Britain in the Age of Total War, 1939-45 - source related study.

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Britain in the Age of Total War, 1939 – 45

History Coursework

Introduction

During the Second World War civilians were involved as well as soldiers. As part of the conflict Britain and Germany bombed each other’s major cities. People in both countries had to cope with the effects of these air raids. In Britain the bombing of the cities was known as the Blitz.

     Some people write about the Blitz as a time when the British people showed great cheerfulness and courage. They say their morale was good. Other writers believe that much of what was said and written about the high morale of the British is myth rather than true.

  1. What can you learn from Source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz?

     Source A indicates that through the ‘terror and tragedy’ of the Blitz the British civilians found courage and hope to help them battle through and cope with the atrocious circumstances they found themselves in. Their response to the German bombing was to continue as normally as possible and keep their wits about them in such conditions. ‘Those at home in the most appalling circumstances kept their sense of humour.’ This quote states that despite the horrific devastation around them the British civilians still found something to smile about at the end of the day. They still had hope that there was something left to fight for, even though many of their homes were destroyed or friends and family dead.

  1. How useful are sources B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the Blitz on people in Britain?

     Sources B and C are good at portraying the effect of the Blitz on the British because whilst B shows the devastating results of the bombing, Source C captures civilians who despite having just had their houses ‘wrecked’ still managed to pose and smile for a photograph. The two sources advocate that whilst devastation and destruction was everywhere, the civilians could still strike a pose in order to be photographed.

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     Source B displays the horrendous scene of corpses at the remains of Catford Girl’s School being sacked. The photo was taken as the bodies were being cleared, and the expressions on the faces of the people in the picture are sombre and distressed, a far cry from the faces of those in Source C. In that sense the two sources contradict one another. However, Source B also implies that there may have been a Blitz spirit but that there was only one because many civilians were not allowed to see outside of the square. Source B was banned ...

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