With each passing day it was becoming more obvious that the war would not have a peaceful end.

All over America people received a letter from their government. It contained a simple pamphlet, with a short set of instructions and pictures.

“IN EVENT OF NUCLEAR DISASTER:

The looming threat from The Eastern Bloc is growing. In order to save yourself and your family it is of the utmost importance that you act now.

Build a fallout shelter:

Dig a hole in your garden, make it 8 x 4 x 6 feet, at least. See pictures.

If you do not own a garden, find a suitable spot somewhere else; even if it is on someone else's land. The law has been changed to allow people to build a shelter each.

In case of a nuclear threat you are to bring your family into the hole and cover it with a door. Make sure the door has weights fastened to it. See pictures.

If you hear a detonation, wait approximately two hours before you leave the shelter; to be sure that there are not more bombs coming.

Good luck.”

The following days people busied themselves with following the instructions.

It was a very strange sight. The whole of Central Park, NY, was filled with these makeshift shelters. Driving down a street you could see one by every house.

And when the alarms sounded, people scrambled into them. Those who had not built a shelter of their own forced their way into others'.

In hindsight, it is impossible to know how many believed that the shelters would save them; and how many realized that they had simply been asked to dig their own graves.

Wars are expensive and every penny counts.