After the Big One: Nuclear War on the Prairies
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ย. 2022
- This film deals straightforwardly with the consequences of a nuclear attack for the Canadian Prairies. The Prairies are singled out because of their proximity to huge stockpiles of intercontinental ballistic missiles located in North Dakota. Scenes include a visit to a missile base and to an emergency government bunker in Manitoba. A doctor, a farmer and a civil defence coordinator provide different perspectives on nuclear war. Although the film focuses on one region, it provides a model for people everywhere who would like to know more about their own situation but don't know what questions to ask.
Directed by Bob Lower - 1983 | 23 min
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I laughed at how even then they were noting how "old" the B52 is. Meanwhile, 40 years after this video was made, it's still our primary bomber.
Because it's works.... amazing isn't it
LOL. It has already outlasted most of them. Ironically it will outlast most of us as well by the time it's retired close to 2050.
There’s a new one that was just announced though, so it’s technically correct now 😅
@@dasapples The B-21? That's just a B-2 replacement ether of which are incapable of the same mission as a B-52. They are mostly used to clear the ground of anti air systems and high value targets since they are stealthy then the B-52's bring the primary payload.
@@alpham777 I see your point, but let’s be honest.. do you really think they’re gonna let anyone know that they have something better than a 40 year old machine until it’s time for them to use it? I’m willing to bet my life savings they have something they don’t wanna tell us about
As a weather specialist in the US Navy, at the same time this video was made, one of the drills I had to do was plot fallout maps. Seeing these charts and knowing what the potential death count was, at 18 years old, i came to the conclusion that I wanted to be at ground zero for any real blast.
Once the Soviet Union collapsed, I thought the immanent threat of nuclear war was over. How wrong I was.
Was 13 when The Day After aired. Always remember the scene with Jason Robards driving south on I-35 and everyone else going north. Then the bombs go off. I best friend said he would drive toward the the light. I always thought about survival. These days I agree with both you and him.
When the cold war ended in 1990, I remember thinking if we couldn't create the conditions to peacefully coexist with China and Russia, this would eventually come back. Thirty-Two years later and we're back to where we started.
I’m not so sure. There are a lot of people involved with the Military Industrial Complex who have been trying to boot up “Cold War 2.0” for years. But I don’t think the Cold War was real, either. Up to 1986 or so, the US was lending the USSR approximately two billion dollars a month, at a time when their GNP was around 28 billion, mostly from oil and gold sales. They could never hold up their side of the Cold War. So their weapons program is mostly lies.
Just like, as it turns out, the mighty Russian military machine is a paper tiger, and probably has been since the end of WWII. Or since Stalin’s purges, anyway. They say he killed 50 million of his own people.
Nukes were never a practical, “defensive tool”. To prevent nuke wars, The Leaders of Russia must understand this, and understand that Russia would also perish. Socialist or not, that government would perish.
Is terribly sad ,terrifying too but your right ,ground zero would be the kindest place to be …😢
Fun Fact: The diesel generator at many facilities would only run for 48 hours before requiring an external fuel truck to be parked on site for an additional week of operating time. Someone finally noticed during the Y2K scare when it was clarified that in a grid-down situation, expecting ground deliveries of fuel is insane.
Agree with you completely but if the grid did go down and stay down I'd guess that when you got to that 48 hours running out of diesel would be one of our minor concerns. I'm a big believer in that old saying that any civilization is only a few missed meals away from anarchy. It doesn't say good things about us, but there you go. Where I live is a smallish community, low crime, etc. But 48 hours without power in the wintertime here and it would be total chaos. Summertime you may get a couple more days before it hits the fan. Sigh.
@@xlerb2286 I'm talking about Canada's capital, Ottawa, so we have no excuse. This was actually one of the counter arguments made by the people who proposed the system. Either it wouldn't be bad enough that ground deliveries were out of the question, or it would be and all the fuel in the world probably wouldn't help your country from dying. It is a precarious position we've placed ourselves in.
@@xlerb2286who needs bread, let them smoke crack
@@xlerb2286 It would be immediately. Not a single missed meal, The internet and communication would be what people would fret about, they would lose their minds in a matter of minutes. All laws would be void and it would be anarchy immediately.
@@dontbetreadin4777 I'd love to disagree with you, but knowing people I really can't. Not in large urban areas anyway. Smaller towns and such I think would last longer.
“The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.” ― Carl Sagan
Quote is mostly true, except for the numbers, he said five thousand the other with seven thousand
@@slicershanks1919 Thanks. Carl was quite the visionary! Best to you.
and what about WW4?
@@Gizziiusa Sticks and stones.
@@belalugrisi1614 Bingo! (Figured you knew it).
I met a woman from Texas who moved to Winnipeg in 75 because she thought it would be safer if the SHTF. When I explained to her we live on the front line of WW3, she was blown away, figuratively. My advice to her was just quit worrying, enjoy life here while you can.
Canada is, as Gwynne Dyer put it, "the space between", so we're certain to be caught in the crossfire.
@@peterlittlehorse5695 Canada is the "buffer zone" over which US missile defence would attempt to destroy incoming missiles. We will be shot at by both sides.
ww3 is being fought everyday. nukes are an imagined threat.
Is this a fellow winnipegger?
@@DEADMANRIDING1 that's dumb.....nobody would be shooting at Canada.
It’s an old story but think worth repeating.
January 13 2018 my wife & I were in Hawaii. We are early risers so we had been dressed for a while when the state issued an alert that an nuclear attack was imminent.
Obviously a little shocked by the news, we hugged then my wife went to the bar fridge, grabbed a 6 pack and said, “let’s go the beach & watch fireworks.”
Needless to say 40 minutes later... nothing.
