Together, Source B and D show evidence that civilians were forced to do jobs they would have preferred not to do, due to the resulting damage from the Blitz i.e. Source B, putting ‘bodies in sacking’ and Source D ‘sorting through their property’-what was left of it. But it also shows that they displayed the much proclaimed ‘British grit’ during the Blitz and carried on regardless.
The two sources also help give us a clearer idea on propaganda during the Blitz. Both sources were censored but Source D was later on released during a better period of the Blitz for the British. And even then only to show what the British had overcome in order to boost morale. This tells us that the government kept a close eye on anything vaguely connected to the war in the media and ensured that nothing de-moralising, like Source B, was ever seen.
Source B was also probably viewed as more damaging than Source D, even after the war started to go the right way for the British, because the kind of damage it shows is damage to actual humans, Source D only shows damage to building structures. This view is supported by the fact Source B was never un-censored while Source D was.
Source B and D also give an impression of a very pessimistic atmosphere within the citizens in the aftermath of the air raids. Yes, they are shown carrying on with life but it is with a very down beat attitude. It is clear in both pictures that none of the people shown what to be there, in that situation.
On the other hand Source B, as mentioned before, only shows damage done to people after a daytime raid, while Source D shows damage done to buildings after an air raid which appears to have been over night. This is inconsistent and so the information from the sources do not complement each other to give us a clear, reliable idea of whether the damage from raids were mainly on people or infrastructure, or how the time of the day affected damage done.
Another point in which the Sources B and D do not support each other as evidence- in helping us to understand about the damage done during the air raids- is when it comes to giving us a clear idea on how the damage affected the community spirit of the citizens. Source B shows the community pulling together, being determined and displaying grit. Source D in contrast, shows people standing far apart from each other and a man who may be arguing with some one else. All the people shown in source D are very separated from each other and have an air of perhaps hopelessness about them.
Source D’s evidence helps to support that of Source C’s also. One of the way’s in which it supports it is in giving us an idea on the government response -propaganda wise- to damage done during the raids. Source C was a highly morale-boosting image, which showed both citizens and non-citizens of all rankings and status’ happy together, and was thus never censored. And Source D was later on released to serve the same purpose of inspiring the public. This shows us once again just how important it was to the government to keep the public in high spirits. Source B, as was previously mentioned, also helps support this view.
The two sources do, to a certain degree, undermine each other also. Source C shows no damage, although it is stated in the caption underneath the image that ‘during raids on London…their houses were wrecked.’ Whereas, the damage done in Source D is evident form a glance. It is impossible to tell merely from these two partially contradictory sources whether or not there really was a lot of damage done during the air raids in civilian areas or not.
Source C shows the properties, of the now homeless people, neatly stacked behind them. This diverges completely from the implications of Source D, which shows the few remaining properties of more destitute citizens scattered around the streets. The inference in source D is that the damage done during a raid was so much, people were left with little or nothing. Whereas, Source C insinuates that the damage done was not so bad that people couldn’t recover many of their possessions and still be happy and just generally carry on as normal.
Source C is once again limited in its usefulness as it is most likely staged-another example of the government’s propaganda at work. This means that it may not be entirely reliable evidence as it is susceptible in it’s accuracy.
Source D may also not be an entirely dependable source as it is a very blurry image and impossible for the viewer to be certain if the man shown gesturing is doing so in anger, joy or even defeat.
