- B tells us that targets hit were not only military installations, as this scene depicts a school playground, littered with body bags after an air raid, showing that children were probably killed. It shows the random nature of the bombing, and how localised it was, as the background houses are untouched. It shows people helping to sort the bodies. As well as the uniformed workers, there are people not in uniform, which shows the courage and unity of the British civilians in frightful situations. The censors had banned B because morale would have been seriously undermined if people were to know of this traumatic event. It was very important to the government to keep morale high so that the country’s economic life continued. It is highly likely that B was not posed for the sake of propaganda so this adds to the reliability of the source. It is very useful in showing us the effects of the Blitz on British people, as it brings home the atrocities of war and shows that the war did reach ordinary civilians, and brought terror and panic among them. It also slightly helps us to understand their ability to cope with these terrible situations, and to help one another overcome them.
C shows houses and salvaged goods, which have been destroyed by bombing, and their inhabitants who have been made homeless have come together for a group photograph. They are smiling, and seem relaxed, giving the thumbs up sign. C was probably posed for propaganda - most people did not smile and joke after being made homeless. This was probably to assure people who hadn’t had this experience that it was not that bad. It indicates that instead of having Hitler’s desired effect to lower morale and therefore lower British resistance, the Blitz was bringing communities together in a joint effort to win the war. This indicates that the Blitz has not had the effect of destroying morale, but of bringing the communities closer together. The source is not entirely useful in showing us the effects of the Blitz on British people, but it does give us a very good idea as to how the government encouraged the public to behave. C is extremely biased as it is most definitely posed for propaganda purposes, however it shows that the tenants of the buildings did have the courage to come together for the photograph, and to pose with a smile, and help to defend the British morale.
- Source B tells us that there was serious damage done, as there were obviously deaths. It shows an open area littered with body bags being inspected by workers and helpers. The area hit was a girls school, and the area shown in the photograph is probably the playground area of the school, as the workers probably moved the bodies to an open area to inspect them, and there is no evidence of destroyed buildings. We do know, however, that many lives were lost, probably those of innocent children. D partly supports the evidence of B about damage done. It shows damage to property, but no deaths. D supports B as the government censored it, as it was felt that these negative photographs of severe bomb damage would diminish morale. It also supports B in showing that the damage made by bombs were localised – we can see an untouched street behind the playground area in source B and a book shop in a street which seems unharmed in source D. However, the damage in source D is of a much smaller scale than that in source B.
Both sources D and C evince devastating damage to property. C shows damage to either a street or a block of flats, in which many peoples’ homes have been lost, and many people have been affected my it. Salvaged furniture is piled up against a wall. D does not support C in that it does not show furniture, however both show destruction to buildings.