The Blitz - source related questions and answers

In Source C, all the occupants of the estate are in front of all their property rescued from their houses, smiling up at the camera, some with their thumbs up. The media turned the tragedy into an event to show the community true British grit in the face of disaster and to boost the morale. It has obviously been staged, as there are not many possibilities as to why that many people would look up in the same direction and smile at the same time. The feeling amongst the British people must have been low if the media had to try and turn such a catastrophe into a positive thing. The Blitz had also left those people in the photos homeless, with only their properties to carry around after themselves.

3. Study Sources B, C and D

Does Source D support the evidence of Sources B and C about the damage done during the air raids?

In Source B, there's debris and dead bodies in body sacking lying around on the floor. In Source C, there are the properties of the tenants forced out of their homes due to the bombing. In Source D, there don't seem to be any dead bodies but there seems to be loads of objects scattered on the road, and debris from the house that was blown up. There also looks like there's an argument as another person steals an object from the pile in the road. However, the house that's been blown up is not shown in the picture, much like in Source C. Only Source C and D show items of personal property. Source B does not, as the photo was not taken on someone's personal property. In Source C and B, you see people pulled together by tragedy: In Source C, they're keeping their stuff together and seem to be in high spirits, and in Source B, the workers are working, albeit silently, to clear up the mess the bombing left behind. However, in Source D, there seems to be someone stealing from the property spilled into the street, which is almost completely the opposite to what is happening in the sources B and C, where the people are actually working together. Source C and B were both taken in the same year, 1940, Source C in September, and D in November. There was only 2 months difference, and yet the effect of the Blitz on the British public's morale, that they should be reduced to stealing is a significant event. After all the months of bombing they must have become used to the devastation caused, and some are now using it to what they see as their own advantage. Another similarity is that the Government censored both Sources B and D, as they did not think that the public needed to see the photographs, as they wanted to keep the country united and did not want to encourage thieves or to shock the public with the pictures.

4. Study Sources E, F and G, and use your own knowledge.

Use Sources 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?

In Sources E and F there are prime examples of low morale of the British public. In Source E, it shows the chaos of what is happening at the time. It is a secret government report, so was not released to the public, and written during the time of the war, so it is a primary information source. Its purpose was to inform the government of what was happening during the time it was written. The attitude of the British civilians was a very negative one. It describes hysteria as mothers and children flee from their districts. Taxi drivers also describe the increase of people going to the stations with their belongings. It also reports people running for shelters, instead of making their way along in an organized manner. This meant they were endangering themselves. People could be crushed in the rush down to the Underground or shelters. They would be carried along and then trodden on or they were in danger of falling onto the railway lines, as many disregarded the signs warning them to stay away or were simply pushed to their deaths.

Source F is an extract from Henry Nicholson's diary, who was very close to many members of the Government, so I can infer he was likely to be well informed. It was written just one week after Source E, and is also a primary source. It expresses worry about the morale in the east end of London. When the King and Queen visit the destroyed areas, the residents booed them. This shows that the respect of authority was fast disappearing and a restlessness that, if nurtured, could result in outbreaks of riots and rebellion. Also, as the King and Queen are figureheads of the country, it also shows that the people were not in support for the nation. These sources show that qualities needed during war, such as regard for others, were fading away.

Source G is from a book about the Second World War published in 1988, so it is a secondary source of information and not as reliable as source E or F. It describes the process of trekking. During the evening and night, the civilians would move to the countryside, where there was less chance of getting bombed. Then they would return to the town and work the morning after. Although Source G gives a positive outlook on this, illustrating how attendance in jobs was still good, at the time, trekking would have been another fear for the government. If the trekkers decided it was too much of a risk to return back to the cities, then they would stay in the countryside and there would be no one to work in the factories. During the first 9 months of the war, the 'Phoney' war, where the expected bombing did not occur, the British public may have slipped into a false sense of security. So they may have been unprepared to an extent. The economy would take a dive. Also, there would be no one to make the ammunition, planes, tanks and armaments necessary for the war. This would spark off a chain reaction. Without any ammunition, the troops would be helpless in battle, which would mean a great loss of life. This would be followed by a great demoralisation of the British public, which might have lead to British public insurrection. Loss of moral might also discourage people from fighting on the front. It was a large majority of factory workers that were trekking. If just half of them decided to quit their jobs and stay in the countryside for their own then the government would be in deep trouble.

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.

Although I agree with it, there are some of the seven sources seem to disagree with this statement. Source A does not agree with the statement and makes out that the British public were heroes without uniforms. However A is a secondary source, written half a century after the Blitz. It was also a book published to 'celebrate' the 50th anniversary of the Blitz. Source C is a primary source, but the newspapers blatantly staged it as a morale booster. Although the picture shows them happily smiling, it does not tell you what the people were really thinking. And it is useful evidence as government propaganda. The tenants are supposedly showing true British grit, but that is a contradiction to the fact that their houses were wrecked in the bombing raid. It could be a cover-up for the death and destruction that really could have happened. Nowhere does it mention that nobody was killed. Source G is a book written 48 years after the Blitz, so therefore it is also a secondary source of information. Source B is the picture of destruction at Catford Girls School. It is a primary source but was banned by the censors, as they did not think it would help with morale. This implies that the government did not think the British courage was not strong enough to hold up seeing pictures like that in the newspapers. Source D was also censored because of the scene of disaster and the thief stealing from the property strewn on the street. If the government had to keep pictures like that away from the public, then they obviously did not think of the great British spirit.