Except I fell deeper in-love with her that morning.
Yeah that’s the truth if you know that your about to get nuked might as will enjoy it!
You've got a good one Dutch! 👍🏿
That a great woman.
U inspired me to keep my fridge stocked with booze
@@kscnc5994I’m pretty sure that was the moral of the story. 😆
On a happier note, I love these old school videos because it is really neat to see all of the old cars and trucks cruising around. It’s truly amazing how times have changed.
Times have changed alright. Today, thanks to the US war criminal administration and their proxy conflicts against Russia and China, we are closer to World War 3 and nuclear holocaust than when this video was made.
same
They are neat. Also my city doesn't get a lot of recognition so when they showed footage of it and went into extreme detail about how we all might die it was nice to be noticed and nice that that the Soviets thought we were so important.
Agreed
Yes its super cool to see people dressed nice
Which surviving doctor / nurse / firefighter / power plant operator etc is going to show up Monday morning after a nuclear war? We’d be on our own. Stone Age. For years.
I’d show up. 🤷🏻♂️
Years, decades if not even longer. A big enough conflict and humanity would be over for the most part, those that survived would just be waiting to die off.
...the ones that can't define "woman" would.
Stone Age, here we come.
I was stationed at Grand Forks in the early 80s and worked on B52 bombers. This documentary really hits the reality on the head for that time period. If we launched our bombers that were filled with nuclear cruise missiles we all knew we only had a few minutes to live afterwards. There was no place to hide.
I've always wondered what went through the minds of the ground crews. The MITO's are awesome and all, but what about the ground people left behind? How do they go through their emergency routines knowing in the backs of their minds that those are maybe the last things they'll be doing before being vaporized in a few minutes? I cannot wrap my head around that.
I grew up in Winnipeg. We used to drive to Grand Forks to shop in the 80s. I'd buy fireworks from Generous Gerry's Fireworks, smuggle them back to Canada in my hockey equipment bag. Memories....
@@whiteknightcat Mutual assured destruction. We concentrated on having the best deterrent you could make so the Soviets wouldn't think of starting anything in the first place. There was no way they could attack us without themselves being devastated. Let's face it, if it came to the point we were launching those planes to strike Russian targets the world was pretty much screwed so we just concentrated on doing our jobs.
@@txDDS Funny story. I got into an accident in Winnipeg with my Chevy S10 pickup one winter and had to take a Greyhound back to Grand Forks. The Winnipeg cops kind of gave my friend and I kind of a bad time. I would have loved to have seen the city in the Summer.
@@DanLaFollette The fact that we didn’t annihilate each other during the Cold War, either intentionally or accidentally, is the best evidence for a higher power that I can think of. After the madness of the Cold War you’d think that as a civilization we’d prefer not to live with the nuclear “sword of Damocles” constantly ready to fall. Sadly, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Thank you for keeping us safe.
I grew up in Edmonton and remember being made to watch this in school - I think it was grade 5ish, and it scared the heck out of me then. I remember a lot of kids crying afterwards. The teacher responded by telling us that it was better to die in the initial strike - which was just icing. Feels about the same watching it now.
I did drills just in case of war. They told us to get under the desk and kiss my ass goodbye.
@@ralphtouch8962 sounds about right - whole generations of kids have some level of nuclear trauma.
I'd rather be scared than not scared, like the buffoons this year saying maybe we should have a "limited" nuclear war with Russia. Having grown up in the Cold War, such idiocy is terrifying.
Are you doing anything at all to either prevent a nuclear war, or to survive one?
Because right now, if enough people pull themselves together and show that they care enough we can....
1) Prevent a nuclear war. Dismantle 98% of all hydrogen bombs.
2) Build shelters, bunkers, cities that could survive such a war. We can do this.
But only if we get started now. Do nothing and you will deserve what you get.
Be prudent, don't give in and don't give up, don't stop until your goal is reached, good luck.
Hell. These videos were also were circulated around the Lower Mainland, elementary schools, K-7.... , in British Columbia (1975-1985).
That part about the dust being the people, cars and buildings sucked up into the mushroom clouds and dispersing as fallout was chilling 💀
Yes. What a mess that would make!
And also all too true.
So casually stated, yeah, that part stuck with me too.
You'll be covered in dust made of people 😲 😱
I’ve been inside the part of that bunker here in Manitoba that are not being used and are effectively abandoned. It is legitimately the closest thing to the Backrooms as you can get.
Where are they? I live in Winnipeg
@@kodiene4717make a video of that and I would totally watch it. I wonder if we have any in Alberta.
@@kodiene4717 So do I. I don't think we're gonna get an answer here lol
5:00 Wow, that really says a lot. Even after nuclear war in the 80s you could see a doctor faster than you can now.
another real crisis, the future of healthcare scares me
@@no.one.2 blame your government for putting these systems into place.basic survival and medical skills are a must not to be sun political theatre
lol
Welcome to the new and better Canuckistan!
US Doc: That'll be $58,000.
UK Doc: I can look at it in 38 months.
Canadian Doc: Kill yourself.
I worked around nuclear weapons when I was in the military. In civilian life I worked in a Federal Center full of alphabet organizations and learned about my government's response to a DEFCON 1 situation. Because of all I learned, I moved to within a couple miles of a primary military target. I figured it would be far better to vanish in a cloud of atoms and molecules than to die a slow death from radiation or starvation. I no longer fear nuclear war. I live every day to the best I can. Thank you for sharing this video.
For most, a full on nuclear war is survivable--provided a few thousand dollars and a few dozen hours of preparation are invested before. If you don't prepare, I agree that it's better to go fast.
It wont happen like that. Most will survive and be just fine.
@@kreek22 How exactly would you prepare for this?
