“Black Outs” were introduced under the premise that the German Luftwaffe bomb area with no targets. At around the time it got dark; all homes would put up black material over all their windows, all the street lights were put out and if you were still outside after the black out it was nearly impossible to find your way home, and people reported bumping into strange things. The Curfew was run in addition to the “Black Outs”. It was in order to cut down on civilian casualties. Both of these methods were extremely effective as once introduced civilian casualties went down slightly, although the bombings continued.
At the start of the Blitz, during The Battle of Britain, the battles for the skies were mainly fought during the day. Because of this all sources of entertainment were shut down. The Theatre, the cinema, and many shops were all closed. Once Hitler changed his tactics to mass bombings at night: due to the fact that the RAF were winning The Battle of Britain, many of these were reopened. People could go to the cinemas again and there were theatre productions going on. Many dance halls and sports centres were also re-opened in a bid to keep morals high.
The cinema, in particular, showed many propaganda and patriotic films and documentaries. Some famous patriotic films include 'In Which We Serve', 'Henry V' and 'Mrs Minerva'. These documentaries and films were all made about the voluntary service and praised them greatly. Also many people went to the cinema to see the news reels before the films themselves. It was one of the only ways to get moving images showing what was happening on the front lines. However all news reels were censored greatly and a lot of propaganda was placed inside to keep the peoples spirits high and to keep them going so that production in the factories, for the soldiers on the frontline, would not slow down.
Censorship was imposed on all newspapers, radio stations and anything that was to be shown to the general public at large. The only exception to this was the BBC. The government left them to censor themselves, which they did. Newspapers were the worst hit by the new government restrictions. They had to mix propaganda into incidents that were actually happening in such a way that they remained believable and still gave moderate coverage of the true incident. Many photographs that showed death or destruction were censored but some milder ones were allowed to be shown. If all photographs concerning the Blitz had been censored, I feel, the general public would have become suspicious, and this would have been more damaging for the government as their subjects would no longer trust, or believe in them or their causes.
Many stories of tragedy, which could potentially demoralise the public, were not released until a much later date: these include the Balham underground station bombing and the Catford Girls’ School bombing incidents.
However any stories that were covered were exaggerated to sound better than they actually were. Any victory on the British side was blown out of all proportions. It was made to sound as if this was the war winning victory, the battle that would soon end the war.
The voluntary services were made to sound like heroes, particularly the Auxiliary Fire Service (A.F.S). They were nicknamed 'heroes of the night' by the media. Some stories were invented purely for propaganda purposes. These stories were about the victories of the voluntary services and the armed forces. The government thought that more news of victories would raise people’s morals and therefore increase productivity in the factories.
Radio was the next medium that was affected by the Blitz. The types of shows that could be aired were limited and also the news that could be given was also censored. There were many entertainment shows as, since television had recently been switched off, radio was the only source of entertainment; until cinemas and theatres were reopened. Almost every home and factory had a radio or “wireless” as they were referred to in those days. And to get further into the publics lives and keep morale high, radio shows were often aired live from factories around the country.
The medium of radio was also greatly implemented by the Government and the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in particular. Although already greatly loved and trusted by his nation, Winston Churchill made many, regular, announcements to his nation using the radio. He would report any news of major victories or losses; but always keeping the morals of his public high no matter what he reported.
The most widespread form of propaganda came in the form of: government leaflets and posters. The posters were everywhere, from the walls on streets to newspapers. People were regularly leafleted with pamphlets from the government on how to stay safe in case of an emergency. This kept morals high and people felt they had a duty to do what the posters and information leaflets and pamphlets said. One of the most famous posters read “Dig for Victory”. This poster encouraged people to become self sufficient and grow their own vegetables. Not to just rely on rations, lest they run out. And people actually did dig into their back gardens and allotments and they grew their own food. This is just one of the many successful propaganda campaigns lead by the government.
The final method implemented by the government was spies among their own people. The government would send spies into pubs and other places where people talked to get information from their public without alarming them by asking intrusive questions. According to the information these spies received the government would know how to continue on its propaganda and censorship campaigns. If people complained of too many leaflets, the government would keep the numbers of leaflets in circulation lower. If the people complained of not of reality in the news they were given the government would ease the censorship regulations a little bit so a slightly larger amount of truth could be put into reports. This way the government kept checks on its public while being able to cater to their needs without them even knowing they were being watched or listened to. This was probably the most effective way to keep the people’s morals high because not only did it control how much propaganda and truth got to the people. It also kept the government in tune with its public and therefore their support would be high in time for the next public elections.
The government’s rigorous research into what its public wanted made it possible for the propaganda and censorship campaigns work perfectly. Because they knew what the people wanted they could deliver it when they needed it most, and also hide the true effects of the war and the Blitz from them. The reason morals among the people were so high, was because the government encouraged helping out your fellow man: who is also affected by the Blitz. The government hid the true effects of the Blitz in such a way; that it was almost immediately replaced by a new, better truth. This was effective as it kept the countries morals high in such devastating circumstances.
