Nuclear security

Hiding in secret underground bunkers, eating wild birds and pets and saving secretaries but not wives: How government elites planned to survive a nuclear attack

America built a secret network of remote underground bunkers during the Cold War in case of a nuclear strike by the Russians.

But they were not made to protect civilians - the hideouts were just for top government officials.

In a plan as brutal as it was logical, the President and his inner circle would be saved while tens of millions of ordinary Americans would be incinerated.

Realizing that there was no way to save the population, the conclusion was that 'the government would protect itself and let the rest of us die' writes national security expert Garrett M. Graff.

According to his new book, 'Raven Rock: The Story of the US Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself', the governments of Presidents Kennedy, Eisenhower, Roosevelt and Truman publicly assured people that a nuclear strike could be survivable.