Preparing the Public
On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union detonated their first nuclear weapon, bringing them into the nuclear arms race that defined the Cold War era. This moment in history brought Cold War anxieties to the forefront for many people in the West. The United States were no longer the only superpower with nuclear technology.
Tensions between the USSR and the United States were rising, and with them the threat of nuclear war. In the early 1950s, President Harry Truman and the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) implemented civil defence education for students and the public. One of the solutions the FCDA presented was the film Duck and Cover.
Duck and Cover
Duck and Cover is a short film that was introduced into American classrooms in 1951. This film, created by Archer productions, was a project funded by the FCDA to better educate children on what they can do in case of a nuclear attack. Duck and Cover features Bert the Turtle, an alert little turtle that when confronted with danger ducks (drops to the ground) and covers (finds shelter). The film was shown in conjunction with practical drills, all the reinforce the lesson: get low and find shelter.
A chorus sings the Duck and Cover theme:
There was a turtle by the name of Bert,
and Bert the turtle was very alert.
When danger threatened him he never got hurt,
he knew just what to do:
He’d duck and cover!
Duck and cover!
He did what we all must learn to do
You, and you, and you, and you
Duck and cover!
The film was one of several acquired by the Canadian government’s Department of National Health and Welfare. Films like Duck and Cover inspired Canada’s own homegrown series of films to educate the public on civil defence during the Cold War.1 Duck-and-cover drills were taught in Canada too. Children were instructed to get under their desks for shelter and to cover the backs of their heads and necks. In The Department of National Health and Welfare reported that they publicly screened the American civil defence film, Duck and Cover, 66 times by April 1953, with a total attendance of roughly 17,000 Canadians from across the nation.2
When Simple Actions Mattered Most
It’s easy today to look back on duck and cover videos and see them as naive or even a little absurd. After all, how well is ducking under a desk really going to protect someone from a nuclear attack?
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945, a team of American doctors from the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) were sent over to study the effects of radiation on survivors. The project is considered highly controversial, since the goal was not to treat patients, but to observe and document their conditions. The researchers found that those who had been sheltered had survived and had comparatively better health outcomes. In fact, something as simple as standing behind a tree or being in the water made a difference in the effects on the body.
Duck and Cover may seem overly simple to us now, but the strategies offered in the film were grounded in real observations about survival. The intent was to maximize the chances of survival for those without a reinforced shelter available to them. If ducking under a desk and covering your head could do that, then why not try it. The purpose of these videos was also to educate the public, not frighten them. By giving people something tangible to do that would potentially increase their chance of survival, the government was giving people control over their fate during a time when the threat of nuclear war felt immediate and unavoidable.
For some, the lessons from Duck and Cover and other civil defence videos could have meant the difference between life and death. During the Cold War, there was a present and serious fear of nuclear disaster that made its way into everyday life. Duck and cover drills also represent an effort by governments to provide people with tools — however limited — to create opportunities for safety and preparedness in the face of an overwhelming threat.
Additional Resources
1. Examples of Civil Defence Films Referenced for Use by Civil Defence Canada:
A. World Wide Fallout from Nuclear Weapons (1962)
C. The Role of the Block Warden in the Hydrogen Bomb Era (1955)
D. Patterns for Survival (1950)
F. Alert Today – Alive Tomorrow (1956)
N. The Search, A Disaster Study (1954)
P. A Voice Shall Be Heard (1951)
Q. U.S. Civil Defense in Action (1953)
2. RG29, Volume number: 119, File number: 188-3-32. Education and Information, Civil Defence Division – Films, 1952-1959. “Screenings and attendance October, November, December, 1954: Civil Defence Films Distributed by the National Film Board for the Department of National Health and Welfare,” Department of Health Fonds, Library and Archives Canada.
3. “Exercise Turtle,” Big CD Exercise for School Students.” The Standard, St. Catherine’s, Ontario. February 19, 1955. Pg. 9.