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Caldwell, Millard. “Civil Defense Training Can Save Lives If Enemy Bombs Fall.” Chicago Star
This is a primary source, a newspaper article informing the public on the actions and
purpose of the CIvil Defence program. It is an informative article, talking about how the Civil
Defence program can help people train on “how to safeguard your home, how to fight fires, and
what steps to take against atomic, biological and chemical warfare”, and is a clear advertisement
of the program. It is displayed on the front page of the newspaper it is published in and therefore
displays the prominence of Civil defence in the everyday lives of people in chicago. Teaching
people on the specifics of civil defence ensures more minds who are concerned about the
"Chicago Fire Dept. - Chicago Civil Defense - IN ACTION." YouTube, 21 Dec. 2010,
This is a primary source posted by the Chicago Fire Department. It features a training
drill
taking place in downtown Chicago in the 1960’s by the Chicago Civil Defence- Fire and Rescue
Unit . The location in a heavily populated area results in the civilians being involved and seeing
the precautionary actions taken to prevent a potential tragedy in the event of a disaster. The video
is connected to our research topic because the drills being demonstrated and practiced are a result
of the actions of the Civil Defence Corps, and the events in the video directly involve the history
25–25.
This is a primary source, a newspaper article written during the time of the activities of
the Civil Defence. This article recommends some books from local libraries designed to help
with the cause of civil defence by providing knowledge of what do do in case of a nuclear attack.
It shows that an impact of the civil defence program was the proliferation of the concern of
people with the topic, and the book recommendations on the topic of a potential nuclear war
demonstrates that people outside of the civil defence program were worried about it and wanted
to help people to know what to do with materials supplementary to the existing civil defence
program.
Illinois State, Legislature, Assembly, Chicago Civil Defense Corps. Annual Report of Chicago
This is a primary source written by Robert J. Quinn, Acting Director of the Chicago Civil
Defense Corps, addressed to Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago. It is an annual report that
summarizes the funds and expenses, as well as the special activities performed throughout the
year of 1959. Specifically, we focused on the report focused around the campaign for National
Civil Defense Day. The source claims that the purpose of National Civil Defense Day was “to
impress upon every citizen the importance of survival actions and incorporate civil defense
preparedness into the patterns of their daily living”, and in addition to the practice of multiple
drills and evacuations, the stress upon the citizens was increased greatly due to the prominence
of a potential emergency. The information presented in the report is reliable and accurate because
it is a primary source directly from the organization running these actions. This source is very
helpful for our research and proving our claim, as the report clearly demonstrates a change in the
daily lives of U.S. citizens, and it is also centered in Chicago and thus central to our research
topic.
The video is a primary source of footage from 1951 about US Civil Defence. The video
and announcer describe the precautions being taken to ensure public security and the creation of
this organization by President Truman. Various signs point to emergency shelters, and the most
jarring clip is of the pilots of the US air force are ready at all times to respond, and even have
trial runs in the case of enemy bombers. This public display of caution and preparation for a
large scale disaster greatly increasing suspense and tension in the public, as they see the constant
actions being made to secure the lives of the people. This directly relates to our topic and thesis,
as the policies and drills done by the Civil Defence involve the daily lives of citizens in the
United States.
Arthur Wallander. Report on Civil Defense, New York Public Radio, 22 Apr.
1951. New York Public Radio, www.wnyc.org/story/
This interview is a primary source from 1951 about the internal workings and
developments of the US Civil Defence. The radio broadcasted interview was done by Arthur J.
Wallander, who was going around the city departments to see what they had done for the
program of civil defence, which clearly had priority and authority at the time to expect
departments to focus on civil defence preparations. The fact that the interview was broadcasted
across the city meant that the civil defence service was making the public aware of all the real
preparations for the surreal reality of potential nuclear war.Frederick Zurmuhlen, the Public
Works Commissioner, stated in his interview that the Public Works department was undertaking
projects to construct additional sirens across the city to cover all of it. This is done both for the
purposes of an actual attack and drills to prepare the public for the potential armageddon.
Preparation was key to make the jobs of the civil defence workers easier but also served to raise
Secondary Sources
14 Nov. 2018.
fear of nuclear war on youths. The study analyzes and interviews many individuals of many
different backgrounds to obtain a fair and well-represented the views of the general population of
America. In particular, it mentions a study done in the Chicago area, and it reports that one-fifth
of the students reported concerns about nuclear issues when asked about global problems. All of
these individuals had no shared characteristics or experiences, and this shows the universal fear
felt by all types of people. This source is useful for our claim, as we are looking for the impacts
of nuclear war and the preventative propaganda on the concern of the people. This source
provides detailed information regarding these concerns over nuclear war, and thus it proves and
This is a secondary source created by Interplay Entertainment, the owner of the Fallout
series at the time, as an introduction to the video game Fallout Tactics. The Fallout series is a
video game series depicting a post nuclear apocalyptic world, and it contains various references
to the time of the Cold War and has a direct parallel of the United States Federal Civil Defense
Administration, aptly named the Civil Defense Administration. This particular intro movie
shows a destroyed city of Chicago, suffering after a nuclear Fallout. The game’s premise and
introduction clearly illustrate the fear and anticipation of a nuclear fallout in the United States,
and it links the cause of this fear to the time that the Federal Civil Defense Administration was
active in preventative measures for this kind of situation. This source is very useful to our
research and demonstrates the impacts of the Civil Defense Program on American culture. The
preparation for a fallout taken by the Civil Defense Program increased the presence of post
nuclear apocalyptic scenarios in American culture, and this is represented in many major cities
and important locations, with Chicago being one of these important places during the time of the
Goldstein, Gary. “Review: 1982 Documentary 'The Atomic Cafe' Is Back and Kookier than
www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-atomic-cafe-review-20180810-stor
y.html.