@@TheWiseDrunkard Cresson Kearney wrote a book explaining how to survive--it's freely available as a pdf--called "Nuclear War Survival Skills." Check it out. There are a few flaws in his analysis, but it's mostly on point. Flaws: too optimistic about medium term situation post-war, doesn't account for possible fallout from nuclear power plants, too optimistic about potential for violence among unpoliced citizens in the aftermath.
@@kreek22 Regards un-policed citizens.....it would probably be worse than the Madmax films.
Worth noting is how eloquent people were in 1983. Even the farmer sounded well-read. Their accents are totally different from what we hear in Canada today.
That's because back then they had books, whereas now we have TikTok.
To be fair it's mostly middle aged or older professionals being interviewed.. I'm sure people like that still exist today haha
@big terry all Canadians used to sound like him, Canada is predominantly Scottish
@@prodogtwodogman3857 thats one of the most disconnected shit ive ever heard. Maybe in your area but absolutely not true for the rest of the country. Remember Quebec?
Our language has de-evolved.
I'm a Canadian,60 years old and have seen tons of NFB films but not this one. Fascinating.
I remember the euphoria of the ending of the Cold War and now todays tensions with Russia and China make it look like it’s the same old story again.
Unfortunately history always repeats itself
We forgot to get rid of the nukes in the 1990s. Clinton failed.
@@elizabethdelamater6930 World War III will be pretty novel though! We all should expect it any day now, but no one really does, except a handful of survivalists.
I don't know. There's some good news in this way. I'd say it's other countries that are more likely to start localized use of nukes. Is China really going to fight the US? It doesn't seem as likely. The economic ties are surely something that keeps China more subdued when it's directly confronting America. Also the PLA still is not ready to be expeditionary - that is, sent abroad to wage wars. Maybe they will do such things in continents like Africa, but look at how much discontent there is.
In 20 years they'll have so few young people that they won't really be able to stay the same country. So we may see more of the 20-40% GDP spending on military just to maintain some level near peer status.
True. Honestly I thought any present nuclear war would be arise in the Middle East and sparked by Islamic extremism.
All these films make it obvious there is no such thing as a survivable (much less winnable) nuclear war
But there is, they are lying. There are not enough radiation in the bombs to kill us all
I grew up in Winnipeg and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1975 and have to say, that’s all we trained for. The Cold War was real man. Now it seems like there are no “checks and balances” anymore. But, have another eggnog and spread peace and love. Nobody makes it out alive. Keep smiling man. ✌🏼😎
The NFB wasn't sugarcoating anything in this one.
"So it can't happen here, eh?" Is the most Canadian warning ever lol
A reminder to all of us who grew up in this era, and still live in it.Its was a scary time. If you are younger, the results will still be the same. Be aware. This problem has not gone away.
this problem is more urgent now than ever before, 100 seconds to midnight,
i don't know if the human race can eliminate the weapons, such a pity,
No real problem we'll all be dead if not immediately soon thereafter
Pretty sure the younger crowd are more concerned about it than the old fucks. We weren't the ones suggesting nuking the Middle East, for starters.
And we loathe to think what a christo-fascist America with no democratic oversight left would do with nukes.
Schools are talking about it again
Lmao, it's bs propaganda. All that worry for what? Live your fucking life.
So basically...we're screwed.
As a Winnipeg native raised here, it's really odd to see the city the way it is in the first minutes in this video. It feels odd to be admiring the city as it was, while the narration talks of the effects of a nuclear bomb on it.
Haha
Yeah, might help the place out in today's world.
lol yeah you look at Winnipeg downtown back in 82-83 as opposed to today and hoe much of a toilette we've become ....time to get the fuck out and leave it to the junkies!!!
As a child in the 70s, I heard the scary air raid sirens being tested on the last Thursday of every month, learned the duck and cover drills and fully expected to die before growing up. Then, as an Army paratrooper in 1980….I was trained and expected to fight the Soviet bear. Then…… the Cold War ended and I couldn’t believe that the threat of a nuclear Holocaust was over. Well…….. I’m now 60 years old and just bought a Geiger counter and radiation pills. Who knew that the horror movie had a sequel? God help us all
I’ve picked up some iodine, that’s what available here
What sequel? Lol
Exactly what I will be doing ,I'm 7 , I remember it all too well .
Yes and now on the 14/3/2023 we are the closest to nuclear war than we have ever been before but this time around no help from the govt. No preparations, no drills, no stocking of iodine, no bunkers, nothing. Can't help but think that this time around they might not care if millions perish.
@@naturalmystic311 sadly, you are correct.
If you really wanna trip out on cold war infrastructure, look up the nuclear bunker systems that Finland built in the 1980s. Still in use today for all kinds of crazy things. Amazing stuff. 10 million square meters of bunker space beneath their cities.
And they're still building more. Just watched one built recently with a full ice rink and parking gargae
Thats what every sensible country should have done.
That makes sense. Fins fought both Stalin and Hitler, and won - smart folks!
In Sweden, houses absolutely had to have a single family bomb shelter as part of their house as in it was mandated in their building code. I don’t know if that is still the case today.
They believe in themselves. God knows I love their attitude. (Ours sucks by comparison!)
That synth outro is amazing. The relaxing vibe just says, "don't worry about it, there is nothing you can do anyways"
I was really feeling down but this was such an uplifting documentary that I'm feeling really hopeful about everything now.
The video game Fallout's history described this region as "The Belt" cause it was so radiated after the nuke bombs that nothing would ever grow there again, even radiated mutants avoided this area.
