The 97% to Survive

The 97% to Survive. Fallout Shelter. , In the late 1950s it was deemed impractical to construct public shelters for everyone. In response, President Eisenhower issued a National Shelter Policy that encouraged Americans to take responsibility in providing their own protection from fallout. These policies were continued and expanded under the Kennedy Administration. The Office of Civil Defense encouraged homeowners to construct and stock home fallout shelters as part of a national civil defense effort and the Federal Housing Administration gave home improvement loans for fallout shelter construction., Because immediate access to shelter was critical during a nuclear event many families prepared fallout shelters in their homes. These could either be above ground, in basements, or buries underground so long as they provided protection for radioactive particles. Popular models included an under patio design like this one featured in Popular Mechanics in December 1961 (See Below). Designs like these attempted to make shelters both practical and functional.,

“If we can face up to our risks and live up to our word, if we can do our duty undeterred by fanatics or frenzy at home or abroad, then surely peace and freedom can prevail and we shall be neither Red nor dead, but alive and free…” – JFK

, Public Reactions , By the late 1960s many Americans had become fatigued from the constant warnings and vigilance required for civil defense. Some were skeptical of the need for shelters and wanted instead to focus on peaceful international relations as a solution. It was not enough to simply survive a nuclear attack; they wanted to live in a world free from the nuclear specter., The strategic reduction talks of the 1970s help to ease public fears of the fallout from a nuclear attack. While the USSR was still a powerful foe, the thawing of relations of the two superpowers and the open dialogue about weapons reduction gave hope to many for a peaceful future. As a result, the push for fallout shelters gradually subsided in the 1970s., The timeline of the Aiken Municipal Fallout Shelter follows the larger public sentiment and fears of 1960s Cold War America. It was planned and constructed at a time of heightened concern and alertness of the nuclear threat that faced our nation. Maintained during the tense years at the height of the Cold War, it was sealed in 1970 as international tensions eased. This fallout shelter today remains a relic of our Cold War history and a reminder of Aiken’s role in the Cold War., [Sidebar:] , To learn more about Aiken during the Cold War, visit the SRS Museum at: 224 Laurens Street SW Aiken, SC 29801