Air raid shelter: Difference between revisions

[[File:Kleine Berlin Trieste 1.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Kleines Berlin]] ('Little Berlin' in German) is the complex of underground air-raid tunnels dating to [[World War II]], which still exists in [[Trieste]], Italy]]

{{history of war}}

=== World War II ===

''Hochbunker(s)'', "high-rise" [[bunker]]s or [[blockhouse]]s, were a type of construction designed to relieve the pressure Nazi German authorities were facing to accommodate additional numbers of the population in high-density housing areas, as well as pedestrians on the streets during air raids. In contrast to other shelters, these buildings were considered completely bomb-proof. They had the advantage of being built upward, which was much cheaper than downward excavation. ''Hochbunkers'' usually consisted of large concrete blocks above ground with walls between 1 m and 1.5 m thick and with huge lintels above doorways and openings. They often had a constant interior temperature of 7 to 10 °C, which made them perfectly suitable for laboratories, both during and after the war. They were used to protect people, administrative centres, important archives and works of art.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

Their structures took many forms: usually consisting of square blocks or of low, long rectangular or triangular shapes; straight towers of a square plan rising to great heights, or round tower-like edifices, even pyramidal constructions. Some of the circular towers contained helical floors that gradually curved their way upward within the circular walls. Many of these structures may still be seen. They have been converted into offices, storage space; some have even been adapted for hotels, hospitals and schools, as well as many other peacetime purposes. In [[Schöneberg]], a block of flats was built over the Pallasstrasse air-raid shelter after World War II. During the Cold War, NATO used the shelter for food storage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://7grad.org/Exkursionen/Muenster/Hochbunker/hochbunker.html |title=Hochbunker |publisherwebsite=7grad.org |access-date=2010-06-24 |archive-date=2011-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724205839/http://7grad.org/Exkursionen/Muenster/Hochbunker/hochbunker.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/lupinpooter/berlin.htm |title=Berlin hochbunker, etc.] {{webarchive|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040505233512/http://www.geocities.com/lupinpooter/berlin.htm |archive-date=May 5, 2004-05-05}} 2009-10-24.</ref>{{sfn|Ladd|2004|p=393}}

When the [[Wilkinson's Lemonade]] factory in [[North Shields]] received a direct hit on Saturday, 3 May 1941 during a German attack on the north-east coast of England, 107 occupants lost their lives when heavy machinery fell through the ceiling of the basement in which they were sheltering.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/2963761.stm |title=Wilkinson's Lemonade factory |work=BBC News |date=2003-04-21 |access-date=2010-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://northshields173.org/ |title=Account of raid on Wilkinson's Lemonade factory |website=North Shields 173northshields173.org |access-date=2017-01-17 January 2017}}</ref>

Railway arches were deep, curved structures of brick or concrete, set into the vertical sidewalls of railway lines, which had been intended originally for commercial depots, etc. The arches were covered usually with wooden or brick [[screen-wall|screen]]- or [[curtain wall (architecture)|curtain walls]], thus giving a considerable amount of protection against air raids – provided, of course, that railway lines were not the prime target of the attack at the particular time and so being more likely to suffer from direct hits. Each arch could accommodate anything from around 60 to 150 people. However, fewer people could find shelter at night as sleeping areas for the occupants took up more of the space available – a limitation applying to any other type of shelter as well. Subways were actual [[thoroughfares]] also in the shape of arches, normally allowing [[Transit passage|passage]] underneath railway lines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.daveh.org.uk/hwyard/arches/ |title=Railway arches |publisher=Daveh.org.uk |access-date=2010-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303081715/http://www.daveh.org.uk/hwyard/arches/ |archive-date=2010-03-03}}</ref><ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/ic1/05.html] {{webarchive|title=Eyewitness in Manchester image collection 100-124 (June-August 1997) |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040401070746/http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/ewm/ic1/05.html |archive-date=April 1, 2004-04-01}}</ref>

Prior to the beginning of the war, shelter policy had been determined by [[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|Sir John Anderson]], then Lord Privy Seal and, on the declaration of war, Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security. Anderson announced the policy to Parliament on 20 April 1939,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1939/apr/20/shelter-policy#S5CV0346P0_19390420_HOC_73 |title=Shelter policy |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=1939-04-20 |access-date=17 January 2017-01-17}}</ref> based on a report from a committee chaired by Lord Hailey. This reaffirmed a policy of dispersal and eschewed the use of deep shelters, including the use of tube stations and underground tunnels as public shelters. Reasons given were the spread of disease due to the lack of toilet facilities at many stations, the inherent danger of people falling onto the lines, and that people sheltering in the stations and tunnels might be tempted to stay in them day and night because they would feel safer there than outside the stations.

