Under den kolde krig var Bornholm Danmarks og NATOs øjne og ører bag jerntæppet. Men hvis krigen brød ud, måtte bornholmerne klare sig selv. Helt op til slutningen af den kolde krig tillod skiftende danske regeringer ikke, at allierede soldater deltog i øvelser på øen, fordi det ville tirre Sovjetunionen, der én gang havde besat øen. Derfor lagde nogle bornholmere hemmelige planer for, hvordan de skulle gemme luftværnskanoner i landmænds lader, bruge private jagthytter til soldater og anvende landbrugsmaskiner i forsvaret, hvis Warszawa-pagten angreb.
During the Cold War, the island of Bornholm was Denmark’s and NATO’s eyes and ears behind the Iron Curtain. But if war broke out, Bornholm was to fend for itself. Right up to the end of the Cold War, successive Danish governments did not allow allied forces on the island, thinking it would provoke the Soviet Union. Therefore some Bornholmers, if the Warsaw Pact attacked, had plans to hide anti-aircraft guns in farmers' barns, use private hunting cabins to accommodate soldiers and using agricultural machines for defense.
