Until last summer, I had never been in a nuclear bunker. When I saw a tour of a public bunker built in the 1970s in the main train station in Nuremberg, Germany, I wanted to check it out.
Even though it was designed to house several thousand people, it fell well short of addressing the needs of a city with a population of half a million.
While there was food and water as well as systems to maintain airflow, the generators would last for two weeks only. Then, everyone had to leave the bunker. People were expected to self-organize, create teams to prepare meals, and use toilet facilities in an orderly fashion. Crime was anticipated, so all cutlery was plastic. Sexual assaults, fights and murder were expected, but there was no law enforcement to maintain order.
Given Nuremberg’s proximity to the Iron Curtain, it is baffling that the response to a possible nuclear holocaust was so limited. On the tour, I found out that Switzerland has bunker space for each citizen. Finland has 90% of its population covered.
There is a website that allows you to choose a target and project the impact of atomic bombs anywhere in the world. It is sobering to realize that if we ever reach midnight, most of the world population will be facing nuclear destruction without shelter or aid. World peace seems a better goal than more bunkers.
I’m Frances Jaeger, and that is my Perspective.