Nevertheless, the London Underground system during the war was considered one of the safest means of protecting relatively many people in a high-density area of the capital. An estimated 170,000 people sheltered in the tunnels and stations during World War II. Although not a great number in comparison to the total number of the inhabitants of the capital, it almost certainly saved many lives of the people who probably would have had to find alternative, less secure means of protection.<ref>[http://www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk/Online%20Museum/Museum%20Docs/airraidshelterspage7.htm] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403035111/http://www.worldwar2exraf.co.uk/Online%20Museum/Museum%20Docs/airraidshelterspage7.htm |date=April 3, 2008-04-03}}</ref>

Artists and photographers such as [[Henry Moore]] and [[Bill Brandt]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/accounts/holnet/upload/learningzone/londonatwar/shelter/index.html |title=HOLNET - London at War 1939–1945 - Shelter |publisher=Lgfl.net |access-date=2010-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228044832/http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/accounts/holnet/upload/learningzone/londonatwar/shelter/index.html |archive-date=December 28, 2010-12-28}}</ref> were employed as war artists to document life in London's shelters during the Second World War.

====Other tunnels====

In [[Stockport]], six miles south of Manchester, four sets of underground air raid shelter tunnels for civilian use were dug into the red sandstone on which the town centre stands. Preparation started in September 1938 and the first set of shelters was opened on 28 October 1939. (Stockport was not bombed until 11 October 1940.) The smallest of the tunnel shelters could accommodate 2,000 people and the largest 3,850 (subsequently expanded to take up to 6,500 people.) The largest of the [[Stockport Air Raid Shelters]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.airraidshelters.org.uk |title=Stockport Air Raid Shelters |publisher=Airraidshelters.org.uk |access-date=2010-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806045825/http://www.airraidshelters.org.uk/ |archive-date=6 August 2010-08-06 |url-status=live}}</ref> are open to the public as part of the town's museum service.

[[File:AndersonShelterBedfordMuseum.JPG|thumb|right|250px|An unburied Anderson Shelter in 2007, showing the distinctive curved shape of its walls; this shelter had seen use after the war as a shed]]

{{stack|{{Commons category|Category:Anderson shelters}}}}

Anderson shelters were designed to accommodate up to six people. The main principle of protection was based on curved and straight [[corrugated galvanised iron|galvanised corrugated steel]] [[Structural insulated panel|panels]]. Six curved panels were bolted together at the top, so forming the main body of the shelter, three straight sheets on either side, and two more straight panels were fixed to each end, one containing the door—a total of fourteen panels. A small drainage [[sump]] was often incorporated in the floor to collect rainwater seeping into the shelter. The shelters were {{convert|6|ft|m}} high, {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} wide, and {{convert|6.5|ft|m}} long. They were either buried 4&nbsp;ft (1.2 m) deep in the soil and then covered with a minimum of {{convert|15|in|cm}} of soil above the roof or in some cases installed inside people's houses and covered with sandbags. When they were buried outside, the earth banks could be planted with vegetables and flowers, that at times could be quite an appealing sight and in this way would become the subject of competitions of the best-planted shelter among householders in the neighbourhood. The internal fitting out of the shelter was left to the owner and so there were wide variations in comfort.<ref name="fortunecity1"/>

Because of the large number made and their robustness, many Anderson shelters still survive. Many were dug up after the war and converted into storage sheds for use in gardens and [[Allotment (gardening)|allotments]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.richmond.edu/~wgreen/ECDandersonsh.html |title=Development of the Anderson shelter |publisher=Richmond.edu |access-date=17 January 2017-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302090230/http://www.richmond.edu/~wgreen/ECDandersonsh.html |archive-date=2007-03-02 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Lavelle"/>

