The two sources show the difference between the two sides of the war and show us the effects on the people in Britain.
3) Study sources B, C, and D. Does source D support the evidence Source B and C about the damage done during air raids?
Source D shows a photograph taken on 15th November 1940 after the air raid on Coventry, but it was not published until February 1941. Again this is a primary source. The photo shows destruction of buildings and we also see two men arguing about property or deciding what is whose. A few people in the picture look vague, bored, waiting for something.
Sources B and C show the destruction of a London school and a group of families who have just lost their homes and are all smiling, showing their British "grit". Source D supports source B because both photos were censored although D was released to the public sooner than B was allowed to be published. This was to keep the moral up.
Source D does not show any dead people, which means it, does not support source B particularly. Generally, source D supports source B, showing why the censorship was introduced because they show damage. Source D does not support source C because it was not censored
4) Use source E, F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why the government was concerned about the morale (spirit and attitude) of the British people in the autumn of 1940.
Source E is a secret report from the ministry of information, describing the reaction of the people when the air raid siren goes on. According to the description, which is by the Ministry of Information to the government, it states that people run "madly for shelters" and that mothers and children are often requesting to be removed form the district. It also states that they discovered that the taxi drivers have been taking a large number of people to Euston and Paddington, which were railway lines. This shows that the people decided to go to railway shelters instead of resorting to the ones the government provided them. The German air raids were not on London in 1940, but many other British cities were also blitzed. This shows a drop in morale, it was obviously caused by the Luftwaffe during the course of the blitz. This could be one of the reasons why the government feared the moral of the county was due to these incidents, which display fear among the people that may lead to a very low moral. The other reasons were that people in the east end of London started to dislike the Royal Family and according to source F it states that the people booed them when they visited the raided areas. This was because the royal family weren't bombed during their visit and this caused the people to believe that the royal family never knew their pain and suffering. The government in some cases had to 'calm' the British panic stricken civilians and talk them into staying so that the British factories could keep producing weapons and other items that are need for the war effort.
5) Study all the sources and use your own knowledge.
‘The impression that the British faced the Blitz with courage and unity is a myth.’ Use the sources, and your own knowledge, to explain whether you agree with this statement.
This statement is partially incorrect. This is because the British people did stand together in most cases supporting each other in the form of volunteering for work. Some volunteers helped in building shelters for the citizens living in the city. In most cases the volunteers who were civilians ran into flaming buildings to save others. This shows that the civilians did carry out acts of bravery. There were many cases where the situation couldn't get any worse and in this hour of distress was when the people of London carried on moving and carried on doing what they could to help the situation to get better. For example they helped to put out their neighbours fires, volunteered in removing unexploded bombs. I believe that this level of morale in certain areas of England were a due to the government censoring the photos which the public didn't need to know about. The Blitz was not only targeting London but also other British cities by the end of August 1940, when Birmingham and Liverpool were attacked, but on 7th September the Blitz intensified when around 950 German aircraft attacked London.
Source A which shows bodies which were sacked up in a rubble covered area the king and queen stayed in London even after the bomb hit part of the Buckingham palace because that incident brought the people together and made know that their leaders are suffering with them and that they are not the only ones.
I believe that the statement " The impression the British faced the blitz with courage and unity is a myth." is also partially correct, this is because the photos that were published were of the minority example is source C. I believe that this was what the government wanted the public to see and not how the public reacted in the west end on England. In my opinion the reason why the people in the photo reacted with their thumbs up were probably due to the excitement of having their photo taken which was going to be published on the newspaper. Source F also suggests that in the east end of London, where the damage was done by the blitz was very great, there were many civilians who were very agitated due to their loss; when the king and queen went to visit this damaged area it was said that they were booed at because the people believed that the king and queen didn't know the suffering that they were going through. Most of them felt that they (the poor) were the only people who were affected.
