Millie Daglish U5X
Study Sources B, C.
How useful are Sources B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the Blitz on people in Britain?
Source B shows the aftermath of the bombing of a girl’s school in London and is very useful in helping to understand the effects of the Blitz on British people. It shows us how the devastation was being dealt with practically, and portrays officials trying to clear the bodies from the wreckage. The mere fact that it portrays young children to have been killed gives us an understanding of how London’s youth was affected by the bombing. The photograph shows a number of bodies being covered, showing that a large number of people were being affected. The people in the picture convey a sense of grief and mellowness, which helps us to understand how people felt as a result of the deaths, and contrasts with the high morale so often described at the time. These people were clearly traumatised by the event before them. By showing the bodies in sacking it shows us that the people of Britain were trying to move on with their day to day lives as quickly as possible, and were prepared to deal with the destruction caused by the bombing. The fact that this source is a photograph is also useful, because it conveys the true picture of the aftermath, with no alterations. Although photographs can be doctored, it is highly unlikely that this one was changed for any reason, therefore we are able to understand how the people at the scene truly felt, and understand what they were witnessing. However the photograph is not useful in some ways, because it only shows one event at one time, and with few subjects. Therefore it does not help us to understand the effects of the Blitz on a majority of the British people as it only shows a select few reactions. It was also taken directly after the bombing; therefore we can draw an understanding of their immediate reaction. The provenance of this source is helpful in several ways. The fact that this photograph was not allowed to be shown to the public helps us to understand two different situations the British people were facing. For the general public, who were unaware of this devastation to a certain extent, their morale would not have been dampened by such scenes, and by only showing censored photographs, many British people would not have been affected by tragedies they were not aware of and they would continue to support the government. However it also shows how the British government were worried about the fragile state of British morale, as they were not prepared to risk displaying distressing photographs to the public.
