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In Civil Defense

Civil Defense: More than Duck and Cover -- The rise and fall of civil defense in the United States takes many turns over the last 50 years.

Civil Defense Gallery -- This collection of photos looks at the many facets of civil defense in the United States.

A guide to nuclear survival -- This 1950s film strip will bring back memories for those who learned the lessons of nuclear survival in grade school. At the same time, it suggests the cavalier attitudes toward the long-term effects of radiation and the devestation nuclear war could have.

How to build a fallout shelter -- Every well-equipped home of the Cold War era had a fallout shelter.

Ranging from home-made dirt-covered shelters to commercially-fabricated ones, shelters became a national obsession during the late '50s and enjoyed renewed popularity in the early '80s.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) pamphlets from 1980 teach every American how to erect an "effective" shelter. Do you know how?

Home Outside Concrete Shelter -- This FEMA pamphlet provides plans for constructing a separate below-ground shelter (632Kb, PDF).
Aboveground Home Shelter -- "Intended for persons who prefer an aboveground shelter," this pamphlet provides schematics for building a shelter to survive 5 p.s.i. over-pressures (806kb, PDF).
Home Fallout Shelter (Plan A) -- These plans detail the building of a "modified ceiling shelter-basement location (526kb, PDF).
Home Fallout Shelter (Plan C) -- These plans detail a concrete block shelter-basement location (223kb, PDF).
Home Fallout Shelter (Plan E) -- These plans show how to construct a tilt-up storage unit shelter (319kb, PDF).
Home Fallout Shelter (Plan F) -- These plans illustrate how to create a lean-to shelter in a home basement (279KB, PDF).

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