--- title: 'Civil defense posters: air raid, blackout and atomic survival, 1939 to 1950' url: https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/ description: 'Civil defense posters: WWII air raid, gas, fire and blackout notices from Britain and the US, plus a 1950 atomic booklet, with who issued each.' section: FRAME --- ![Illustration: a dossier collage of an evidence wall of pinned propaganda posters, leaflets and printed matter from many eras, with contact sheets and catalog labels.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/hero-collection.jpg) Collection # Civil defense posters: air raid, blackout and atomic survival, 1939 to 1950 Civil defense posters: WWII air raid, gas, fire and blackout notices from Britain and the US, plus a 1950 atomic booklet, with who issued each. 1. [Home](https://propagandaarchive.org/) 2. [Collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/) 3. Civil defense posters [![The Enemy May Use Gas: Take Cover When the Siren Sounds](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/ceylon-the-enemy-may-use-gas-take-cover-1939-640.jpg)The Enemy May Use Gas: Take Cover When the Siren Sounds](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/ceylon-the-enemy-may-use-gas-take-cover-1939/) [![How to Tackle a Fire Bomb](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-how-to-tackle-a-fire-bomb-1939-640.jpg)How to Tackle a Fire Bomb](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-how-to-tackle-a-fire-bomb-1939/) [![Fall in the fire-bomb fighters! (Herbert Morrison)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/fall-in-the-fire-bomb-fighters-morrison-1940-640.jpg)Fall in the fire-bomb fighters! (Herbert Morrison)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/fall-in-the-fire-bomb-fighters-morrison-1940/) [![Philadelphia's Air Raid System](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/philadelphias-air-raid-system-1941-640.jpg)Philadelphia's Air Raid System](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/philadelphias-air-raid-system-1941/) [![Official Civilian Defense Insignia](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/official-civilian-defense-insignia-1942-640.jpg)Official Civilian Defense Insignia](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/official-civilian-defense-insignia-1942/) [!["Keine neuen US-Raketen in Westeuropa!": peace manifestation, Halle](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/gdr-halle-peace-manifestation-banners-1983-640.jpg)"Keine neuen US-Raketen in Westeuropa!": peace manifestation, Halle](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gdr-halle-peace-manifestation-banners-1983/) > **Content note.** One poster here names Hitler as the source of an unannounced gas attack, and several show bombs, gas and fire as the threat. They are shown as issued. Showing an item is not endorsing it. [What were civil defense posters?](https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/#what-were-civil-defense-posters) [Britain, 1939 to 1941](https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/#britain-1939-to-1941-gas-fire-and-darkness) [The United States, 1941 to 1943](https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/#the-united-states-1941-to-1943-wardens-and-volunteers) [The Cold War](https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/#the-cold-war-atomic-survival) [What the collection does not hold](https://propagandaarchive.org/civil-defense-posters/#what-the-collection-does-not-hold) ## What were civil defense posters? Civil defense posters were official notices telling civilians how to survive and help during an attack from the air: when the siren meant take cover, how to black out windows, how to fit a gas mask, who the wardens were. Governments issued them. Most of the collection's examples date from 1939 to 1945 in Britain and the United States; the Cold War atomic era is represented by one booklet. ![Ministry of Home Security poster of 1939: two hands stretch open a civilian gas mask above red type naming Hitler](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-hitler-will-send-no-warning-gas-mask-1939.jpg) ## Britain, 1939 to 1941: gas, fire and darkness The Ministry of Home Security, through H.M. Stationery Office, named the enemy and the lack of warning on its gas-mask poster, and the tag is [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/). Its companion sheet is mostly instruction. ![Ministry of Home Security sheet of 1939: illustrated steps for fitting a gas mask and treating gas splashes](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/gas-attack-ministry-of-home-security-1939.jpg) ![Ceylon Department of Civil Defence sheet of 1939 in English, Sinhala and Tamil: the enemy may use gas, take cover when the siren sounds](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/ceylon-the-enemy-may-use-gas-take-cover-1939.jpg) ![Ministry of Home Security sheet of 1939: householders with a stirrup pump tackle an incendiary bomb](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-how-to-tackle-a-fire-bomb-1939.jpg) ![Ministry of Home Security poster of 1940: a hose sprays flames under the command Fall in the fire-bomb fighters, signed Herbert Morrison](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/fall-in-the-fire-bomb-fighters-morrison-1940.jpg) ![London Transport poster of 1939 by Hans Schleger: a shoe steps from a platform into black shadow](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-in-the-blackout-be-sure-the-bus-or-tram-has-stopped-1939.jpg) ![London Transport poster of 1939: a figure in a dark coat carries something white in a gloved hand](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/uk-in-the-blackout-wear-or-carry-something-white-1939.jpg) ![Ministry of Health poster of 1939: two children in coats under a headline asking