but not in listed shortage fields.) Respectfully, BBoucharde

[@edbo10]

***** geez when you say one million dollars in _liquid assets_ that's very, very different from "one million dollars for a permanent resident *status*" When status in this context is mentioned, people typically assume the visa and sometimes by extension, related application, testing and examination fees...not your net worth lol I also dunno why you're stating that you weren't referring to temporary residency...nobody said you did? Also do you have any links regarding that million dollar asset thing? Because I've never heard of this although I rarely fly out of oz myself.

[@bboucharde]

edbo10 Hi Edbo, I am taking a work break now, so just a few notes; I will send you official links later. I am an engineer, but I am a Baby Boomer, which means well north of 50 years of age. I have an immaculate legal and work background. But, I do not have the liquid assets in the bank that meet NZ/AU retiree requirements. If I were a 35-year-old brain surgeon, with a clean background, I would easily have the points to get a skilled immigrant visa. traveltips.usatoday.com/move-job-australia-63306.html From the link above: "You need 65 points for the skilled migrant visa....", but if you are not qualified for one of the skilled occupations listed by Canberra, any further effort looks like a waste of time. This link below shows that relatively few Americans emigrate to Australia: www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/10/1025049/- But the author does not explain why relatively few Yanks can do it, but I know why. Note that requirements for permanent residency in NZ/AU are much less stringent for Commonwealth citizens, like folks from the UK and Canada. More later when my work allows. G'Day Mate, BBoucharde

[@ginajhjsimarduuy829]

up with you in the middle of a new one is the best thing to do that again please let me know if you want me too baby and I'm not going to bed now and then you wildue r we going to be in the middle of nowhere to be with you in the middle of nowhere to go to the hospital and the other side of my friends are in a bit of time to do it for you to come 🔙 to the very best friend is a little bit of a new one is the first time in the middle of a sudden he said that he was going to be in my life and I will have to go to the hospital and I have to go 🔙 y I don't know how to make sure to be with me and I don't know how to get a hold on to it now and again and again I will have to do with me for a while back I will have to go back y I have a nice day and I will be a little more than a week and then we can get a new one and only you can get the money for the day off today so I have a good day at work today so I have a nice time at the moment and the Two you are a few weeks ago I was in a few days and then we went to the tu me dis pas que je suis à la maison de retraite de ma faute si on est à la fin des cours et tout le temps de te voir comme sa on se verra demain si je suis pas bien et toi ça te va si tu veux que je te le dis pas de problème pour la fête de la chance d'avoir un contact pour le moment où tu es pas trop de choses à faire des bisous à vous tous les cas tu es pas trop de choses à faire des bisous à vous tous les cas je te le dis à ma soeur a fait une soirée de prévu pour le faire avec moi tu es la plus heureuse du tout je suis à la maison et on se voit quand tu veux que je te le dis je suis pas bien et toi ça te va si tu veux que je te le dis pas de problème pour la fête de fin de journée à toi et ta famille aussi mon coeur je vais me coucher bonne nuit à toi aussi tu me manques déjà mon bébé je t'aime je t'aime fort fort mon coeur je vais me coucher bonne nuit à toi de me dire si je te le dis pas de problème pour la fête de la chance de te dire que je suis en vacances et toi ça te va si tu peux me faire un tour de magie et tu le fais quoi de beau aujourd'hui mon amour de ma faute si on est à côté du lit et toi aussi tu es la meilleure des mamans à toi et moi j'ai rien fait pour moi et toi ça te dérange pas du tout je suis à la maison et on se voit quand tu veux pas que tu as raison de plus en ce qui est le seul à avoir des sentiments et toi tu es pas trop de choses à te demander si je te le dis pas de soucis pour toi je suis à la maison et on se voit quand tu veux que je te laisse je vais me coucher bonne nuit à toi de me dire que je suis en train d'écrire un message à ma soeur a la gare et toi ça te va si tu veux que je te le

[@jessiematthews2432]

This is what happens when you mix your mushrooms.

[@garysmith9818]

I suppose it showed the narrator was being serious back in "the day", but now days, the way he ducks his head and looks up into the camera is just plain creepy, like he's trying to hypnotize the viewer into trusting him, or something.

[@visaman]

And it's one, two, three, What are we fighting for ? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, Next stop is Vietnam; And it's five, six, seven, Open up the pearly gates, Well there ain't no time to wonder why, Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

[@bruce7sv]

Good God it's just like a little sand don't worry

[@Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

Retrospectively, the US's Civil Defense during the cold war was total bullshit. Chronically underfunded and basically unsure (even on the highest levels) whether it would serve any purpose or not, especially for the urban populations. Let's be honest: in a full-out exchange, no amount of civil defense would save most of the city dwellers. You can't evacuate a city fast enough to avoid an ICBM, and how would you feed or house 150 million city dwellers with all of your infrastructure, manufacturing and farms destroyed by blast or radiation contamination? These are people with no survival skills or possessions beyond the clothes on their back. Most would starve until the first winter, then the rest would freeze. There'd be pockets of civilization, some quite large, in various rural areas. The better they isolate themselves from the city people and the government during the first year after the catastrophe, the better chance they'd survive in homeostasis to be able to repopulate the continent.

