'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.

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Roya Hassanzadeh, 11Bs3, Ashmole School                                                       20th October, 2003

History Coursework: Britain in the Age of Total War 1939 - 1945

  1. 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.  

Since the Allies won the war in 1945 and in the 60 intervening years since the Blitz, the British people have honoured their war dead and cherished the memories that sustained them during what was a time of fear, despair and depravation.  There are many theories about how we remember and about why we remember things in the way that we do.  This includes being selective in our recall.  Much of our understanding of the manner in which the British faced the Blitz is coloured by both the positive outcome of the war, and by the way we have chosen, with hindsight, to depict ourselves.  

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The Sources provide different interpretations of how the British faced the Blitz.  The government was clearly worried about the morale of the British people, particularly during the sustained period of bombing that took place between September 1940 and May 1941.  This is supported by the fact that the information contained in Sources B, D and E was kept from the public.  However it is unclear whether this was done in order to maintain high morale or raise already low morale.  

The evidence from Sources D, E and F, together with our common sense, would suggest that the ...

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