mothers to let them go](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/mothers-let-them-go-evacuation-1939.jpg) Explain moreShow less A text-only sheet from Ceylon's Department of Civil Defence carries the same message in English, Sinhala and Tamil. For fire, the Ministry showed a man and a woman with a stirrup pump and buckets, ordinary people as models for the task ([Plain folks](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/)). In 1940 it issued a call signed by Herbert Morrison, whose name and office carry the appeal ([Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/)). London Transport, not a ministry, issued the blackout posters. Hans Schleger's shoe stepping into shadow stages a risk of injury ([Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/)); the white-glove poster lends the transport roundel's authority to an instruction ([Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/)). The Ministry of Health's evacuation poster uses a photograph of two children and the virtue words "safety and health" ([Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/)). ## The United States, 1941 to 1943: wardens and volunteers The Office of Civilian Defense, and state and city councils, recruited volunteers and explained systems. The Work Projects Administration printed some of them. The Alabama poster puts a bomber's shadow across the state ([Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/)) and the Oakland poster repeats its key word ([Repetition and the illusory truth effect](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/repetition/)). ![WPA War Services poster for Alabama, 1941: a bomber's shadow across the state outline above Volunteer Civilian Defense](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/volunteer-civilian-defense-alabama-wpa-1941.jpg) ![Oakland Defense Council poster of 1941: a black arrow points at the word BLACK under Blackout means](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/blackout-means-black-oakland-wpa-1941.jpg) ![Office for Emergency Management poster of 1941: a bald eagle in flight under America Calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/america-calling-civilian-defense-1941.jpg) ![Putnam County War Council woodcut of 1941: a man raises binoculars toward aircraft](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/your-ears-and-eyes-can-save-lives-1941.jpg) ![Philadelphia Council of Defense diagram of 1941: a bomb strikes a house and units are sent from a control centre](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/philadelphias-air-raid-system-1941.jpg) ![Office of Civilian Defense chart of 1943: signal, meaning and action for Blue Warning, Red Danger and White All Clear](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/new-air-raid-warning-system-ocd-1943.jpg) Explain moreShow less The federal recruiting poster "America Calling" relies on an eagle and a broad patriotic call with no task named ([Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/)). A Putnam County, New York, council woodcut shows a man with binoculars watching aircraft, a local post with an implied threat. Some sheets inform more than they persuade. Philadelphia's diagram follows a bomb strike through warden, control centre and rescue units, and the Office of Civilian Defense's 1943 chart sets out the Blue, Red and White signals. ## The Cold War: atomic survival ![Cover of the 1950 federal booklet Survival Under Atomic Attack: a mushroom cloud over a black city skyline](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/survival-under-atomic-attack-booklet-1950.jpg) The National Security Resources Board's Civil Defense Office published *Survival Under Atomic Attack* in 1950 through the Government Printing Office. Its cover shows the harm in full before the protective advice, and its "official U.S. Government booklet" line names the source ([Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/)). Outside government, the same fear drove opposing protest: a Dutch banner of 1982 turns "Reagan" into "atomic rain", and an East German state-organised rally in 1983 names only American and NATO weapons. ![Banner at an anti-nuclear demonstration in The Hague, 1982, reading Na atoomreagan geen zonneschijn](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/na-atoomreagan-banner-1982.jpg) ![Banners at a state-organised peace manifestation in Halle, East Germany, 1983, against new US missiles](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/gdr-halle-peace-manifestation-banners-1983.jpg) ## What the collection does not hold - **Not here:** a "Duck and Cover" poster or film frame, fallout-shelter signs, or Soviet civil defence material. The Cold War civil defence holding is one booklet. - **Not here:** German, Japanese or Soviet air-raid material of the war years, or British posters from the 1950s. - **Not here:** evidence of how many people read or followed any of these; the items show what was issued, not its effect. Sources and further reading ## Sources National Archives and Records Administration (US civil defense posters and the Government Printing Office imprints); NARA's WWII… National Archives and Records Administration (US civil defense posters and the Government Printing Office imprints); NARA's WWII foreign posters and Imperial War Museums (Ministry of Home Security posters); National Security Resources Board, *Survival Under Atomic Attack* (1950); Nationaal Archief, Anefo (The Hague banner); Bundesarchiv, ADN-Zentralbild (Halle). Each item in the grid carries its own source and rights note. See also [wartime careless-talk posters](https://propagandaarchive.org/ww2-propaganda-posters/careless-talk/) and [WPA posters](https://propagandaarchive.org/wpa-posters/). ## Civil defense posters in the collection Showing 27 of 27 objects. [Filter the whole