preventing anarchy after a Soviet nuclear attack

Departmental Office, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

In December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The image above shows one of the 18 federal government departmental offices in the bunker. Pictured here is the office of Energy Mines and Resources, outfitted with furniture and equipment from the 1980s and 1990s. (To see more details, please click on the photograph.)

Located on Level 300, near the War Cabinet Room, were offices for the departments of Agriculture, Canadian Mortgage and Housing, Public Works, and so on. Approximately 20 to 30 officials would work in each department. During a nuclear attack, these individuals would provide support to their Ministers who would brief government representatives assembled in the massive underground bunker. The Secretariat would coordinate the flow of information between the War Cabinet and the various government departments.

The Diefenbunker was shut down in 1994, after 33 years of operation. It is now Canada’s Cold War Museum and a National Historic Site. For more information, please visit Canada’s Cold War Museum and Parks Canada.

Nikita Khrushchev: we will bury you

Cabinet Secretariat, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

During the Cold War, political rhetoric was designed to intimidate enemy governments and their individual citizens. In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev told western diplomats: “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you.” Desperate times called for desperate measures.

In December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The photograph above shows the Cabinet Secretariat. It is located on Level 300 of the bunker, adjacent to the War Cabinet Room. This would have been the office for almost two dozen staff from the Privy Council Secretariat, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Prime Minister’s Office. During a nuclear attack, the individuals working here would provide briefings and support to the government representatives assembled in the massive underground bunker. The Secretariat would also coordinate the flow of information between the War Cabinet and various government departments.

paper money worthless after nuclear attack

Corridor to Bank of Canada Vault, Level 100, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

The Diefenbunker is an underground fallout shelter constructed on four levels. The photograph above shows a wide corridor located on the lowest level; it connects the main bunker to the Bank of Canada Vault, which is behind the viewer. The vault would have stored up to 800 tons of gold reserves. During a nuclear alert, the gold would have been transported to the bunker in 80 trucks from the main bank vaults in downtown Ottawa. If Canada had suffered a nuclear attack, paper money would have been worthless, and so would contaminated gold; so it was critical to protect the national gold reserve from radiation. As is evident from the figures painted on the walls, this corridor was also used as a fitness area.

the most dangerous two weeks in history

Main Dining Room, Level 200, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 has been called the most dangerous two weeks in history. For detailed information about this event, please visit Thirteen Days in October. The year 1962 marked the height of the Cold War.

A year before, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The photograph above shows the main dining room. Located three levels down in the four-story bunker, it could accommodate up to 200 people at a time. The furniture seen here, none of which is original to the bunker, is typical of the mid 1980s. Just out of view is the main lounge with pool tables and other recreational activities. There is also a canteen in this area.

1962: nuclear test ban talks end in failure

Kitchen, Level 200, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

Exactly 50 years ago, in January 1962, Cold War tensions increased dramatically. The January 12, 1962 edition of Life featured a cover story entitled: The Drive for Mass Shelters, New Facts You Must Know About Fallout. And at the end of January, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union announced that their three-year-old talks on banning the testing of nuclear weapons had ended in failure.

The month before, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The photograph above shows the kitchen in the bunker. Open 24 hours a day, this facility served four meals a day, seven days a week, every day of the year for 33 years. There was always enough fresh food available for seven to ten days; after that individual meal packets (K-rations) would be served. The kitchen had three walk-in coolers for meat, dairy and vegetables. Fresh food was brought up in a dumb-waiter from a refrigerator one floor below; this frig could also serve as a morgue.

The Diefenbunker is a National Historic Site of Canada. For more information please visit Canada’s Cold War Museum and Parks Canada.

You have heard the siren sound the alert.

Federal Warning Centre, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

The Federal Warning Centre in the Diefenbunker was located next door to the War Cabinet Room, which was featured in yesterday’s post. In the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War, military personnel working in the room pictured above would issue an order triggering the country-wide system of air raid sirens. The signs on the command desk in front of the four large chairs at the top of the room read: Nuclear Defence Ops Advisor, Federal Warning Officer, Senior Govt. of Canada Rep. and Senior Civil Defence Officer. For more details, please click on the photograph.