{{stack|{{Commons category|Category:Morrison shelter}}}}

When Head of the Engineering Department at [[Cambridge University]], Professor [[John Baker, Baron Baker|John Baker (later Lord Baker)]] presented an undergraduate lecture on the principles of design of the shelter, as an interesting introduction to his theory of plastic design of structures, and itwhich can be summarised as follows:

{{quote|It was impractical to produce a design for mass production that could withstand a direct hit, and so it was a matter of selecting a suitable design target that would save lives in many cases of blast damage to bombed houses. Examination of bombed buildings indicated that in many instances, one end wall of a house was sucked or blown out by a nearby blast, and the floor of the first storey pivoted about its other end (supported by a largely intact wall) and killed the inhabitants. The Morrison shelter was therefore designed to be able to withstand the upper floor falling, of a typical two storey-house undergoing a partial collapse. The shelter was designed to absorb this energy by plastic deformation, since this can absorb two or three orders of magnitude more energy than elastic deformation.<ref>{{cite web|author=Paul Robertson |url=http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/125/1925-1950/baker6.html |title=The Baker experiment with a Morrison shelter model |publisher=G.eng.cam.ac.uk |access-date=2010-06-24| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100620211858/http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/125/1925-1950/baker6.html| archive-date= 2010-06-20 June 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> Its design enabled the family to sleep under the shelter at night or during raids, and to use it as a dining table in the daytime, making it a practical item in the house.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/meltingpot/oxford/330/shel/shel3.html |title=The Morrison shelter design |publisher=Fortunecity.co.uk |access-date=2010-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306043354/http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/meltingpot/oxford/330/shel/shel3.html |archive-date=March 6, 2009 -03-06}}</ref>}}

====Stanton shelters====

[[File:Disused air-raid shelter, Dilton, New Forest - geograph.org.uk - 430429.jpg|right|250px|thumb|An abandoned Stanton shelter at the disused airfield, [[RAF Beaulieu]] (2007)]]

A segment shelter manufactured by the [[Ilkeston#Stanton Ironworks|Stanton Ironworks]], [[Ilkeston]], Derbyshire. The shop producing [[Centrifugal casting (industrial)|spun-concrete]] lighting columns ceased production and turned over to concrete air-raid shelters, of which 100,000 tons were manufactured, principally for the air ministry. Reinforced concrete proved an ideal material for air-raid shelters, being strong and resistant to shock with no deterioration with the passing of time. This type of segment shelter was of simple design and of low cost—any length of shelter could be built up from the pre-cast steel reinforced concrete segments. The segments were 20&nbsp;inches wide; a pair of them formed an arch 7 feet high and transverse struts were provided to ensure rigidity. These fitted into longitudinal bearers which were grooved to receive the foot of each segment. Each pair of segments was bolted together at the apex of the arch and each segment was also bolted to its neighbour, the joints being sealed with a bituminous compound. The convenient handling of these segments enabled them to be transported onto sites where close access by motor lorry was not possible. Partly buried in the ground, with a suitably screened entrance, this bolted shelter afforded safe protection against blast and splinters.<ref>The Stanton Ironworks Co. Stanton at War 1939–45. The story of the part played by Stanton Ironworks with reference to making of the concrete sections for the Stanton Air Raid Shelter, page 40. Book online [http://www.stantonironworks.co.uk/main_stanton_dir/books/STANTON%20AT%20WAR%201939%20_%2045.pdf Stanton at War] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315214008/http://www.stantonironworks.co.uk/main_stanton_dir/books/STANTON%20AT%20WAR%201939%20_%2045.pdf |date=March 2012-03-15, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://rafbeaulieu.co.uk/raf-beaulieu-air-raid-shelters/ |title=RAF Beaulieu's Air Raid Shelters on the Former WAAF Site |date=29 January 2021-01-29 |publisher=RAF Beaulieu |access-date=2021-03-15}}</ref>