collection](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/). - [The Enemy May Use Gas: Take Cover When the Siren Sounds](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/ceylon-the-enemy-may-use-gas-take-cover-1939/) (Ceylon · 1939 · Fear appeal) - [Official Instructions Issued by the Ministry of Home Security - Gas Attack](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gas-attack-ministry-of-home-security-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Fear appeal) - [Mothers let them go - give them a chance of greater safety and health (Ministry of Health Evacuation Scheme)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/mothers-let-them-go-evacuation-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Glittering generalities) - [Steering London Through Daylight & Blackout - Faithfully](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/steering-london-through-daylight-blackout-uk-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Glittering generalities) - [Hitler will send no warning - so always carry your gas mask](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-hitler-will-send-no-warning-gas-mask-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Fear appeal) - [How to Tackle a Fire Bomb](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-how-to-tackle-a-fire-bomb-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Plain folks) - [In the Blackout be Sure the Bus or Tram has Stopped](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-in-the-blackout-be-sure-the-bus-or-tram-has-stopped-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Fear appeal) - [In the Blackout - Before You Alight Make Sure the Train is in the Station - Look for Platform](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-in-the-blackout-before-you-alight-make-sure-the-train-is-in-the-station-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Fear appeal) - [In the Blackout - To Hail a Bus or Tram Shine a Torch on to Your Hand](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-in-the-blackout-hail-a-bus-or-tram-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Transfer) - [In the Blackout - Wear or Carry Something White](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-in-the-blackout-wear-or-carry-something-white-1939/) (United Kingdom · 1939 · Transfer) - [Fall in the fire-bomb fighters! (Herbert Morrison)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/fall-in-the-fire-bomb-fighters-morrison-1940/) (United Kingdom · 1940 · Testimonial) - [Air Raid Precautions Have Been Taken Here](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/air-raid-precautions-have-been-taken-here-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Transfer) - [America Calling: Take your place in Civilian Defense](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/america-calling-civilian-defense-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Glittering generalities, Transfer) - ["Blackout Means Black" (WPA, Oakland Defense Council, 1941-1943)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/blackout-means-black-oakland-wpa-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Repetition and the illusory truth effect) - [He Serves, Too](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/he-serves-too-civilian-defense-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Transfer) - [Philadelphia's Air Raid System](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/philadelphias-air-raid-system-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Fear appeal) - [Fire Guard: an exhibition to help the great army of fire fighters (Charing Cross Underground Station)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/uk-fire-guard-exhibition-charing-cross-1941/) (United Kingdom · 1941 · Bandwagon) - ["Volunteer Civilian Defense" (WPA War Services, Alabama, 1941-1943)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/volunteer-civilian-defense-alabama-wpa-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Fear appeal) - [Your Ears & Eyes Can Save Lives: Volunteer! For Civilian Defense](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/your-ears-and-eyes-can-save-lives-1941/) (United States · 1941 · Fear appeal) - [The Block Plan for Civilian War Services](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/block-plan-civilian-war-services-1942/) (United States · 1942 · Bandwagon) - [Official Civilian Defense Insignia](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/official-civilian-defense-insignia-1942/) (United States · 1942 · Transfer) - [For service in civilian defense](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/for-service-in-civilian-defense-1943/) (United States · 1943 · Glittering generalities) - [New air raid warning system](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/new-air-raid-warning-system-ocd-1943/) (United States · 1943 · Fear appeal) - [The warden must be seen, so must you: show white at night, especially below knees during blackouts](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/warden-must-be-seen-show-white-at-night-aaa-1943/) (United States · 1943 · Transfer) - [Survival Under Atomic Attack (official U.S. Government booklet, cover)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/survival-under-atomic-attack-booklet-1950/) (United States · 1950 · Fear appeal). Content note: Illustration of a nuclear explosion over a city. - ["Na atoomreagan geen zonneschijn": banner at a Dutch anti-nuclear demonstration](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/na-atoomreagan-banner-1982/) (Netherlands · Apr 17, 1982 · Name-calling, Fear appeal) - ["Keine neuen US-Raketen in Westeuropa!": peace manifestation, Halle](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/gdr-halle-peace-manifestation-banners-1983/) (East Germany · Oct 21, 1983 · Fear appeal)