I read in the early 1970s, a September 29, 1947 newspaper article about scientists examining the Hiroshima area. No insect life in the soil, no birds, or rodents visited the area. One scientist made the remark that it had an eerie silence. I think there was mention of silhouettes burned into the concrete. It was like a nightmare to me. I lived in a world with thousands of Megatons, not one 15 kiloton bomb. What would the world be like if we had a war?
The "Fallout" game you described might be true of the nuclear sponge area, Washington DC, SAC, and other high value targets. Much would be like the Chernobyl plant, Exclusion Zone, and Radiological Reserve. I heard recently that Norway still test food for radioactivity.
@@MichaelSHartman most warheads at least american ones are 100 kilotons the trend in the later part of the Cold war was smaller warheads, better targeting and a Focus on MIRVs so one ICBM splits on re-entry and dumps 10 smaller nukes on various targets. The larger bombs are restricted to old obsolete single ICBMs which aren't in use or bombers which largely fell out of favor. Russian probably different but outside hardened military bases beingnhit with a dedicated bunker buster American nukes aren't that big.
I think there is a much bigger fallout risk. Spent nuclear fuel is stored in cooling pools. Some has been put in casks, but most is still in pools. If such were the target of a nuclear strike the resulting fallout would contain hundreds of times more radioactive material. There are a hundred such cooling pools in the US, not counting the ones for old submarine reactors etc.
I think the fallout zones from these would overlap so thoroughly that most of the Eastern US would be completely uninhabitable for hundreds of years.
Trouble is, even a single strike by a rogue nation might do the same. Some of the biggest spent fuel sites are in Illinois and a fallout cloud from one of those might well stretch to New York and contain hundreds of times more material than the Chernobyl release. The costs are inconceivable.
@@MichaelSHartman that's weird considering the city was rebuilt by 1949 and was back at it's pre-war population by 1955.
This film really brings back memories from my childhood, Those of us who grew up during the cold war seem to have a very different idea of how scary and dangerous nuclear brinkmanship really is.
Because you guys were inundated with fear mongering
Yes...I remember as a kid in the 50's doing nuclear drills in school. I remember my Dad and neighbor work together to build a bomb shelter big enough for both our families. I remember the fear on my parent's faces when the monthly air raid tests went off or the CONELRAD tests on tv activated. Today's generation does not have a clue about all out nuclear exchange.
@@tonyv8925 ahhh yea i had forgotten about the air raid siren, that thing will put a chill into your spine every time.
Eventually it was stopped being used for drills but then the volunteer fire department decided it was a good way to summon firefighters to the firestation. Faster and more sure than calling people up individually.
But yes i 100 percent agree that the current generation just has no clue.
When i see the comments of the younger generation regarding ac conflict between Russia and the USA it just boggles my mind.
Especially all the people beating the war drum who want to escalate the situation not understanding that at some point things can easily get out of control.
Not entirely, donald trump had to have it expained in detail several times why he couldnt use nuclear weapons as the Potus. That was pretty goddamn sad/pathetic.
I know that if I was able to talk to my grandfather and tell him what was going on in the world he would be surprised because he would say that they had warned us and tried to prepare us. First you must know your enemy. After the collapse we should have taken a different approach
It’s crazy to me how In a lot of Cold War/nuclear attack clips it’s always “when it happens” not “if it happens”
It still is.
@@perrywilchiuk6012 Trump wants to use those toys on Hurricanes.
I'm from Kansas and I've been involved with the nuclear triad on several levels. Even debated a presidential deputy Secretary appointment between NAVSEA and DoE with the White House. True story. served as a Marine and many other things. Thank you for sharing this film. I fear we may need this info in the very near future. I grew up watching these films. 70's, 80's. I'm 52. The Sum of all Fears is approaching, I fear. The Nuclear nightmare.
These documentaries reveal a lot more about the people making them than about the actual targets. Yes many/most targets make sense but in a real nukefest targeting every last dam is a waste. The societal disruption that just a few hits would achieve would be far worse than the 60s race riots it would be closer to a Germany 1919 scenario . Following such a war what's left of the military would be in a permanent law enforcement role. And I have serious doubts it would last for long. Factors like low morale the abscence of pay(the dollar would be worthless) the inability to recruit fresh troops would gut the force fast. At least fresh troops at a prewar standard and not 17 year old war orphans with severe anger management issues. The big open secret of such wars that governments don't deny but are reluctant to admit is that societies collapse at only a few hits. In the case of small countries it really does boil down to the capital and that's it. For continental sized ones taking out air force and navy installations(the more important ones) is enough to also take out its society and plunge it into internal chaos. Take a map plot out the locations see how many are near at least medium sized cities and then do a guesstimate as to the overall chaos resulting from just this. My biggest fear is that the ones in charge have a chess piece view of nuke wars 'we lost Seattle/Vladivostock/Shanghai no biggie we can survive'. Not realising that once a city is gone its not like a pawn on a chessboard its more like an injured trooper in a squad. He needs 3 other guys to carry him. One city gone means 2-3 other cities having to support it. You lost 15 cities you just lost the country since there's no resources left to mitigate the impact.And plotting out the likely targets if only the two branches mentioned are included gets you a lot more than 15 cities. Its closer to 30 large ones. Don't forget no difference between active and reserve is likely to be made only capabilities.
Im afraid it’s coming too. There’s so much instability today and it’s only getting worse
@florinivan you may want to look into it further, policy in the US is “use it or lose it” every warhead will be launched immediately. Im sure Russia has similar policy. They’re not going to nuke one city and then contemplate the next. Targets have been chosen and in the event it starts, they all fly.
I grew up in Pembina County In North Dakota. I was in Kindergarten and First grade in 90 - 92. We would do Nuclear drills in our classrooms. It was never explained and I never really understood until I was in middle school what it was about. I lived within 20 miles of a major military monitoring station, a nuclear missile command base and 3 minute men missile launch cites. If we were attacked I don't think my wood desk would have done much to protect me.
