Cold War Manhattanites lived with constant expectation of nuclear annihilation

Evidence

For fifteen years New York City—and specifically Manhattan—was understood to be the Prime Target and hence Ground Zero in a nuclear war. “The intimation of mortality is part of New York now,” E. B. White wrote in 1949; it was present “in the sound of jets overhead, in the black headlines of the latest edition.” Children entering kindergarten were issued dog tags. (I was one.) — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 107

Categorization

• SHARE: Kindergarten children being issued dog tags for nuclear war is a striking image to share with someone interested in Cold War domestic life.