[[Barcelona]] was [[Bombing of Barcelona|severely bombed]] by Italian and German Air Forces during [[Spanish Civil War]], particularly in 1937 and 1938. Tunnels were used as shelters at the same time that the population undertook the building of bomb shelters under the coordination of a committee for civil defense (Catalan: ''Junta de defensa passiva'') providing planning and technical assistance. Hundreds of bomb shelters were built. Most of them are recorded, but only a few are well preserved. Among these stand out the ''Plaça del Diamant'' refuge as well as air-shelter 307 (''Refugi 307''), today one of the [[Barcelona City History Museum]] heritage sites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bomb shelter 307 in Barcelona|url=http://museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en/node/661|access-date=2014-05-20|archive-date=2014-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518184159/http://www.museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en/node/661|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Other cities with extant bomb shelters from the Spanish Civil War include [[Madrid]], [[Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha|Guadalajara]], [[Alcalá de Henares]], [[Santander, Spain|Santander]], [[Jaén, Spain|Jaén]], [[Alcañiz]], [[Shelter of Cervantes|Alcoy]], [[Valencia]] and [[Cartagena, Spain|Cartagena]]. During the war, Cartagena, an important naval base, was one of the main targets for Franco's bombers. Cartagena suffered between 40 and 117 bombings (sources are mixed about the number of attacks). The most dramatic was one carried out by the German [[Condor Legion]] on November 25, 1936. The largest air raid shelter in Cartagena, which could accommodate up to 5.500 people, has been a museum since 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cartagena Spanish Civil War air raid shelter museum|url=http://www.cartagenapuertodeculturas.com/publicas/que_visitar/refugio/_QpBOWZjSXH_U1cLNsvPN-Q|access-date=6 June 2016-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602123922/http://www.cartagenapuertodeculturas.com/publicas/que_visitar/refugio/_QpBOWZjSXH_U1cLNsvPN-Q|archive-date=2016-06-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[State of Israel]] required all buildings to have access to air-raid shelters from 1951, and all new flats possess access to [[Merkhav Mugan]]. All medical and educational facilities are prepared for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CRBN) attacks (as of 2010) (as an example each surgery room is built to withstand a direct missile hit); some are built with closed-cycle air systems and are capable of being resistant to chemical agents for short periods of time; in addition all must include chemical air filtering systems. The public air-raid shelters are commonly employed as game rooms in peacetime so that the children will be comfortable to enter them at a time of need, and will not be frightened.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/in_the_bomb_shelter_the_brighter_side_of_war/ |title=In the bomb shelter: The brighter side of war |publisher=Broad Street Review |access-date=2010-06-24 |archive-date=2011-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708100737/http://www.broadstreetreview.com/index.php/main/article/in_the_bomb_shelter_the_brighter_side_of_war/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Home front command,תקנות מוסדות בריאות ,2010, p4 section 280 subsection ב [http://www.oref.org.il/sip_storage/FILES/0/1310.pdf]{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref><ref name="oref_special_considurations_for_medical_facilities">Home front command,תקנות מוסדות בריאות ,2010,[http://www.oref.org.il/sip_storage/FILES/0/1310.pdf]{{dead link|date=March 2014}}</ref><ref name="knesset_law_securing_schools">{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/pdf/m01664.pdf |title=Shelters in educational institutions |publisher=Israeli government |access-date=17 January 2017-01-17}}</ref><ref>Home front command,תקנות למוסדות חינוך,2010,[http://www.oref.org.il/sip_storage/FILES/9/1309.pdf] {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Since 1998, Singapore has required all new houses and flats to have a shelter built to certain specifications. The [[Singapore Civil Defence Force]] rationalizes building such shelters in high-rise buildings by noting that weapon effects tend to be localized, and are unlikely to cause an entire building to collapse.<ref>{{cite web|author=Singapore Civil Defence Force |url=http://www.scdf.gov.sg/building_professionals/FAQ/cd_shelter.html |title=FAQ on CD Shelters |publisher=Scdf.gov.sg |access-date=2010-06-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528221413/http://www.scdf.gov.sg/Building_Professionals/FAQ/cd_shelter.html |archive-date=28 May 2010-05-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There are currently 117,669 air raid shelters in [[Taiwan]]. The first air raid shelters were constructed in the Japanese colonial period and construction expanded during WWII as allied bombers began hitting Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Keoni|last1=Everington|date=4 November 2020-11-04|url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4045348|title=Taiwan to create site listing 117,000 air raid shelters in case of Chinese attack|publisher=Taiwan News|access-date=6 November 2020-11-06}}</ref>

