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Protect and Survive


Protect and Survive is a public information series on civil defence produced by the British government during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is intended to inform British citizens on how to protect themselves during a nuclear attack, and consists of a mixture of pamphlets, radio broadcasts, and public information films. The series had originally been intended for distribution only in the event of dire national emergency, but provoked such intense public interest that the pamphlets were authorised for general release.

Protect and Survive had its origins in civil defence leaflets dating back to 1938, titled The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids. These advised the homeowner on what to do in the event of air attack. This evolved as the nature of warfare and geopolitics changed, with the pamphlets concurrently updated into Advising the Householder on Protection against Nuclear Attack in 1963. This document, of which 500,000 copies were made, garnered considerable public and government criticism when it was first released for its lack of explanations or conveyance of the reasoning behind the advice that was given. The Estimates Committee were similarly bemused by the advice, calling for its withdrawal. Civil defence personnel were summoned to House of Commons meetings in which they responded to all the points of criticism that were raised. The 1963 pamphlet was then accompanied by a series of public information films produced in 1964, called Civil Defence Information Bulletins. These films were intended to be broadcast in a state of emergency. Pamphlets similar to those prepared in 1963 briefly appeared in Peter Watkins' controversial 1965 BBC docudrama The War Game, in a scene where they were distributed to people's homes. The 1964 Bulletins were not depicted in this controversial film.


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