“I am too young to die”: Children and the Cold War

Abstract

For many Americans, one of the most enduring images of the Cold War is a little black-and-white cartoon turtle. “Burt,” as he was named by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, rose to iconic status after he starred in a 1951 film telling children that in case of nuclear fallout, the best line of defense was to “duck and cover” (1). Footage of children diving under desks to Burt's happy song epitomizes our early twenty-first century impression of the naivete of Americans who seemed to believe that such a flimsy maneuver might actually safeguard them from a nuclear attack, let alone the sickening effects of radiation. Our collective historical memory of Burt emphasizes the innocence and vulnerability of young children who are victims of anticommunist panic and the threat of nuclear war. If we let ourselves think broadly about the history of children during the Cold War, however, more topics emerge. They reach before and beyond the 1950s, encompassing children in other parts of the world, and disclosing not only what children represented to adults during various phases of the Cold War, but also, in some cases, their own thoughts and agency. This article will examine some central ideas and challenges encountered in pursuing the history of children, and will offer several examples that history instructors may find useful for helping students to learn about the Cold War.