Sure it would. About as much as mosquitoes slow a semi truck down when it hits the windshield😮
I was in elementary school in San Diego in the 80s. We would of been wiped from the map.
Duck and cover was made to keep ppl from seeing their demise and make them think they would survive it, right up until the become ash or are crushed by falling debris or shredded by smaller pieces of debris being projected around the speed of a .45ACP, perhaps faster
Duck and cover works great.... if you're 50 miles from the explosion, which some people certainly would be. Obviously if it hits close then you won't even get a chance to duck, much less cover. Just a blinding flash and then you'll be converted into atoms.
Grew up in Michigan. At one time Michigan had 3 nuclear SAC bases plus numerous radar/ missles sites. I lived about 6 miles from one of these bases in Michigan's UP. These are all gone now..decommissioned/ disbanded/ reduced. We knew we were #1 on the hit list. We did the " drop & tuck" in school, heard the test sirens, saw the Civil defence signs on buildings. My parents laughed & said " why bother".
This documentary is probably more relevant today than it was when it was made.
My grandfather (God rest his soul) used to say if there was a nuclear exchange, that he hoped one of the missiles would hit him right in the forehead.
A quicker death rather than a drawn-out one would more than likely be preferrable.
I was born in the late '40's, so the memory of tuck and cover drills in the 2nd grade always highlight the absurdity of the notion that this technique would matter in an all out nuke war. Even back in the mid 50's I realized how futile the preparation was/is.
Even if the bombs didn’t drop in Canada, the Canadian Prairie region would be unlivable anyway. Reason: the massive fallout from the ground bursts of several hundred nuclear weapons on the missile silos in Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. It would take close to a thousand years for the soil radiation level to reach safe levels again.
The "lucky ones" will be caught unaware at ground zero.
I would have been 5yo when this was published. I remember growing up in the 80's and going through drills at school down in socal . We had no idea at that age what was going on . Now to look back as an adult , watching these old docs is a trip . Thanks for this upload
Weird. I'm a couple years older than you and grew up with at least one B-52 flying overhead 24/7/365 and never went through a drill. Maybe they figured we were toast whether we were under a desk or not.
TEACHER : What do you want to be when you grow up, Johnny?
Johnny : Fall out.
@@Milkmans_Son early 80s we did the drills, NC. We have military installations..
@@geneticepistomology Curiosity got the best of me, so down the rabbit hole I went. Apparently the drills were being phased out by the time the 1980's rolled around, but the where and when had nothing to do with proximity to military bases or missile silos and had everything to do with politics. Because of course it did. The complaints were familiar; we refuse to live in fear, the government is trying to control us, the fbi is corrupt, things like that. Who was doing the complaining was a bit surprising though (democrats). At least it was surprising to me anyway, but, having grown up in Washington State it does explain a few things. As a matter of fact, Washington Sate (being Washington Sate) passed a law in '84 that "forbids preparations for nuclear attack" that is still on the books to this day.
@@Milkmans_Son I'm from Detroit and we had the drills from first through 7th grade (1957-1965). Twice a year we got taken down to the school fallout shelter. i can still remember ducking under the old fashioned wood and wrought iron desks. I figured out fairly early on that the space under my desk wouldn't make much of a fallout shelter. lol
I love the fact that each of the desks in the government bunker comes equipped with an ashtray. I can imagine the agriculture minister walking up to an air force officer and saying," Smokes, let's go!"
Ricky as the Canadian Minister of Agriculture 😂
Thank you for posting this... it is one of your most important works.
I wasn't born until the mid 2000s, but seeing older documentaries like these about nuclear warfare makes my blood run cold. Everything about them - warheads, EMPs, the sheer power of nukes, fallout, etc. - is absolutely chilling. I cannot even begin to fathom the fear and anxiety that people in the US and Canada lived under knowing the Soviet Union could strike with little warning, at anytime or anywhere.
The risk is much worse now.
In the latter half of the 80s we would do duck and cover drills at elementary school.
I think back then in Junior & Senior High, we were taught to play the game of "Who can see the Bright Light first"
No-one realistically even thought of surviving a Full Nuclear War.
All the Air Raid sirens have been removed and those government bunkers they were talking about would take about two(2) hours at highway speeds just to get there. The radiation & fallout would have gotten you long before you got to the bunker. Emergency Measures is now completely aimed at helping before and/or after a natural event like a flood, tornado or earthquake.
Mid 2000s? That’d be ‘year 2500’ +/-
@@senorpepper3405 No we didn't. That happened in the 1950's. Everyone knew it was useless by the '80's
I was born in 1999, well after this came out. To think that all these systems still exist and are still in place nigh forty years later is chilling. And the worst part is that, unlike then, it's much less obvious who it would come from.
Airman myself here, I have nothing but respect for my counterparts who do this. To know the day that you execute your mission is the day that you die is something I cannot imagine.
I'm retired. When I was very young, my oldest brother showed up at our farm and talked to my Father privately; he was part of the Navy blockcade force to stop Soviet transports coming into Cuba. About the time this film was made, another brother was installing launch codes and in command of two sites in North Dakota. My Mother and Father saw that oldest brother off to catch a bus back to base, some 500 miles away. Later at night, I heard my Mother tell my Dad, "he'll do his duty; let's pray!" Do your duty, Airman, and I'll do the praying for you and a lot of others.
I’ve been driving truck for a few decades. I realized after a while that Montana North Dakota, and Wyoming are home to a bunch of missiles in the ground, regularly serviced, and I assume fully functional. Just a little compound with chain link fence around it, and a few odd vents and antennas. I no longer wonder why there’s often a Humvee with a machine gun turret parked in the driveway of what looks like some innocuous pipeline facility.
