The Blitz had an effect on all major cities in Britain; thousands had been killed in the bombings in Britain. The first attacks were aimed at the east end of London and at the London docks. This caused widespread damage as London was the most populated and as an effect of the Blitz hundreds of Londoners became devastating casualties in one night. An effect of the Blitz was major also on other cities like Coventry, which suffered appalling damage, a report on a raid in Coventry in 1940 stated four thousand people were killed and one third of the city was extensively damaged. Civilians had to face living in fear that their major cities could be bombed and that they could be killed in a bombing raid at any time.
The Germans also bombed industrial targets as part of the Blitz and so the British people’s lives became difficult due to these everyday bombings of industries and homes. Although extensive damage was caused to industrial targets, the German planes were less successful with these targets as more accuracy was needed. People were not affected by the bombings of factories as they could pull through quickly and employment was maintained.
People had to protect themselves from the Blitz and as an effect they had to drastically change how they slept at night; different kinds of shelters were built, many people moved to ground floors, Londoners slept underground and many people actually moved from their homes to escape the bombings. Normal life was overturned as an effect of the Blitz and so British people found different ways to avoid the bombs. Blackouts were introduced to avoid the Blitz and affected the British people at night because they had to be very considerate and turn the lights off so Germans wouldn’t know where to bomb as ARP wardens made Blackouts compulsory. Hence it was serious not to comply with the blackout regulations. Some reports in the east end suggested that people struggled to cope with the effects of the blitz causing disruptions and damage and so panic filled the city, due to difficulties of obtaining bread and milk. The British survived the blitz but with terrible effect, high numbers of casualties threatened morale. It had been said that despite the Blitz threat to morale, the Blitz actually brought people together. Struggling to cope with the bombings and disruptions to their everyday lives people actually stayed determined not to let the Germans succeed and so stayed together despite social background. However critics stated that as an effect of the Blitz the British peopled did not cope well and showed evidence of people running way.
On some nights the Blitz caused so much damage and as affect information had to be controlled to make sure that the Germans were not destroying morale. The Ministry of Information did not allow photos of panic and extensive damage to be shown. For example details of the attack in Portsmouth was never seen and neither was the report on Coventry showing the effect of the blitz as large casualties and people running away could damage national morale. However, people were allowed to see positive stories showing a determined and untied Britain fighting Hitler, these images strengthened national morale. Therefore, only reports and photos showing people supporting he war were allowed. As a result of the governments concern to limit these damaging pieces of information people only received information that would guarantee their continued support for the war effort. However, as an result people were not really getting an accurate view on these events taking place in their everyday lives. There were in some cases sheltered from some of the more devastating impacts the blitz was having.
I feel that the major effect and the most important effect of The Blitz on everyday life in Britain were the devastation causes to cities and industries. This had a devastating on people as their homes and workplaces were being destroyed. The government withheld information on the extent of damage caused to cities and industries because they did not want Hitler to believe he was being successful in destroying people’s morale, this was one of his main aims in the Blitz campaign.
Q3
In what ways did the government attempt to hide the effects of the Blitz form the people of Britain?
The British Government attempted to hide the effects of the Blitz by using censor to cut out information damaging to morale, using positive information about how people were coping with the Blitz and by allowing the Ministry of Information to use propaganda, which encouraged people to continue to support the war effort.
Censors did not allow newspapers to publish stories and photos reporting high civilian casualties in areas bombed by the Germans; these stories and photos were also not allowed to be published by the ministry of information. The Government had to block out more negative information from the people of Britain. For example, a report describing the breakdown of morale and law order following the bombing of a naval base was never published as it showed the police unable to stop looting and rioting. When a school was bombed in July 1943 photographs showing scenes of bodies in sacks were banned from being published. This needed to be hidden by the government and so reports were never seen. Reports of people feeling hopeless ad bitter were not allowed, as it would let Hitler succeed in his aim of breaking morale. Information of this nature had to be censored to avoid the enemy getting hold of it. Censors were people who studied newspapers and films. They cut out damaging information and worked for the government or the Ministry of Information. The government tried to hide the effects of the Blitz by banning stories, photos and reports that showed negative information that might show the Germans successfully destroying people’s morale and damaging cities.
The government feared that if people saw the devastation, panic and disorder they might think they were losing the war and so give up. As a result the British Government limited such information because they needed to maintain public morale to continue with the war. If the public saw a lot of these stories then they might begin to question the chance of victory. It was important that the public believed that victory was possible even during the Blitz.
As an attempt to hide the effects of the Blitz the Ministry of Information encouraged newspapers so show photos of people smiling and giving victory signs and so showed the British to be victorious and courageous against the Nazi’s. Newspapers showed articles which spoke about the number of German aircraft shot down by the RAF. However, the devastation of Luftwaffe a raids and casualties were hidden from the public. Newspapers also showed the heroic work of the emergency services and the ARP wardens giving help and trying to rescue people in bombed areas. Reports also showed the positiveness of people sticking together, helping each other through terrible conditions and danger. People were also shown carrying on with daily business in bombed areas and singing songs of victory.
The government tried to hide the effect of the Blitz from the people by allowing only positive information such as stories, photographs and reports which showed the British people coping commendably with the Blitz. Instead of mentioning the devastation and commotion, the government wanted people to see how everyone was staying untied during the horrific Nazi attacks. The British government wanted to send inspiration out to others of these courageous act and hope that these stories would give others hope to continue. Censors and the Ministry of Information encouraged positive stories for war effort to continue.
Posters, film, radio and the press were all used to support the war effort. Rather than reporting effects of bombing the government used these to keep up morale and showed how people could support war effort. The Ministry of Information that published in newspapers showed the certainty of beating Hitler by writing articles. Radio programmes were made which showed people to look on the bright side of life such as a major hit called ‘It’s that man again’, which poked fun at Hitler. The Ministry of Information used filmmakers such as Humphrey Jennings to make films to build morale. These films showed life after the victory of war. They didn’t just inform but inspire. The government went to such extremes to hide the effects of the Blitz that they even faked photographs to make sure people still hated the Germans. For example, flames and clouds were added to St Paul’s Cathedral in a photo to show everything truly British was under attack and must be defended. This made the British people more determined. The role of the Ministry of Information was to inform people about the war and at the same time maintain morale. The Government tried to hide the effect of the Blitz from the people by producing lots of films, stories and reports which encouraged people to support the war effort rather than think of the problems the Blitz was causing. By producing stories of heroic events the government was trying to set examples which would overcome depression of British people about the Blitz. The Ministry of Information’s campaign was particularly important in order to prevent the German propaganda Campaign of ‘Lord Haw’ destroying British people’s confidence. The British propaganda campaign was vital in order to maintain public morale needed for the war.
It can be said that the British government were acting dishonestly in hiding information on the effect of the Blitz that might be damaging to the morale of the British people. However, the withholding of information on the true effects of Blitz also had a positive impact on the British morale. The propaganda campaign emphasising British success and a united and courageous Britain did not actually imitate the truth of the situation but was needed to maintain support for the war effort and to strengthen morale. British civilians needed to be sheltered from the harsh realities from the Blitz, even though they may have been directly affected by it. The scale of the damage had to be downplayed by the government as the British population on a whole would clearly find it difficult to cope with devastations of cities homes and thousands of casualties on such a large scale. The support from the public was vital to keep up morale and the war effort. The British government needed to keep morale high to show the enemy that they were not being successful.
