Following the U.S. nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the Soviet Union began rapidly ramping up the development of its own atomic weapons, which led to a widespread nuclear arms race between the U.S., the USSR, and their allies. During the ensuing Cold War, many Americans feared a nuclear attack. To help prepare Americans for such an attack, the U.S. Federal Civil Defense Administration created this video called “Duck and Cover” that was shown to school children from the early 50s through 1991.

Watch the video Duck and Cover here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60. After watching, discuss your reactions to and perceptions of this public communication. How did you feel watching the film? Do you think it is an effective piece of public communication; why or why not? How valuable do you think the public health information in the video is? What do you think might have been the purpose of the video? What similarities can you draw between the Cold War threat of nuclear attack, and the current threat of COVID-19? How does this communication compare to government communication (for example, from the CDC) regarding COVID-19?