Number of deployed missiles is lower than it was, as are the number of warheads on said missiles. Further the bombers wings are no longer at Malstrom AFB.
The number of nuclear warheads has been reduced by ~90% and, believe it or not, the average warhead is about 60% less powerful than they were 40 years ago. That said, the weapons are more accurate--which doesn't matter for city strikes but matters a great deal for military strikes--in fact, the accuracy improvement is one of the main reason for the reduction in nuclear stockpiles.
@@kreek22 This is just not true. Where ever you got that information is wrong except for the accuracy improvements.
Very splendid documentary--even as non-contemporary--as it is and evokes many warnings and precautions well recommended for both Canadians and Americans.
I like how there’s no background music really. Things are so over-edited nowadays
I grew up in Winnipeg and I remember watching this when I was 16. It's surreal watching this now and remembering back then.
Nukes are about the only thing that'll clean up downtown Winnipeg at this point.
It's refreshing to hear and see a news-styled presentation completely free from 21st century issues and perspectives.
i know right, not a single mention of gender equality
@@whatthefuxxx or natives or soy or the gay or.....
...or climate change
No mention of why all this is caused by Global Warming.
What fucking videos are you watching about this topic that brings up LGBTQ+? Sounds like a lie to me.
People should watch this. The danger of nuclear war is as great now as it has ever been.
I agree..
The US government pushes for war. There will be no peace only the end of Russia and there leaders and Russia leaders are not going to give up to be hung for war crimes.. This will not end well.. We are so close to Armageddon. I wonder if I will wake up the next day.. It's really bad and the media what media it's all BS they give us now.. And the government here is useless.. We are on our own.. Take care be safe God Bless..
You are right, we are close to destruction, which will be far worse then when this documentary was made due to our electronic dependency. Life will go on but it will be horrific to endure. Best we can do is prepare and try stock up on supplies and hope for the best @@Old-biker
This is really interesting to watch as someone whos lived in Alberta and Saskatchewan my entire life.
I am greatly relieved that our politicians and their families will be sheltered and well protected during and after a crisis.
Helps me sleep better at night knowing it
Sarcasm?
@@noreset777 Heavy sarcasm
not even all of them :)) only the most corrupt and powerful!!
Some socialist Scandinavian countries have extensive shelters for most of their population, and an ongoing legal requirement that all new buildings continue to do so. The system includes sports facilities, hospitals, schools, food supplies, water and air treatment facilities.
Decent of them to give a stuff about the people.
I live about 4 miles from Fort Meade and NSA headquarters. If we’re under nuclear attack imma go outside and watch the show until it gets me. I don’t wanna stick around for the hellscape that will follow.
I was in grade 3 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They would set off the air raid sirens and we would have to run home, hide under desks, etc. I still have some of those hand out books they showed of what to do in case of nuclear war. Made an impression on me which lasts to this day.
This is a fantastic video. What a fascinating and heartbreaking glimpse into perspective of 1983.
That poor Kmart has no idea what's coming
LOL
Comment of the day.
😆
🤣
I lived on a farm in NW Saskatchewan in the mid 80's and watched the occasional B-52 fly either a couple hundred feet over our farm or at high altitude going from North Dakota up to probably Cold Lake AFB, or maybe drills toward then USSR. Numerous CF-18's as well hugging the ground or even looping TV / radio towers... it was all quite the sight to see.
It's sobering to know we're back to the same risk again, but probably limited.
I don't think USA has the mentality to do anything 'limited'.
No we’re not. You’re being melodramatic lol
SW?
In reality it's west central. But as far as regular populated areas, it's often considered NW. Between Saskatoon and Meadow Lake.
@@hopeandlife1123 oh, ok :-)
Well this was stark. Having grown up in Manitoba, I'm glad I'm only seeing this for the first time now.
I'm from Saskatchewan and I remember in the 80's watching this in school. At least in my area, we were informed that we were at risk in a nuclear exchange between the USA and the USSR; especially because we lived near a NORAD communications hub that connected the radar shield in northern Canada to the missile defenses in Montana and the Dakota's.
So were still at risk? That is discouraging. You would normally think small Prarie cities at most would have to worry about fallout
@@whatsuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuIf your city isn't a major telecommunications/DOD hub for an entire region then you are probably safe. ;)
Don't think for a second that this threat is a thing of the past.
well both the usa and russia have like 25 percent of the amount of nukes it had during the cold war, still nuke war but it wouldnt be on a cold war level
@@redred222 so, just a little bit of Armageddon
Sure
@@redred222 There's still enough nukes to completely wipe out life on Earth in the event of nuclear war
@@redred222 everybody would still die lmao
@@redred222 - One technical mistake, or a desperate insane leader, and the result is still beyond absolutely devastating.
I was a missile handler in the Air Force. I worked with the Minuteman III missiles. Best job I ever had.
I find it chilling that this video has been released in this day and age with the state of the world as it is.
I grew up in Thunder By, which has target on it, then as an adult moved to Calgary.
We had air raid sirens run tests periodically. I still remember the look on my Dad's face every time when he heard it.
I thought after the 90's that the world was past this.
Then came the 2020's.
I remember air raid sirens a few times in Winnipeg too.
I've never seen this video, but I remember watching " The day after" that came out in 83. Pretty depressing stuff.
I grew up in this era. It was scary. Especially when my dad who was in the Royal Navy came home with an nbc suit and gas mask when I was 9 years old..
More worryingly was there wasn't any for me my mum and 2 sisters.
Almost a forty year old film. The tech today is even more frightening.