During the pre-WW2 period the [[4th of August Regime|Metaxas regime]] initiated an extensive Civil Defence system designed to protect civilians in the event of enemy bombing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.athenssocialatlas.gr/en/article/athens-air-raid-shelters-1936-40/ |title=Athens' air-raid shelters 1936-40 |website=athenssocialatlas.gr|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928023425/https://www.athenssocialatlas.gr/en/article/athens-air-raid-shelters-1936-40/#top |archive-date=2022-09-28}}</ref> The system included extensive training of civilians as well as the construction of more than 12,000 air raid shelters in [[Attica (region)|Attica]], equipped with German made blast doors and air filtering systems. From 1939 forward virtually all new apartment buildings contained built-in hardened basements and cellars that functioned as (unofficial) bunkers, although these lacked the more sophisticated equipment of the state built shelters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.athensvoice.gr/life/life-in-athens/512823/mia-poli-kato-apo-tin-poli/ |title=Shelters of Athens: A city under the city |first=Elena |last=Dakoula |publisher=[[Lifo (magazine)|LiFO]] |language=el |date=2019-01-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.enimerotiko.gr/ellada/ta-katafygia-tis-attikis-taxidi-sti-mystiki-kai-ypogeia-poli-kato-apo-tin-athina/ |title=The shelters of Attica: A journey to the secret and underground city under Athens |language=el |date=2020-03-01 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815125232/https://www.enimerotiko.gr/ellada/ta-katafygia-tis-attikis-taxidi-sti-mystiki-kai-ypogeia-poli-kato-apo-tin-athina/ |archive-date=2022-08-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://popaganda.gr/citylife/konstantinos-kirimis-katafygia-athina/|title=Konstantinos Kyrimis infiltrated the secret shelters of the city and introduces us to underground Athens |first=Anastasia |last=Vaitsopoulou |language=el |date=2017-08-31|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518125547/https://popaganda.gr/citylife/konstantinos-kirimis-katafygia-athina/|archive-date=2022-05-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greece-is.com/hidden-city-discover-athens-arcades/|title=Hidden City: Discover Athens’s Arcades|first=Valia|last=Dimitrakopoulou |date=2024-06-17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621061620/https://www.greece-is.com/hidden-city-discover-athens-arcades/|archive-date=2024-06-21}}</ref>

After the war, most of these shelters were either abandoned or demolished along with the apartment buildings they were built in. Public shelters were covered to make way for the modern street network. The last public inspection of the remaining shelters was performed in the 70s. Nowadays very few state built shelters remain intact, although hardened cellars still remain in the basements of most buildings in the older districts of [[Thessaloniki]] and [[Athens]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ΈχουμεWe καταφύγιαhave στηνshelters Ελλάδαin Greece, αλλάbut it's είναιas σανif ναwe μηνdon't έχουμεhave |url=https://www.news247.gr/sunday-edition/echoyme-katafygia-stin-ellada-alla-einai-san-na-min-echoyme.9549946.html |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=www.news247.gr |date=2022-03-04 |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://opac.kozlib.gr/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=80292&shelfbrowse_itemnumber=105969 |via=Koventareios Municipal Library of Kozani |first=Konstantinos |last=Kyrimis |others=Supervised by George Nikas |title=The Shelters of Attica, 1936-1956 |date=2016 |volume=A |language=el |location=[[Athens]] |isbn=978-960-7897-76-3 |quote=It has also published ''The Shelters of Attica, 1936-1956'' (2017), Volume B}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/1233364/the-forgotten-invisible-safe-spaces-under-athens/ |title=The forgotten, invisible safe spaces under Athens|first=Konstantinos |last=Kyrimis |interviewer=Dimitris Karaiskos |publisher=[[Kathimerini]] |location=[[Athens]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Konstantinos |last=Kyrimis |title=Underground Naval Fortifications in Attica (1936-44) |publisher=Hellenic Institute of Naval History |date=2021 |language=el |url=https://elinis.gr/ypogeies-oxyrvseis/ |isbn= 978-618-84878-1-9}}</ref>

