FAQs
What is Civil Defense?
Civil Defense was a government-led initiative to train civilians to protect themselves and survive in the event of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. I am mostly interested in American Civil Defense paraphernalia and pop culture from World War II to the end of the Cold War.
Why Civil Defense?
I find parts of the paranoia to be somehow charming and simultaneously very dated and yet very familiar. In some ways, we haven't moved on from the Cold War at all. Another reason why I like CD media is that it was the result of Americans realizing the horrible technology they had unleashed had wider consequences than the mere decimation of civilian populations in Japan. I find it sad and poetic, in a way, but also reflective of how mankind operates under capitalism -- making more and more deadlier things that are worse for the environment without a single thought for the aftermath or survivors.
My Collection
Civil Defense Music: The foremost, and probably only, collection of Civil Defense music is
Atomic Platters by the German record label Bear Family Records. This disc set notably includes short PSAs read by celebrities and 2 DVDs of animated or filmed PSAs.
Civil Defense pamphlet
Civil Defense Radios
I define Civil Defense Radios as household radios that carry the Civil Defense signals from manufacture -- that is, labels specifically for the signals 640 and 1240, where the government was to broadcast information in the event of nuclear attack. I try to collect things that work, so the radios I have all work.