THE DOOMSDAY ROOM
In a secluded cellar at Torshov in Oslo lies one of very few reminders of how the Cold War affected Norway.
-Do you see that grating over there? Down those ...
THE DOOMSDAY ROOM
In a secluded cellar at Torshov in Oslo lies one of very few reminders of how the Cold War affected Norway.
-Do you see that grating over there? Down those stairs, that’s where it is.
Laila Andersen from Telenor Cultural Heritage, points towards a white painted metal fence encompassing what seems like an ordinary set of steps leading down to a cellar. Down those steps, behind half a metre of concrete door, we find one of the most extraordinary objects on Telenor’s protection plan; a secret doomsday room. The hidden emergency exchange in the cellar of Åsen tele building is a direct consequence of the Cold War, and of the fear of total annihilation.
Let’s rewind to October 1962. For thirteen dramatic days the whole world held its breath. We have never (as far as we know) been so close to an all-out nuclear war. The Cold War between the east and the west reached a climax when the Soviet Union decided to move nuclear missiles with the capacity to reach US cities to Cuba. The USA, on the other hand, had already positioned mid-range missiles pointing towards the Soviet Union in Turkey. Intense negotiations between President John F. Kennedy and the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrusjtsjov, were initiated. Both of them had their finger hovering over their respective red buttons. At the last moment the Soviet ships carrying weapons to Cuba turned back, and the crisis was cancelled. The world society was left in a state of shock; doomsday had never felt more real.
Also Norway stood in standby during the Cuban Missile Crisis; the military was on high alert. Telenor’s (Televerket) emergency exchange at Åsen is one of very few remaining traces of civilian vigilance. In the event of an attack, 15 unsuspecting telephone operators would be transported here through the Telegraph building in Kongensgate.
-They were frightened of the Soviets, says Laila, as she battles a troublesome zip.
-The means of communication is often the first thing to be under attack in a war. This principle is noticable in the regimes of today as well, where the political leaders are trying to gag free speech. That’s why, in the beginning of the 1960s, there was a plan for how the telegraphists would be transported here. Of course, they knew nothing. The plan was top-secret.
About the object
about
Nødsentralen i Åsen telebygg på Torshov i Oslo, ble innredet tidlig på 1960-tallet samtidig som forholdet mellom USA og Sovjetunionen var svært spent. Sentralen har aldri vært i bruk. Stolene er fremdeles pakket inn i plast, og ullteppene i rommet er forseglet. Tilhørende toaletter har heller aldri vært tatt i bruk. Åsen var i s...
Nødsentralen i Åsen telebygg på Torshov i Oslo, ble innredet tidlig på 1960-tallet samtidig som forholdet mellom USA og Sovjetunionen var svært spent. Sentralen har aldri vært i bruk. Stolene er fremdeles pakket inn i plast, og ullteppene i rommet er forseglet. Tilhørende toaletter har heller aldri vært tatt i bruk. Åsen var i sin tid en av Norges største nødsentraler.
I bomberom i kjeller
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