Inventory of the Civil Defense Literature Collection SPC.2017.010
Jennifer Hill
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
2018-08
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
Business Number: 310-243-3895
archives@csudh.edu
Contributing Institution:
California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections
Title: Civil Defense Literature Collection
source:
United States. Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
source:
United States. Federal Civil Defense Administration
source:
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2017.010
Physical Description:
1 box
Physical Description:
.84 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1941-1960
Abstract: This collection includes booklets, advertisements, pamphlets, leaflets, and ephemera related to civil defense. Subjects include
advertisements on blackout products, civil defense literature and decal products, and World War Two ephemera. Also included
is material related to radioactive, nuclear, and atomic attacks; and fallout shelters.
Language of Material:
English
.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives
and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical
materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Preferred Citation
Biographical / Historical
The Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) was established by President Franklin Roosevelt in May of 1941 to create safety measures
and procedures to protect citizens in the case of air raids, blackouts, and other war-related attacks. The office was also
in charge of the morale of the citizens and for the creation of a citizen volunteer recruitment or what would eventually be
titled the Citizen's Defense Corp. Citizens were encouraged to join through Citizen's Defense volunteer offices who would
assign roles and train volunteers for positions such as driver, messenger, auxiliary police, as well as other volunteer positions.
After a volunteer had completed training, they were able to wear an armband or uniform with the insignia of the position they
were trained for. The OCD continued throughout the war to establish safety measures and assist in volunteer recruitment.
The program officially concluded in June of 1945. After the OCD program was dissolved;the Federal Civil Defense Administration
(FCDA) was created by President Harry S. Truman in 1950 due to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic weapon. In
1958 the FCDA was superseded by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization when President Dwight D. Eisenhower merged the
FCDA with the Office of Defense Mobilization.The civil defense functions of the office were transferred to the Department
of Defense's Office of Civil Defense in 1961.
Scope and Contents
The Civil Defense Literature Collection (1939-1966; undated) consists of .42 linear ft of booklets, pamphlets, leaflets, advertisements,
and ephemera related to civil defense in the 1940s-1960s relating to war emergencies; and radioactive, nuclear, and atomic
attacks. This collection includes literature with information about civil defense and Citizens Defense Corps as well as advertisements
and posters for war-related products and efforts.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennifer Hill in 2018.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945
Civilian-based defense
Civil defense warning systems
Civil defense
Fallout shelters
Radioactive fallout
Cold War
United States. Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
United States. Federal Civil Defense Administration
United States. Office of Civilian Defense
box 1, folder 1
Booklet and leaflets for Dresser Repair Products
1939, circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 55
"A Handbook for Air Raid Wardens" United States Office of Civilian Defense
1941
box 1, folder 2
Advertisement for book entitled "The Specter of Sabotage" by Blayney F. Matthews
December 23, 1941
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 3
"The Flag of the United States of America - A Supplement to the July-August, 1942 issue of Army Ordinance" [poster]
July-August 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 4
"Red and White Hy-Lites - Vol. 10, No. 8"
August 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 5
Promotional material and handbook for "Fire Prevention Week"
October 4-10, 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 6
"Homemaker's War Guide" [poster]
1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 7
"Small Town Manual for Community Action! Industrial Series No. 4" [booklet]
1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 8
"Acme Process News Issue No. 6" and "Acme Steel Strap" [advertisement]
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 9
"The Glue Fast Glue Spreader" [advertisement]
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 10
Broadside entitled "Soda for Wartime First Aid", [two copies]
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 11
"Celanese Corporation of America" poster and pamphlet
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 12
"Control Systems Tacks - For use by Citizens Defense Corps" and "Hagstrom's Maps and Control System Tacks for use by Citizen's
Defense Corps"
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 13
"The Army and Navy with Sound Scriber" [leaflet]
circa 1942
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 14
First Aid and Emergency Medical Services [posters]
1942, 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 15
"A Popular Lecture on Poison Gases (with practical demonstrations) Second [Revised] Edition" by Otto Eisenschiml. Includes
leaflets on poison gases.
