In what ways did evacuation and rationing help to change attitudes to welfare during World War 2?

because of what they’d seen.  The war helped to increase a sense of social solidarity and helped to break down the class barrier. To some extent it disintegrated the class system because for the first time people were made to be totally equal. Everyone was being given equal opportunities and ended up equal in all aspects of their lives. Rationing, which was introduced 8th January 1940, meant even if you were rich you could not buy or get anything more than anyone else, everyone was entitled to the same amount. German U boats were sinking ships crossing the Atlantic supplying Britain’s food and other goods, so supplies were low which was why rationing was brought in, the ministry of food was set up which controlled supplies and advised the public. It was welcomed by some because it was fair. No one was treated differently according how much money they had. People were given ration books containing coupons determining how much of a certain food they could get at the time, obviously a rich person would have an identical amount allowed of a certain food to a person in a lower class than them. Their money didn’t mean anything in terms of getting food. The allowances were basically enough for a balanced diet, enough that was healthy. No one got any extra. Another way in which attitudes and opinions were changed was during evacuation when middle/ upper class families were exposed to what conditions some working class people lived in. When middle/upper class families received working class evacuees they were appalled to see and hear of their deprivation. The children would arrive to these families that had been sent to during evacuation and they would be badly clothed, dirty, thin and even covered in lice. One source, an extract from a report on evacuees published in 1941, describes children as filthy and not having had a bath for months.   The middle/upper class families saw the reality of how poorer people lived and sympathised more. When the children went to stay with these considerably well off families it was a complete contrast to their dirty, malnourished living conditions in the city, they had come from the slums of Britain. Up until the time of evacuation the people living in the country and the suburbs had been completely ignorant and had no idea of the situation. People realised that the cooperation of the poor had earned concessions on education, living standards and welfare services. Things like education and living standards amongst other things used to be your own problem but the government had asked so much from the people of Britain that they decided the least they could do afterwards was give something back. They needed to compensate for the sacrifices people had made by giving them decent places to live, providing more places to live, and providing enough food and looking after the children and the elderly of Britain. Without the poor the war would not have worked. For example all the people that worked hard in the factories that made things like ammunition, they were of working class. Rationing and evacuation were a form of welfare and it helped people to accept being told what to do and to have their affairs dealt with by the government. The public got used to being told what to do and saw it as a good thing. As a result of the government telling them what to do the people of Britain were evacuated which meant they were kept safe and looked after. Also when having their diet controlled by the government when rationing was in effect many people had much more of a balanced diet and were better fed than ever before. People saw that if the government were given control over certain things life was much better for them. So overall the processes of evacuation and introduction of rationing helped changed the attitudes of the people of Britain and the government significantly and to an extent there was a social revolution