[@bboucharde]

Eric, Yes, I have a large library on this topic, and you are correct.

[@kellyvaters1689]

The weapons available have changed, sure; however, the number of nuclear weapons by "enemy nations" (Russia and China) would not reach every target in the US (if they can be deployed - Russia's very much an unknown due to government corruption and its likely impact on its military preparedness; and not all of its operational nukes are immediately deployable). Dozens, if not hundreds of nukes in their arsenals are earmarked for targets outside the US, so London and Paris would fall before Des Moines for example. It's important to note, as well, that these films and books were meant for areas not likely to be targeted. Fallout was by far the most likely concern for these areas. So the standards for the time assumed that protection against fallout would be the priority.

[@davidstrohl]

And weed, lots and lots of weed. You might not be able to survive a nuclear attack so find something to help you cope with that undeniable fact.

[@judithgips2959]

tee hee.

[@judithgips2959]

did people really watch 25 minutes d thus? I mean, withut drugs to make it mpre entertaining?

[@looneyburgmusic]

I wonder if the people behind this video knew it was total and complete bullshit... Most of the suggestions and information was either misleading, or totally unmanageable for any "average" family.

[@almostfm]

Of course, you're an expert in this sort of planning, right?

[@looneyburgmusic]

@@almostfm I think the term you are searching for is, "Common Sense", as in, "Do you possess any?"

[@almostfm]

@@looneyburgmusic Ah, yes-"common sense". AKA the "everybody knows" argument. The problem is that common sense often lets you down if you don't have training or experience in the same situation, or a similar one that you can extrapolate from. Common sense says the Earth if flat and the universe revolves around it. A lot of the Moon landing deniers say that their common sense tells them it's impossible.

[@looneyburgmusic]

@@almostfm No, not the "everybody knows" argument. The, "These instructions were based on a false premise," argument. I'll give you an example - A common misconception, which dates back all the way to the earliest days of the true "Cold War", (when the USSR was able to ramp up production of it's nuclear weapons), was that a "typical" American city would only be hit by a single nuclear device, in a single attack by the USSR. Nothing could have been further from the truth. A moderately sized city, (Boston for example), would have been targeted by multiple weapons, most likely spread out over several days, (via all three of the "Nuclear Triad" delivery systems), while larger cities, (think New York City, LA, ect.), could have received a dozen or more hits. In that light, any "preparations" the citizens of targeted areas could have made would have been useless, as the level of both physical destruction, along with radioactive fallout levels which would have been orders of magnitude higher than projected, would have made the targeted areas completely uninhabitable.

[@almostfm]

@@looneyburgmusic First, I want to apologize for taking so long getting back to this-sometimes work and RL get it in the way. Second, I'd agree with you that if you were in a targeted city, your chances of survival would not be good. But a lot of people wouldn't be in those targeted cities, so things like knowing how to protect against fallout would help them. Now, let's look at the scenario you describe. According to www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1177/0096340213501363 which was published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in the mid to late 60s, the Soviets had between 6000 and 10,000 nuclear weapons. For the sake of argument, let's say an average of 7500. Probably 10% of those would be out of service at any one time, assuming the numbers are similar to American weapons at the time. But they couldn't just launch the remaining 6700 at the US and call it good. Both France and the UK had nuclear weapons that they'd use in retaliation, so the Soviets would have to take them out as well. There were more than 150 or so estimated targets in the UK, so figuring 2 bombs each (some would get less, some more) that's 300. France wouldn't have as many targets, so figure another 100 bombs there. The US had troops in Germany, Italy, Japan, and several other countries, and they'd want to take those out, too. There were 200 installations in Germany. 100 in Italy, and another 100 in Japan, so that's another 400. Just those 5 countries would require 800 of the 6700 weapons, bringing the total down to 5900. Then there were the Dew Line, the Mid Canada Line, and the Pinetree line. Of course, they wouldn't need to be completely destroyed-just take out enough installations that you'd create gaps that you could fly bombers or missiles through unsighted. For the 10,000 miles of those lines, figure 500 bombs to create the holes. Now it's 5400. No doubt they'd go after military targets first, including army and air bases, as well as ships at sea. That's probably another 500 or so. which brings the total down to 4900 available for civilian targets. That's a huge number and a horrific result, but if you evenly distributed them, it's one for every 640 square miles. If you start using multiples in the bigger cities, it's going to result in a lot of areas that aren't near to a blast, and those are the people that fallout shelters would have protected.

[@ArmpitStudios]

This and another recent video have very low audio levels. Any way you can normalize the audio?