Opening up the Diefenbunker
Broadcast Date: Jan. 22, 1994
For years, this emergency government hideaway was a top secret station designed to house political leaders in case of attack. But the Cold War has thawed into neutrality with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Now, the bunker is open for inspection. A bank of Canada vault, an operating room, the CBC announcer booth, and sleeping quarters fill the four floors of the underground Diefenbunker. CBC Television takes a close look inside this Cold War relic.
Opening up the Diefenbunker
• In 1994, the Diefenbunker was designated a National Historic Site and decommissioned by the Department of National Defence in 1994. In 1998, it reopened as Canada’s Cold War Museum.
• The Diefenbunker has also doubled as a movie set. The opening scene in the Tom Clancy movie The Sum of All Fears was filmed inside the bunker.
• Construction of the Diefenbunker was a closely guarded secret, but the toilets gave it away. The government claimed the project was a signal station, but a suspicious Toronto Telegram reporter flew over and counted 78 toilets waiting for installation, far too many for a small signal station. The Telegram published his findings on Sept. 11, 1961, effectively outing the project.
Teaching the Cold War:
