Cold War Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland is running a free exhibition until the end of January next year called Cold War Scotland. This provides a fascinating insight to a recent aspect of Scottish history and it’s important that it’s documented and understood. The term Cold War describes the political situation after the end of the Second World War and the nuclear stand-off between America and what was referred to as the Soviet Union. Both sides formed alliances. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) for the West, and the Warsaw Pact for those countries aligned with the Soviets. This period lasted for over forty years, and has left a legacy on the landscape and culture in Scotland. This is because Scotland was a vital strategic base for NATO.
As you enter the exhibition there is a short film playing on a loop, setting the scene. On the wall is a quote from George Orwell, ‘A peace that is no peace.’ The threat of mutually-assured destruction or MAD as it was known, the idea that one side would not attack the other with nuclear weapons as that would lead to nuclear retaliation, fuelled suspicion on both sides and let to a period of high-alert, ever watching for signs of imminent destruction. This exhibition provides detail on this period of history. There are still surviving Cold War structures buried underground, nuclear shelters where personnel watched and reported on activity. Some are closed off now, some are open to the public. I’ve been to the Secret Bunker (if you don’t know where that is you need to Google it!).
There are stark reminders of the dangers, with a camouflaged suit issued to the British Armed Forces designed to protect them from nuclear, biological and chemical contamination. There is detail on the ‘hotline’ and the need to maintain direct communication between Moscow and Washington DC in the event of crisis. You can read about the Four-Minute Warning that was in place between 1953 and 1992. a communication system to provide the public an alert four minutes prior to an incoming, imminent attack.
There is also information around the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) which had a large presence in Scotland, founded in 1958. This exhibition is not just about the threat of weapons, and the housing of American nuclear submarines at the base in Holy Loch. Nuclear power stations are in the mix here, and the protests were also about the expansion in this area. It is noted that traces of radioactive waste are detectable today, still present in Scotland’s land and seas. Scotland is geographically located between the USA and what was known as the Soviet Union. This made the country an ideal base for monitoring for potential threats and were effectively a hub for NATO was preparations. This is a fascinating exhibition and well worth taking the time to visit.
One of the most sobering features of the exhibition, is a one liner right at the end of a large poster, which details the Timeline of Cold War Activity. The second last entry is 2015, with the closure of the base RAF Leuchars. The last entry is 2300s – Monitoring of decommissioned nuclear sites anticipated to end.
The Fiction Factory 