Question 2
Source B and C show two very different views of the effects on the British during the Blitz. Source B being banned by censors during the Blitz shows that images that really did matter to Britain weren’t being publicised, this may have had a huge effect on the people of Britain because it was as though the people of Britain were being mislead as to what the Blitz really was doing to the people of their country. Whereas source C is a positive image that almost certainly would have been posed for. The government published this photo a lot to create a positive and ‘high-moral’ image to present to the nation to keep their unity and spirits high. So again Britain was being mislead again into looking at images that were taken during the Blitz that were false. The government did this because they were afraid that the British people would loose moral and become afraid, this would mean that people might panic and not turn up to work. The two sources together demonstrate censorship greatly as source B shows death and the truth and source C shows a false image of ‘community spirit.’ Both photos say that they were both taken in London; this limits us being able to see the effects on Britain and its people as it only shows us one main area. B and C also only show these two images over a long period of the bombing during the Blitz.
Question 3
Sources B and C are supported by source D because a lot of damage is shown that had been caused by air raids during the Blitz. It also supports B because both photos were censored although D was released to the public sooner than B was aloud to be published. Sources B, C and D also have differences as well as being able to support each other; source D looks natural and doesn’t look posed at all. Source D does not show dead people so it does not support B in that way. Source D supports B and C when showing why censorship was introduced, because it ‘does’ show damage, the same as B and C, but doesn’t show it to the extent of B , showing the dead, which is probably why photo D was released soon than B.
Question 4
We know source E would make the government concerned because it is a secret report from the ministry of information telling the government that the moral of British people was dropping rapidly. It shows that not only was the moral being lost but the people of Britain were panicking very badly every time the sirens went off. They have used dramatic words such as ‘hysterical’ to make sure the government knew the true extent of how serious this was. We know that this was not exaggerated because there were reports from taxi drivers taking large groups of people to Euston and Paddington, wanting to move away from London.
Source F shows us that an opinion of someone who was alive during the war, we are able to tell that this is a very reliable source because it is a diary entry and has been written for his own purposes and for only him to read. We can also tell that the British people must have had very low moral because even the King and Queen were being booed. This is again a very reliable source because if he did know several members of the government they must have told him things such as what is in the extract ‘everyone is worried’ he must have meant the government by ‘everyone.’ 1940 was a particularly bad year of the Blitz as the Germans were dropping an average of 250 tonnes of bombs each time they attacked Britain. I know that one of Germanys aims was to bomb factories which armour and ammo was being produced in. Also in 1940 there was the Dunkirk incident that was hidden by the media and government and there was also the fall of France, which made Britain scared because they felt as though they were standing on their own with Germany.
Question 5
I disagree with the statement that the people faced the Blitz with courage and unity. Source A shows courage and unity, however this is only one persons opinion and displays very little reliable information on the Blitz. Sources B and C displays very well how I was led to believe that there was very little courage and unity during the Blitz. I know that the government controlled photos taken that were published so moral would not be broken and to create the idea of great community spirit. So C does show unity but is posed. Source B displays my main reason as to why I disagree that there was courage and unity. B shows the real effects the Blitz had on the people of Britain and it also demonstrates censorship, again proving the government was hiding things like this to try and raise moral.
Sources E, F and G show that people were afraid and ununified, showing low moral. These sources are very likely to be true and reliable in upholding my opinion of Britain not having courage and unity.
All sources deal with only London and Coventry. I know that these were both major cities that were bombed during the Blitz. So I cannot judge on how the whole of Britain faced the Blitz as sources A-G are only based around London.
Overall all sources and facts I know suggest to me that the people of Britain were not unified and there was very little courage being felt by the people of Britain.
