Protecting the Home Front: Women in Civil Defense in the Early Cold War

Formed in 1951, the Federal Civil Defense Administration said that “the importance of women in civil defense can scarcely be overstated.” Comprising 70 percent or more of civil defense workers at the height of the Cold War, American women served as FCDA wardens, auxiliary police, nurses, home preparedness advisors, coordinators of mass feeding drills, rescue and emergency management personnel, and in various local, state, regional and national organizations. The author examines the diverse roles they filled to promote homeland protection and preparedness at a time when atomic war was an imminent threat.