Chicago Alert!: The City Plans For Atomic AttackMain MenuThe City Plans for Atomic AttackOrigins of Civil DefenseChicagoans prepared for enemy bombers during wartime.This is Only a TestThe city imagined and rehearsed for atomic destruction.Gimme ShelterThe symbol of American civil defense was the private family fallout shelter.Civil Defense in the CityPlans to survive in the city changed with global contexts.UIC PreparesThe university community shaped city plans.The Only Shelter is PeaceChicagoans questioned civil defense plans.From Civil Defense to Emergency ManagementChicagoans prepared for other disasters.About this ExhibitPamela Hackbart-Dean93dc91bf2da36176f33af7660faa866bf7a25e09Megan Keller Young2e72a529e58eee72bb9ae4f1e37365aa654232caDan Harpereff3db32ed95b3efe91d381826e2c10c145cd452
1media/test hero.jpgmedia/house.jpgmedia/test hero.jpg2020-11-11T08:46:37-06:00Gimme Shelter27The symbol of American civil defense was the private family fallout shelter.image_header2021-06-02T10:04:29-05:00Civil defense campaigns set out to both scare and reassure citizens. They sought to inspire people to care about the Cold War and participate in their own defense while avoiding panic and limiting the expectation that the federal government should (or could) provide protection from atomic attack. Public education focused on “self-help,” which made individual families responsible for their own preparation and protection.
The symbol of American civil defense was the private family fallout shelter in a suburban home. It represented American values that were key to winning the Cold War: individualism, consumerism, volunteerism, and free-market capitalism. A national system of federally funded, public, communal shelters would resemble a communist, Soviet-style solution. Instead, free individuals would choose to protect themselves by purchasing shelters and supplies in the marketplace. Shelters showcased a society centered on autonomous property owning nuclear families.