Yes it is. What happened to the "Twin Towers", is a prime example. What kind of device can melt door handles off cars, that were parked on the streets around those buildings, yet paper wasn't even scorched? What makes steel turn to dust, as it falls to the ground, at free fall speeds? These are just a few examples of what technology was available in 2001, at the beginning of the computer industry. There are far more clues to the technology used that day. Yet we have never been told the truth. On 09/10/2001, 2.3 trillion dollars was announced to be missing. The next day a hurricane just drifts off out to sea, and the course of human history will be drastically changed, as well as destroying the evidence of that money. The fallout of this is still on going today, and no one is asking questions about it any more either, we just graze along, day-in, day-out.
Former President Eisenhower's farewell address, spoke about what the cost of a military industrial complex based society would be, and did we listen then?
Gotta love propaganda! 😺
But you still get a clear picture of a modern scenario though. Forty years ago isn't as dated today as it would've seemed 40 years before then.
No it's not, Russian tech is a distant echo of the Soviet one, it's failing and getting simplier lacking specialists
The minuteman missiles today are those same ones.
@@Hundr_ Nothing like you lot to drive away people from actually beleiving in the real conspiracies
Recommendation by government to farmers: Cover your cattle, feed, and water supplies, and remove remove 2-4 inches of your topsoil. Clearly whatever bureaucrat who wrote that thought "farming" was just having a bit bigger garden in the backyard. Basically impossible to accomplish.
For bureaucrats, it is hard to not only see the forest, but the trees themselves. With their heads up where the sun does not shine, all they can see is what they are so well known to produce. 💩
Able Archer was held in Europe the same year this film was released. Chilling stuff.
Great period film with lots of relevance to today--I appreciate NFB for this upload!
Born in 1975, grew up 10 miles from the states, just north of one of the missile fields. I remember sitting and looking south, wondering if I might see the rockets flying one day.
Thank you for posting! I have never seen this but I grew up during the Cold War of the 1980s, when the threat of nukes hitting us was always there. At the time this was made Yuri Andropov was the leader of the USSR, and I remember him being a VERY scary individual - a man very set on Communist world domination and not afraid of using nukes to do it. Reagan was also in the White House and Margaret Thatcher was in 10 Downing Street. Both were also determined to ensure that Andropov did not have a chance to gain Communist domination. Thankfully a stalemate ensued and no one set off nukes.
This does give some insight on how equally devastating a nuclear strike in the farms as opposed to the cities would be
I lived in Winnipeg for 11 years around the time this was filmed. Makes me feel so old.
Many people watching this video don't know that when this video was released, the U.S. and Soviet Union were VERY close to Nuclear war, 1983(Nov).
As we are now.
And today we are closer than ever....
And we're told the biggest threat to mankind is CO2!
😂
I was born in this time frame. Starting to realize why my generation has so much anxiety, we felt it from our mothers directly for 9 months. Then we got the stress in the upbringing.
Starting to understand where my parents were coming from sometimes, where I haven't necessarily understood before.
I swear, some points taught in school need to be reintroduced as adults so we can absorb it better.
Amazing that people took this more seriously in 1983.
Now people will be like those in the outhouse with no toilet paper.
This is really well done!
Well that cheered me up no end.
As a Navy (U.S.) Aviation Ordnanceman in the 1960s, I was assigned to duty on a special weapons loading team in addition to my regular job as a 'regular' bomb and guns loader. This extra duty was usually a pain because we also had to make sure the plane's nuclear weapons electronic system was working properly before the big bombs were loaded. This usually required an all-nighter before the day of the special weapons load and launch exercise. Combination of salt, carrier landings and non-use usually meant we had to almost rebuild the system with new or cannibalized parts from other aircraft. By launch time, we were mostly spent out. Often wondered how it would go if nuclear war actually broke out and launch time became NOW. Glad those days are over.
The ONLY duty of any person in charge of maintaining and operating nuclear weapons is to outright refuse all orders to use them. If possible, they should be sabotaged by the people who maintain them. The context doesn't matter, either: No matter how many nukes the other side launches, it is never justifiable to use a nuclear weapon yourself.
@@lynth Well, you're sane, aren't you ?
I remember as a kid in the 70s when I was starting to understand what all this was about, every time a storm siren would sound or an EBS test would flash on the television, I would go into Fred Sanford mode. "This is it! This is the big one!"
I was born in 83'. I picked up the notion some place that if you heard that tone on the tv, or the radio, it meant there was a huge emergency and you needed to pay attention. It also meant that there might be a chance you would die in the next 15 minutes.
The same when regular TV broadcasting was interrupted by a breaking news notice. It meant either someone important died or the country was going to war.
the eerie synth music really sets the mood here!
I really enjoy learning Canadian history. Thanks for an informative and interesting topic.
Thank you for this timely reminder.
NFB is a great resource. Tons of really excellent movies and docs.
Love the old early 1980s footage of downtown Winnipeg!!
Even if it didn't get any fallout from the missile fields in Grand Forks, Dakota, Winnipeg would still be toast, as it is the location for Canada's central railway hub and therefore a target. Pretty much everything in this country goes through Winnipeg, whether it's going east or west.
@@florinivan6907 Well, all I was trying to point out is that Winnipeg would probably get hit with a nuclear weapon anyway, because railway lines that are integral to the functioning of ports on the west and east coasts are of strategic value.
Taking out railway lines isn't that difficult. Several well-placed ground bursts of about 100 kilotons each would completely wreck the main line and create deep craters that would be highly radioactive and unapproachable for at least a decade.
This would mean that restoring the railway lines and the hub itself would take a long time and Canada's ability to move food, fuel, and other critical items to and from either port would be seriously hampered.
I disagree that the railway lines would be last to be hit. In a limited nuclear war, maybe. In an all-out nuclear war, where there will be counterforce and countervalue strikes, rail lines would absolutely be taken out.