Tocsin B, a nuclear attack exercise, took place in Canada on November 13th 1961. The air raid sirens were tested across the country and then Prime Minister Diefenbaker began a CBC Radio broadcast with the words: “My fellow Canadians, you have just heard the siren sound the national alert.” For this and other Cold War stories, visit the CBC Archives.

Exactly 50 years ago, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. In the event of a nuclear war, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The Diefenbunker is now Canada’s Cold War Museum. For more information please visit www.diefenbunker.ca

The survivors would envy the dead.

War Cabinet Room, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

The War Cabinet Room in the Diefenbunker was located just down the corridor from the Prime Minister’s Suite, which was featured in yesterday’s post. In the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War, Canada would have been governed from the room pictured above. The War Cabinet consisted of the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and a minimum of three other ministers of the Crown.

In the 1960s, preparations for this scenario were carried out under the threat of global annihilation. In July 1963, Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev was quoted in Pravda as saying that, in the event of nuclear war, “The survivors would envy the dead.” President John F. Kennedy responded: “A full scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes…could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And the survivors – as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, ‘the survivors would envy the dead.’ For they would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot conceive of its horrors.”

Exactly 50 years ago, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The Diefenbunker is now Canada’s Cold War Museum. For more information please visit www.diefenbunker.ca

Kennedy advises building of fallout shelters

Prime Minister’s Suite, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

The Prime Minister’s suite in the Diefenbunker consisted of three rooms: an office, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The single bed seen in this photograph is the original; no spouses were allowed into the bunker. The picture on the night stand is of Olive Diefenbaker, the PM’s wife. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker stated that he would not report to the bunker in the event of a nuclear attack because his wife was not allowed to go with him. In fact, he never entered the bunker although he ordered its construction.

The magazine on the desk is the January 12, 1962 edition of Life, with a cover story entitled The Drive for Mass Shelters. Earlier, the September 1961 issue published a letter from President Kennedy advising Americans to build fallout shelters for their families.

Exactly 50 years ago, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. None of the occupants were allowed to bring family members with them. Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

The Diefenbunker is now Canada’s Cold War Museum. For more information please visit www.diefenbunker.ca

flagship bunker shelters 535 souls

Corridor, Level 400, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

In this photograph of the Diefenbunker, two black and white support columns are visible on the left hand side of the corridor. These columns are four feet in diameter, and there are 36 of them supporting the four-story bunker. In order to withstand the pressure caused by a nuclear blast, the columns flare out to 10 feet at the top and bottom of the structure.

The Diefenbunker measures 157 feet along each side, and it is approximately 57 feet high. The floor slabs are almost two feet thick, while the base and roof slabs are five feet. The walls are generally two and a half feet thick, but at the front of the bunker they measure up to four feet.

Exactly 50 years ago, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to Canada’s flagship bunker in Carp. It contained over 300 rooms and was designed to shelter 535 individuals. None of the occupants were allowed to bring family members with them.

Built secretly between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was nicknamed after Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. This massive underground complex contained office spaces, sleeping quarters, broadcasting facilities, decontamination chambers, and a weather station to monitor wind patterns and take radioactive readings. Other rooms, including the kitchens, bathrooms, food and waste storage, hospital and morgue, were dedicated to simple human survival.

The Diefenbunker is now Canada’s Cold War Museum. For more information please visit www.diefenbunker.ca

out of bounds to all male personnel

Women’s Quarters, Level 300, The Diefenbunker, Ottawa 2010

In this photograph, the sign at the end of the corridor reads: OUT OF BOUNDS TO ALL MALE PERSONNEL – PAS D. ADMISSION AU PERSONNEL MASCULIN. The women’s quarters in the Diefenbunker were painted blue to clearly identify this area which houses seven bunk rooms and one communal washroom. The bunker support columns are painted with vertical black stripes to give the illusion of a higher ceiling, and the horizontal bands of colour on the tile floor are an attempt to make the corridor appear wider than it really is. To see more details, please click on the image.

Exactly 50 years ago, in December 1961, Canada’s Central Emergency Government Headquarters, aka the Diefenbunker, became operational. During the Cold War, in the event of a nuclear attack, designated government officials would report to the bunker. The only female military personnel in the bunker would have served in the medical centre. There were also non-military women present; they worked as secretarial and clerical staff.

The Diefenbunker is now Canada’s Cold War Museum. For more information please visit www.diefenbunker.ca