(3) GSCE COURSEWORK ON BRITIAN

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GSCE Coursework- Britain

By Chin Ching and Jensen Pon

1. Study Source A

What can you learn from source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz? (6)

Source A is an extract from a book celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz. It celebrates Britain’s victory in the Blitz and the courage and determination that many British civilians showed amid the crisis, which is seen in, “heroes…courage and unshakable determination…” However, since this book was produced long after the war, the memory of the Blitz may not have been so accurate. The tone of the author is upbeat and positive, which conveys a feeling of pride and patriotism to the reader.  

2.Study Source B, C

How useful are source B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the Blitz on people in Britain? (10)

The government censored this photo because they knew that pictures of dead civilian would further demoralize the people and encourage them to abandon and leave the city. As a result, there would be an economic standstill and the withdrawal of troops since people who left the city no longer supported the war-effort. If the people weren’t on the government’s side, the enemy would have easily defeated the country and the government couldn’t afford to have this happen. To prevent this, the government bombarded the public with propaganda to encourage the people to support the war effort.

 

Despite these circumstances, they are smiling with confidence and are supposedly showing true British “grit”. It suggests that the people’s morale was very high and remained relatively unaffected by the psychological and physical damage caused by the Blitz. However, this source is obviously a form of government propaganda as this photo is staged to boost civilian morale, and in these situations people would not be in this state of mood.

 

So in conclusion, both sources are not completely useful in showing the effects of the Blitz on people in Britain because each has its limitation. Source B only shows a small area that could have been a major hit, but it might not have been hit like that throughout the entire country. Source C was a staged photograph and it doesn’t reflect the on the general situation of the people at the time of the Blitz. But it can be used to show what the government really wanted the people’s attitude to be like in the Blitz.  

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3. Study Source B, C and D

Does Source D support the evidence of Source B and C about the damage done during the air raids? (8)

One of them appears to be taking advantage of the destruction caused by the bomb raid to steal from someone else, which eventually led to this conflict. Source B shows huge amounts of deaths and casualties in a school after a bomb raid has happened. Both sources suggest the Blitz had caused lots of physical and psychological damage, which led to severely damaged morale.

   

Source D contradicts ...

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