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building that is above ground. The
sheltcr must have a gas filter, artifi–
cial ventilat ion and be built so it
can withstand the pressure waves
from an atomic blast.
1was shown through one of these
prívate shel ters under an apartment
~
'
'
operated electrically, or by hand in
the case of power failure. There was
space for storing water and food.
Everyone i n th e apartments
would be alerted in advance and
instructed vía the post office as to
what he or she was to bring to the
shelter in an emergency. The occu–
pants of this apartment complex
are thus provided with Spartan, but
safe , living conditions and have
sorne chance of survival should
disaster strike.
For those unable to reach the
safety of a home shelter, or in areas
where there are older homes built
before the shelter ordinances carne
into effect, public shelters have
been constructed. They are often
built in conjunction with the
underground parking facilities in
public buildings. These seemingly
ordinary garages are also equipped
with massive blast-proof doors, gas
filters, ventilation systems a nd
escape tunnels. They can be made
ready at short notice to become
shelter for hundreds of people.
Sorne public shelters are more
elaborate. In them, corridors lead to
underground command centers with
/
o
telephone switchboards, emergency
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generators, fuel and water supplies
~
and kitcbens continually stocked
~
with emergency rations. From these
Even in remote mountain valleys,
inhabitants will have s helter.
Underground shelters are stocked
with emergency ra tions and medica!
supplies.
block on the outskirts of Bern . lt
looked at first glance like a normal
basement- just a concrete cellar
with sorne wooden partitions, clut–
tered with surplus furniture, chi l–
dren's bicycles, garden tools and a
workbench.
" But if there was an alert all this
would be thrown out and we would
move in," explained the landlord.
lt
is then that I saw that this was
not just an ordinary basement. Flat
against the wall behind the rather
Aimsy peacetime entry was a con–
crete blast-proof door , more than 12
inches thick. When this massive
door is pulled shut and sealed, it
would provide protection from any–
thing except a direct hit.
Two gas filters hung on the wall,
with a ventilation fan that could be
November / December 1984
command posts trained civi l defense
workers could supervise etforts to
get the nation going again.
One facility 1 was shown had a
complete underground fire station,
containing fire-fighting equipment
especially designed to operate in
rubble-strewn streets.
Seemingly every detail
has been considered,
right down to fire axes
and first-aid equipment,
which are stacked neat–
ly or shelved in orderly
rows.
Swiss civil defense
officials point out that
the program isn't only
designed to protect
against nuclear war.
Their plans also provide
for conventional con–
flict and natural disastcrs. But prag–
matically they realize that they must
engineer tbeir shelters to withstand
the worst case scenario of a full
nuclear attack on Switzerland.
An eerie feature of sorne of these
big shelters is the decontamination
room, a system of air locks and show–
ers. Workers who would venture into
the post-attack world and be sub–
jected to deadly radiation would be
able to be decontaminated before
reentering the shelter.
The Hospital Underground
Although the civil defense officials
make it clear that the emphasis on
the civil defense program is to pro–
tect the population from harm,
remarkable provision has also been
made to care for the casualties.
1
asked if
1
could visit one of the
many underground hospitals.
1
was
taken to what looked like just anoth–
er entrance to the underground
parking lot of the Children's Hospi–
tal in Bern . But as the metal door slid
up, I could see the now-familiar
heavy blast-proof door recessed into
a massive wall of reinforced con–
crete.
A brightly lit passage sloped gent–
ly down, turned a sharp angle (to
deflect the blast) and then opened up
into a labyrinth of rooms.
H ere be neath the Children's
Hospital was another hospital com–
plex- a stark but efficient facili ty
for the treatment of several
hundred casualties.
Every detail had been planned in
advance. The main ward area is
used as the hospital's parking lot in
peacetime. Colored marks on the
ftoor indicated the exact location of
severa! hundred beds- which are
stacked in an adjoining room. Gas
pipes were already in place on the
walls to carry oxygen
to areas designated for
intensive care.
A margue, a triage
room (where survivors
are separated according
to their likelihood of
survival), laboratories,
nurses' accommoda–
tions and fully equipped
operating theatres led
off from the mai n
ward.
Adequate supplies of
fuel and water are
stored, and a big diesel generator is
kept primed and ready to be started
ata moment's notice.
This silent, artificially lit, empty
hospital, dozens of feet under the
earth's surface, is kept in perpetua!
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