Notable surviving shelters include the Likavitos shelter, built inside the mountain of the same name, the [[Ministry of Finance (Greece)|Ministry of Finance]] bunker and the [[Piraeus]] bunkers in Athens, and the nuclear bunker under the Military Hospital no 414 in Thessaloniki.<ref>{{Citecite web |last=Papadakis |first=Panagiotis |date=2022-02-24 |title=ΠουWhere βρίσκονταιare ταthe καταφύγιαshelters στηνin ΑθήναAthens σεin περίπτωσηcase πολέμουof war |url=https://www.f-news.gr/katafygia-athina-periptosi-polemou/ |access-date=2022-04-23 |websitepublisher=FNews |website=f-news.gr |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{Citecite web |title=ΗThe χαρτογράφησηmapping τωνof καταφυγίωνthe τηςshelters Θεσσαλονίκηςof Thessaloniki |first=Dimitra |last=Paligianni |date=2022-03-13 |url=https://www.makthes.gr/h-khartoghrafisi-ton-katafighion-tis-thessalonikis-529189 |publisher=[[Makedonia (newspaper)|Makedonia]] |access-date=20222024-0403-2306 |website=www.makthes.gr |language=el |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708085204/https://www.makthes.gr/h-khartoghrafisi-ton-katafighion-tis-thessalonikis-529189|archive-date=2022-07-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/leisure/destinations/1242206/tourism-in-the-tunnels-of-war-on-greeces-northern-border/ |title=Tourism in the tunnels of war on Greece’s northern border|first=Alexia|last=Kalaitzi|publisher=Kathimerini|date=2024-06-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623072315/https://www.ekathimerini.com/leisure/destinations/1242206/tourism-in-the-tunnels-of-war-on-greeces-northern-border/|archive-date=2024-06-23}}</ref>

The [[Kyiv Metro]] was built in the wake of World War II.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/built-in-wake-of-wwii-kyiv-metro-offers-shelter-from-russian-shells/ar-AAUvGze | title=Built in wake of WWII, Kyiv metro offers shelter from Russian shells | website=[[MSN]] }}</ref> During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the metro stations doubled as bomb shelters, as residents took shelter from Russian bombs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|last2=|first2=|last3=|first3=|date=2022-02-24 February 2022|title=Ukraine's underground metro stations double as bomb shelters amid Russian invasion|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/ukraine-kyiv-underground-metro-stations-double-as-bomb-shelters-amid-russian-invasion-1917180-2022-02-24|access-date=2022-02-24|website=India Today|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224072418/https://www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/ukraine-kyiv-underground-metro-stations-double-as-bomb-shelters-amid-russian-invasion-1917180-2022-02-24|url-status=live}}</ref> Like other former Soviet metro systems, the Kyiv metro was designed with this purpose in mind, and 47 of the city's 52 stations were designated for this purpose.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Squires |first=Camille |title=Kyiv's subway stations were built for an invasion |url=https://qz.com/2133054/kyivs-subway-stations-were-built-to-be-bomb-shelters/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=Quartz |date=24 February 2022-02-24 |language=en |archive-date=2022-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226084748/https://qz.com/2133054/kyivs-subway-stations-were-built-to-be-bomb-shelters/ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the invasion, on February 24, regular service on the metro was suspended.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tsvetkova |first=Maria |date=2022-02-24 |title=Kyiv residents defiant as curfew imposed after Russian invasion |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-capital-some-people-stock-up-supplies-others-try-flee-2022-02-24/ |access-date=2022-02-26 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226043443/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-capital-some-people-stock-up-supplies-others-try-flee-2022-02-24/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Home Front in Britain during the Second World War HU36196.jpg|Three Anderson shelters standingthat intactsurvived amidthe a scenedestruction of debristhe houses adjacent to them following a bombing raid in [[Norwich]]

==References==

'''===Bibliography'''===

* {{citationcite book |last=Baker |first=John |author-link=John Baker, Baron Baker |year=1978 |title=Enterprise vs Bureaucracy - The Development of Structural Air Raid Precautions during the 2nd World War |publisher=[[Pergamon Press ]] }}

* {{citationcite book |ref=none |last=Ladd |first=Brian |year=2004 |title=The companion guide to Berlin |edition=illustrated |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |isbn=978-1-900639-28-6 |pageurl=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MY0udx6aJroC&pg=PA393 |page=393 |edition=illustrated |via=[[Google Books]]}}

== External links ==

{{Commons category|Air raid shelters}}

* [http://beyondthemargins.com/2010/12/interview-with-jessica-f-kane-the-report/ Interview with writer/researcher of Bethnal Green Tube shelter tragedy, largest civilian losses in WW2 London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912234056/http://beyondthemargins.com/2010/12/interview-with-jessica-f-kane-the-report/ |date=2011-09-12 }}