June 1, 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 16
"Identification Service Corp." [bulletins]
June 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 17
"Warfair Ideas-Proven Suggestions for your Guidance" [brochure]
August 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 18
"Dairy Councilor - Ice Cream Builds Fighter's Morale"
October 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 19
"A Personal Message to the Mothers, Wives, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, and Friends of Service Men" [pamphlet]
1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 20
"Community Action for Post-War Jobs and Profits - Industrial Series No. 6" [booklet]
1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 21
"Nudelman Bros" [advertisement]
circa 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 22
"Emergency Vehicle Alarm" [advertisement]
circa 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 23
"First Quality (varnished) Hickory Police Clubs" [advertisement]
circa 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 24
"Practo-Bomb" [advertisement]
circa 1943
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 25
"Introduction to the Army - Suggestions for Pre-Induction Informational Meetings" [booklet]
Feb. 1944
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 26
"Don't Travel - Unless Your Trip Helps the War" [poster]
June 1, 1945
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 27
"The Homsavr" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 28
Advertisements for Blackout products. Includes material on what to do in a Blackout
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 29
"Spink Scale Company - Sand Bag Fillers" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 30
Advertisement for "Sniff Kit" [two copies]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 31
Advertisements for "Food Processing Kits" posters
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 32
"War Damage and Bombardment Insurance" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 33
Booklets entitled "Use the Paper Trooper Campaign Materials to Energize Your School Waste Paper Collections" and "Your Scrap
Paper is Needed", [broadside]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 34
Civilian Defense material including "Manual for Civilian Deference" [booklet], and "Fighting the Fire Bomb" [brochure]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 35
"Indian Fire Pumps" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 36
"Stirrup Pumps" [advertisements]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 37
Advertisement for "Gothic" font
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 38
Advertisement for "What is Inflation?" published by Lipman, Wolfe and Co. and posters entitled "In Which We Serve", [two copies]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 39
Advertisement for air raid alarms and horns. Includes broadsides entitled "What to do... In an Air Raid" [two copies]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 40
Advertisements for the home
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 41
Civilian Defense Corps decals, insignias, and identification products and advertisements
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 42
"Artists for Incorporated Victory" [envelope]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 43
Flyer for "Morale the Secret Weapon that will Win the War", [two copies]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 44
Leaflet entitled "Protection Against Glass Shrapnel", [two copes]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 45
Ration coupons and stamp pledges
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 46
Poster entitled "The Institute for American Democracy Inc. Announces a Series of Original Full-color 24 sheet Outdoor Posters
on themes of Interfaith Unity"
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 47
"More WACS needed - for 155 types of vital army jobs" [poster]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 48
"Photo Center News" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 49
"Victory Begins at Home" [postcard]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 50
"Jaco-Lac Decals" [advertisement]
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 51
Advertisements for business
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 52
Steel and Safety Helmet Advertisements
circa 1940's
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 58
"Home Protection Exercises, A Family Action Program" Federal Civil Defense Administration
circa 1950s
box 1, folder 55
"What You Should Know about----Radioactive Fallout" Federal Civil Defense Administration
1955
box 1, folder 56
"Protection from Radioactive Fallout" Special Task Force Report to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller State of New York
July 6, 1959
box 1, folder 56
"Facts About Fallout Protection" Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
August 1959
box 1, folder 56
"The Family Fallout Shelter" Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
1959
box 1, folder 56
"Enrico Fermi and the Atomic Age" adapted from "Atoms in the Family" by Laura Fermi
1959
box 1, folder 53
Pamphlet entitled "Target Oregon" published by Oregon Civil Defense Agency
June 1960
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 57
"Survival in a Nuclear Attack, Plan for Protection from Radioactive Fallout" Report to Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, State
of New York
1960
box 1, folder 57
"Fallout Protection for....Homes with Basements" Department of Defense Office of Civil Defense
July 1966
box 1, folder 58
"You and the Atomic Bomb, What to Do in Case of An Atomic Attack" New York State Civil Defense Commission Public Pamphlet
#1
undated
box 1, folder 54
"Slide Projectors - Directions for Use" [pamphlet]
undated
Language of Material: English.
box 1, folder 58
"Atomic Power for Upstate New York" Niagara Mohawk
undated
box 1, folder 58
"What Now? An Unclassified Presentation of Survivable Communications" Raytheon
undated