This is a secondary source referring to the the Cold War movie “The Atomic Cafe,”
which in turn refers to the Civil Defence a number of times. The movie is described in the
government-produced training and educational films, newsreels, commercials and more, related
to America’s then-obsession with the atom bomb”. The compilation of these government clips
serving as a movie shows their prevalence in the peak of the Cold War in the 60’s especially and
proves the effect of the numerous Civil Defence broadcasts on the national American culture,
culminating in a movie.
Quinn, Robert J. Civil Defence. Civil Defence, Civil Defence Corps, 1958.
This is a secondary source telling the history of the civil defence program in chicago and
its actions during critical times. The report states that the organization of 100 volunteers and was
ready to respond to the cuban missile crisis as soon as the news came. It shows that the worry for
a nuclear attack that was influenced by the civil defence was ever present and encouraged people
to volunteer and participate in the defence of the nation from a nuclear attack.
Schlosser, Eric. “Almost Everything in ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Was True.” The New Yorker, The New
www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/almost-everything-in-dr-strangelove-was-true.
This article covers the 1964 movie “Dr. Strangelove”, a Cold War dark humor comedy
predicated on a US officer launching an attack on the USSR and causing a nuclear war. The
movie was a success, banking on the public’s awareness of the nuclear threat and making fun of
it. Though the movie was “clearly a farce”, the article presents the premise of the movie as
viable, since the “Eisenhower agreed to let American officers use their nuclear weapons, in an
emergency, if there were no time or no means to contact the President”. Though the public did
not know the full truth on the scary matter with which the movie was concerned, they certainly
enjoyed a laugh from the comedy, described by another article (referred to in the article itself) as
“an evil thing about an evil thing”. This shows that the potential for nuclear war was imprinted
on a decent chunk of the American audience, which was able to enjoy a movie predicated on the
common knowledge of a nuclear war, which was spread so enthusiastically by the Civil Defence
program.
technology/2014/10/fail-safe-50th-anniversary-sidney-lumets-nuclear-war-movie-is-bette
towards nuclear war. In it, it describes the plot of the movie, Fail-Safe, especially the fear and
concern of the commanders in charge that were responsible for an accidental nuclear attack on
the USSR. The article compliments the genuine and sobering attitude in preventing a nuclear
war. It highlights the fear of not only intentional nuclear attacks, but also mistakes that could
result in the deaths of millions of people. This source is useful to our topic, as it illustrates the
shared fear and anxiety regarding an actual nuclear war. Even if it should be prevented, the
possibility of a mistake in human and machine is always present and threatens the lives of
innocent civilians. Therefore, the source illustrates the concern of American people through its
www.tcm.com/this-month/article/241711%7C0/Panic-In-Year-Zero.html.
This is a secondary source, a movie review of “Panic in Year Zero”, a movie made in
1962 about a nuclear armageddon where a man must survive in the ruins of the US after a
thermonuclear war. This movie was created by an indie filmmaker who presented a scenario ever
so familiar to the american public: that of nuclear destruction and a complete national collapse.
This shows that the idea presented by the civil defence have made their way into freelance
movies with a terrifying appearance, showing the concern of the movie makers when making the
film.
United States, Congress, Clapman, Willem. “Civil Defence for the 1980's--Current Issues.” Civil
Defence for the 1980's--Current Issues, 1979, pp. 55–57.
This is a secondary source, a report by the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency addressed
to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It is a report on the effectiveness of the civil
defence program, its effects on the public opinion of the US population, and the potential for its
expansion. It reports that the “civil defence capabilities could have a significant effect upon its
own population during a crisis, with respect to their perception, anxieties, and quite possibly
behavior”. This document supports our thesis, stating with evidence from numerous studies that
there is a significant effect on the population due to the presence of a civil defence program.
United States, Congress, Yoshbe, Harry. “Our Missing Shield: The US Civil Defence Program in
This is a secondary source, a government report for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency on the many aspects of the US Civil Defence program throughout History, as well as its
potential for continuation. It talks specifically about the impact of the program on the
population’s survival rate when targeted and the necessity to put the thought of an imminent
threat into the minds of the people and that a system of “communications, warning, evacuation,
and public education” would be utilized to instill readiness into the population to ensure its
future survival. The constant reminder of a potential nuclear threat hung high over the minds of