There is no guarantee that a limited nuclear war is the only kind of nuclear war that can happen. What is more likely to happen is that one side will launch a few nukes at the other side in hopes they will stop what they are doing and sue for peace. The other side will respond in kind, perhaps with only a few nukes, and then the war might come to an end when both sides decide they have sustained unacceptable losses and the only way to prevent absolute annihilation is to negotiate a peace treaty.
Would a non-nuclear nation be directly targeted thought, or would being part of NATO be enough?
@Andrew Luimes dosnt matter giving how the world is shaped you need to fly most missiles over Canada to target the US
Honest, informative, and straightforward
Thank you very much for sharing extremely important facts of Nuclear war.
Half an hour ?
But I want it now !
Ah some cheerfull Sunday morning viewing!
I certainly sleep better knowing the people who started it will be safely tucked away in their own bunker
I distinctly remember watching this in elementary school. The whole class was silent afterwards, aside from some stifled sniffles. I had nightmares about nuclear war for years after. Nothing like injecting a little existential dread into impressionable youths!
Not that I'm saying people should be sheltered from this information, but I wish it was presented to us with a little more context, because I'm pretty sure some kids were legitimately traumatized from this.
You should watch 'Threads'...
Threads is the one that’ll make you go, “I’ll go with being totally vaporized please.”
Elementary school!?Jesus😧 this does seem a bit heavy in the subject matter area for that age 😅
MAD.. we learned about this in high school some 25 years ago.. at the time it seamed impossible.. times have changed
Thank you for posting this, a great piece of history right here.
Let's hope it remains "history." As a former cold-warrior myself, I consider it no small miracle that we as a species made it out of that era alive. BTW, there's a slim, but possible chance that one of those CF-116s launching at 5:30 might have been me! I remember that day the NFB was at the base, so you never know!
History?
The timing on the release of this video by the NFB… Canadian government is curious? This is the Canadian government‘s way of saying see… We told you so and there’s nothing we can do for you? The Canadian Government doesn’t give a shit about us? All but they do have fallout shelters for them like that weasel Trudeau who is poking the Russian bear? You can be sure the elite will survive this and they’re fallout shelters with caviare and champagne as we all die? The government is our enemy!
And......it is living history, because the risk of nuclear war is now higher than ever.
@@perspellman after the collapse of the Soviet Union, thoughts of nuclear war quickly subsided for most & those fears have been restored somewhat given Russia's disastrous and illegal invasion of Ukraine
I grew up in Southern SK. Recognize every Massey Ferguson combine. Now that's scary.
I remember in 1988, I was (among a few people) given a tour of a functioning underground launch capsule not to far from Minot, ND. I was ten at that point and it was very cool!
We just don't get straightforward information like this. Today, they'd focus more on how to make people feel better about themselves.
The best defense against a nuclear war is to not have one in the first place….it’s a shame that human beings can have so little awareness of what would truly happen if indeed there were to be a nuclear war and that all the world leaders have not come to an agreement to eliminate such destructive devices off the face of the earth.
The sad truth is that this isn't so. I mean look at Winnipeg in this documentary. Canada doesn't have nuclear weapons and we still stand to lose most of our major cities in a nuclear war.
Now look at China or Russia before they had nuclear weapons. Invaded by more advanced countries that killed 10s of millions of their population.
For them, it actually makes sense to have nuclear weapons. Their fears of invasion are actually grounded in historical facts.
@@magnang they didn't need advanced countries to kill millions of their people. Stalin and Mao did a good job of it internally.
You can’t stop new, that’s vanity. Even if we as a country destroyed all our weapons, and tried to get as many others to do the same as we could. Someone somewhere will keep some secret, refuse to destroy them, or build new ones. That is human progress, it’s unavoidable. Once the first nuke was built, that was it. This is our reality, and even worse going forwards as weapons technology continues to advance. There is no way around it, you must accept it as part of your life.
@@magnang We’re guilty by association, and we’re also caught in the middle.
@@magnang and now they can invade other countries, then tell everyone to eat it because they have nukes
This has been one of the most honest video's on The Big One I have ever seen , I pray they make more and reach more viewers .
What good that would do us??? We would all live in insane asylums. It’s best to live a proper life and make your peace with God. Nuclear war cannot touch a soul.
Given that I’ve lived my entire life in winnipeg. This is fascinating video from my city 40 years ago
This may be dated but it's still in the back of my mind when I drive past the silos up here in the northern US Plains... It's not the same now as the old Cold War days of my childhood but it's no less sobering.
Johnnie Welborn, I often think if Montana and North Dakota got hit the western winds would blow the fallout right thru my area in Minnesota and spread further into other states.
@@danpatch4751 I've no doubt about this, due to the prevailing winds and how they move weather and fire-season smoke across this region. Fallout would be no different, I imagine. I hope we never find out, of course.
Do you still believe in the boogie man?
My biggest fear in a nuclear war would be surviving it.
That's because you have taken in more propaganda than science.
Silly thing to say. If you're not prepared to survive, you won't.
@@harveywallbanger3123 Silly ting to say. Their is nothing you can do to survive. As its best to die the quickest as possible to avoid such pain.
I'm sure the two dudes in this comment section are fully prepared and have in depth contingency plans for a nuclear war 🤡🤡
@@JohnDoe-ky4qk In that case, if were taking YT names literally, at least I'm not an unidentified corpse ;)
Super interesting film, and neat to see 80's Winnipeg. Also the line about the B52's being old in 1983, hilarious.
Well, wasn’t that a cheery and uplifting late night watch. Thanks TH-cam feed!
Great to see the old CP Air DC-10!!
Indeed.