Britain in the age of total war 1939-1945
Q1) After the war, many books were written and published about the happenings of the Blitz. Some writers made the Blitz seem like a victorious time in war, and looked upon the celebration of the unity of Britain at war. Others, portrayed it as a devastating event, and showed the Blitz of its reality. Source A is an extract from a book published in 1990 called 'Waiting for the all clear'. This book was written to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz. The extract given makes the blitz sound more of a 'trip down memory lane' rather than the devastating event it was. It does have parts which show it to be a tragedy, but also said that Britain got through this hurdle by being united and with no fuss. According to the book, Britain's determination to stand against Hitler was 'unshakeable'. It also talks about the morale of the people at home. 'Those at home in the most appalling circumstances kept their sense of humour'. This suggests that no matter what the conditions were, the British would stand against Hitler without even a flinch. The extract from the book is a secondary source with a nostalgic view of the memory of people who lived through the war. The sole purpose of the publication is to sell books.
Q2) Both sources B and C show unity and determination and prove useful in different ways. They both help you to understand the effect of the Blitz on the British people. Source B is a photograph dated 21 January 1943. It shows volunteers clearing up after the effects of the bombing on the previous night. The photograph shows dead bodies wrapped in sacking and various debris of the former catholic girl school building. At the time the photograph had been censored in order to be published, which shows usefulness. The photograph is useful for a number of reasons. It was taken during the time of the blitz and It was censored therefore it shows that the government did not want the public to see the realism of the situation. Source C is also a photograph, and is dated 15 September 1940. The photograph shows a number of men, women and children gathered together smiling, waving and with their thumbs up standing in front of various pieces of furniture. There is also a caption which was published with it. 'During raids on London last night some North London houses were bombed. Their houses were wrecked but the tenants of the buildings still showed the British grit'. This caption promotes the morale of the British people, who even though had lost their houses still had high spirits. The photograph is not entirely reliable as it clear that the picture is posed, designed to show high morale which would encourage whoever saw it to also have high spirits. The reason to why the photograph looks posed, as it proves highly unlikely for a group of people to come together, making jolly hand gestures while looking at the camera. Also, it would not have been expected as the people in the photograph had lost their houses the night before. Source C is also useful in a number of ways. The fact that the photograph is posed, shows that the government would go to many lengths in order to portray high morale to the rest of the people. Therefore, the measure of usefulness would only benefit to the government as propaganda. Although both sources are useful, they are useful in different ways. Source B is a photograph of various volunteers, cleaning up after the effects of the bombing of the night before. This proves useful as it a natural photograph of a task that had seemed to have been done many times before. Also, the fact that the picture had been censored at the time shows that the government went to many lengths in order to keep morale high, and not dishearten the people of Britain with sombre portrayals of the Blitz. This showed that the government were trying to hide the realism of the Blitz. Source C is not as useful, as the photograph seems posed and therefore does not prove useful as it does not help us to understand the effects of the blitz realistically and without a bias but because the photograph is not explained it does not tell us
Q1) After the war, many books were written and published about the happenings of the Blitz. Some writers made the Blitz seem like a victorious time in war, and looked upon the celebration of the unity of Britain at war. Others, portrayed it as a devastating event, and showed the Blitz of its reality. Source A is an extract from a book published in 1990 called 'Waiting for the all clear'. This book was written to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz. The extract given makes the blitz sound more of a 'trip down memory lane' rather than the devastating event it was. It does have parts which show it to be a tragedy, but also said that Britain got through this hurdle by being united and with no fuss. According to the book, Britain's determination to stand against Hitler was 'unshakeable'. It also talks about the morale of the people at home. 'Those at home in the most appalling circumstances kept their sense of humour'. This suggests that no matter what the conditions were, the British would stand against Hitler without even a flinch. The extract from the book is a secondary source with a nostalgic view of the memory of people who lived through the war. The sole purpose of the publication is to sell books.
Q2) Both sources B and C show unity and determination and prove useful in different ways. They both help you to understand the effect of the Blitz on the British people. Source B is a photograph dated 21 January 1943. It shows volunteers clearing up after the effects of the bombing on the previous night. The photograph shows dead bodies wrapped in sacking and various debris of the former catholic girl school building. At the time the photograph had been censored in order to be published, which shows usefulness. The photograph is useful for a number of reasons. It was taken during the time of the blitz and It was censored therefore it shows that the government did not want the public to see the realism of the situation. Source C is also a photograph, and is dated 15 September 1940. The photograph shows a number of men, women and children gathered together smiling, waving and with their thumbs up standing in front of various pieces of furniture. There is also a caption which was published with it. 'During raids on London last night some North London houses were bombed. Their houses were wrecked but the tenants of the buildings still showed the British grit'. This caption promotes the morale of the British people, who even though had lost their houses still had high spirits. The photograph is not entirely reliable as it clear that the picture is posed, designed to show high morale which would encourage whoever saw it to also have high spirits. The reason to why the photograph looks posed, as it proves highly unlikely for a group of people to come together, making jolly hand gestures while looking at the camera. Also, it would not have been expected as the people in the photograph had lost their houses the night before. Source C is also useful in a number of ways. The fact that the photograph is posed, shows that the government would go to many lengths in order to portray high morale to the rest of the people. Therefore, the measure of usefulness would only benefit to the government as propaganda. Although both sources are useful, they are useful in different ways. Source B is a photograph of various volunteers, cleaning up after the effects of the bombing of the night before. This proves useful as it a natural photograph of a task that had seemed to have been done many times before. Also, the fact that the picture had been censored at the time shows that the government went to many lengths in order to keep morale high, and not dishearten the people of Britain with sombre portrayals of the Blitz. This showed that the government were trying to hide the realism of the Blitz. Source C is not as useful, as the photograph seems posed and therefore does not prove useful as it does not help us to understand the effects of the blitz realistically and without a bias but because the photograph is not explained it does not tell us
