Source C on the other hand shows the positiveness in the face of adversity and the collective spirit that everyone has to one another. It shows that even though they have removed their belongings to this hall and are still positive-sense of defiance.
I think though that this is all to good to be true, it is rare that this type of situation would occur (picture being taken at height) and the picture has been taken on the 15th September 1940 which is only eight days into the Blitz , this is hardly a long time for people to lose their determination and morale . The picture has picture has obviously then been staged as it would be hard to find a situation like this, the government are clearly concerned about morale at the current time and believe that this is a good way to keep up morale. This photo is obviously an unreliable source but again is useful to show that moral may have gone down very quickly in the first few days of the Blitz.
3) Does source D support the evidence of Sources B and C about the damage done during air raids?
Source D supports source B as they were both censored (D until a further date), because they could damage moral as there is no community spirit in D, due to arguing and there are deaths in B, they are also similar as not all the buildings which are visible from the photo have not all been damaged.
Source D supports C because it shows people getting on and coping with life, as we see people walking around the streets in D and happy/positive faces in source C.
The evidence of source D doesn’t support that of B because even though there has been destruction, people in source B have reacted better and are working together, whereas in D we see an argument taking place. Also there is no emergency services in D (even though there is no deaths there is cause for injury), which there are in B, this adds to the anger and desperation that seems to be taking place.
Source D undermines C because they both show totally different attitudes to the Blitz, C shows a collective and determined spirit but D shows arguing and discontinuity. There seems to be real damage in the air raid on Coventry (D) with debris and obliterated buildings and we don’t see this in C we are only told that ‘houses were wrecked’. D is also genuine and shows the real actions of people during the Blitz, C however is blatantly staged. D is censored whereas C is pure propaganda.
4) Use Sources E, F and G, and your own knowledge, to explain why the government was concerned about the morale of the British people in the autumn of 1940?
The government were concerned about the morale of the British people as they knew it could have a knock on effect on the war effort.
Source E says that ‘when the siren goes , people run madly for shelters’, this shows a lack or order/ morale that the government wants to maintain law, order and air raid regulations. The morale of the people can also effect the economy and Industrial production , source G comments that people ‘trekked’ from Epping forest to work, although this shows fear it still meant that tanks etc could be produced.
The government also had a fear that the public may panic over the air strikes, source E, ‘mothers and young children hysterical and asking to be removed from the district’, the government did not want people running around like ‘headless chickens’, they knew that if fear was struck amongst the British people the Germans would be winning and the morale of the military could go down.
Not only was the war about military power, it was about determination and bravery, all of which every British civilian could possess. The situation across the country was that serious with nearly every major industrial city being bombed from Sheffield to Southampton and daily deaths and destruction of buildings. The bombings of the east end were that serious that people started to lose faith in the monarchy, source F ‘there is much bitterness-it is said that even the King and Queen were booed the other day when they visited destroyed areas.’ If morale can be kept up people will help each other and lives can be saved through this , the fact that people were starting to lose morale at the start of the Blitz was a huge worry to the government , source F again shows a lose of moral only a few weeks into the bombings -17 September 1940. The government knew that there was a long way to go in the war and in the Blitz, it was important to keep public spirit up to not let the Germans succeed in one of their aims and to help win the war , a full scale German invasion could therefore possibly be avoided.
5) ‘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.
It could be said that the British determination and courage was all hype, as all of the information people were being shown throughout the war was most probably propaganda, as the government censored most things that were shown to the public. There is another argument to go with this, if the government knew that the morale amongst the public was good then they could possibly show the real truth, such as source B and D, as they knew it could not drastically effect the morale of the people.
Source D shows an argument taking place and disorganisation which is the opposite of unity and good spirit, it could be said that people are being selfish and using the Blitz to their advantage (looting). People are also said to have been fearful throughout the Blitz , sources E says that ‘people madly run for shelters when the siren goes’ and source G states that ‘Londoners trekked to Epping Forest’ , this clearly does not follow the theory that the courageous Brits stood up to the German bombing with ‘grit’.
On the other hand propaganda could have its uses, censoring the media means that the public are only subjected to the heroic stories and pictures of unity , for example source C which shows collective spirit and unity , and thus public morale is always kept at a positive level. Even though fear is being shown, it is generally a positive move for people to be trekking in/out to avoid the heavy bombing upon the East End (source G), it shows that people are still insistent on surviving the raids and want to work to help the war effort. Source A comments on the ‘heroic stance‘ the British made amongst the tragic situations. I think we must remember that of course people are going to be fearful of Germans bombs and are going to be sad when there houses or relatives are killed or destroyed , this does not directly mean though that people lose faith in the war effort, the long term effect may be that they strive to defeat the Germans. There is no evidence through the sources that people showed a ‘giving in’ attitude, as no one would want to circum to terror that the Germans had inflicted upon so many other countries in Europe. The fact that Buckingham Palace was also bombed shows that every one was a target in Britain and that people would have to work together no matter what status in order to help the war effort.
Source G tells us that people were still working in industry, an indication that life was still going on as it would normally.
In concluding and weighing up the evidence I disagree with the statement ‘The impression that the British faced the Blitz with courage and unity is a myth,’ source B shows death and destruction but also a feeling of unity and defiance which was shown amongst the population. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would not stand up to the Germans with courage and instead surrender to their terrible regime that took many innocent life’s. The majority of people followed government restrictions and just under one and a half million people were evacuated to safer areas and others obeyed the ARP regulations and woman worked incredibly hard in factories to produce ammunition.
The government only used propaganda to 100% make sure that morale would not fall, I believe that without the morale the military would have been under strength and the battle against the Germans could not have been won.
