It is quite useful in helping me understand the effect of the blitz on the people of Britain because it shows how it really was. It shows that there were tragedies. The picture is unclear so it is hard to tell their emotions. Just on the first night of the blitz 7th/8th September 430 were killed and 16,000 injured!
Source C is a photograph published on 15th September 1940 with its original caption. “During the raids on London last night some North London houses were bombed. Their houses were wrecked but the tenants of the buildings still showed the British “grit”. The word “grit” means courage and determination. This photo is a piece of posed propaganda. I know it is posed propaganda because everyone is looking at the camera. I think that the photographer is in a house window or a raised platform.
Everyone is smiling and have their thumbs up. They have all their furniture intact. If their house had just been wrecked by a bomb, the furniture would have definitely have been destroyed. If your house has just been destroyed you certainly wouldn’t be smiling. You would be angry and annoyed. Not smiling and sticking your thumbs up.
I think that the government took this photo to send out to all the people who had, unfortunately had their house’s destroyed, to show even through their devastation they were still smiling. They also would have put it in newspapers and on posters to keep morale up.
Were these people actually eyewitnesses to the blitz or are they actors? Was it actually taken in London? There are quite a few questions that you cannot answer as the picture is quite unclear.
Question 3
Study Source B, C, and D
Does Source D support the evidence of Source B and C about the damage done during the air raids?
The photograph in Source D was taken on 15th November 1940 after an air raid on Coventry, but it was not published until February 1941. It was captioned ‘Sorting Personal Property’. In the photo there are two people who look like they are arguing over something. They are probably arguing over a piece of property. The woman looks like she is angry, her house has probably just been bombed. I don’t think that this picture is posed because of the way everyone is standing plus no one is looking at the camera. There are two people arguing and a woman who is looking the way of the camera, she is holding some sort of bag, in which could hold all her possessions but there is a queue of people who look like they are waiting for a bus. I cannot confirm that because the picture is unclear. But if they are waiting for a bus then that shows that they are trying to get on as usual.
During the Blitz Coventry was the centre of the motor industry. Whilst there were blackouts crime and rape soared. Source B is similar to Source D because both pictures are of the aftermath of a devastating air raid. In source B air raid wardens are putting bodies into sacking, but in source D it is of people sorting out personal property. In source C it’s a fake. It is a piece of posed propaganda. I know this because all the people are looking at the camera and they all have smiles on their faces. Source D supports the evidence of Source B because they are both pictures of the actual war and the devastation the air raids caused, but Source C is a piece of propaganda so it is misleading evidence because it is posed and fake.
In conclusion the evidence in Source B is supporting source D but source C doesn’t support it because it is posed propaganda.
Question 4
Study Sources E, F and G and use your own knowledge.
Use Source 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?
Source E is an extract from a secret report to the government by the Ministry Of Information. It is dated 10 September 1940. “When the siren goes, people run madly for shelter. Citizen’s Advice Bureau is inundated with mothers and young children hysterical and asking to be removed from the district.” The source is trying to say that the British people weren’t as laid back about the blitz as Source C was trying to precipitate. They were worried for their survival and concerned for their children. They just wanted to get out of London. “Taxi drivers reported taking group after group to Euston and Paddington.”
Source F is an extract from Harold Nicolson’s diary. It is dated 17th September 1940. Again this Source is saying that the British people were in fear for their lives. “In the east end of London there is much bitterness”. The high unemployment of the 1930’s wouldn’t have helped the situation. “The King and Queen were booed the other day when they visited the destroyed areas.” I think that the people of London felt betrayed and lied to.
Source G is from a book called ‘Don’t you know there’s A War on?’ It was published in 1988. This book is based on the goings on in Coventry. In World War One, Coventry became established as centre for the motor industry. Large numbers of local people were employed in the motor industry. “Planes, tanks and armaments rolled off the assembly lines.” During the night raids communities ‘trekked’ into the countryside to escape the bombs. “Understandably there were widespread fears during the blitz, entire communities migrated into the countryside, or “trekking” as it was called then. So Londoners escaped to Epping Forest during the bombing of the East End.” Most of the people who trekked were the same people who turned up for work the next day.
Some children, mothers and pregnant women were evacuated from Coventry on 3 and 4 September 1939. Only about 25 per cent of those eligible for evacuation actually left, as at that early stage of the war the threat of bombs seemed distant. On 14th May, 1940, the Government broadcast a message asking for volunteers for the LDV (Local Defense Volunteers). On 23rd August, 1940, Winston Churchill changed the name of the LDV to the Home Guard.
The Home Guard was formed when there was a real risk of invasion. Most men who could fight were already in the forces, those that were left were either too young, too old, or in reserved occupations (those jobs vital to the war effort). The men who volunteered to join the Home Guard at this time were expected to fight an invasion of crack German troops with nothing more than a collection of old shotguns and pieces of gas pipe with bayonets welded on the end.
Morale means the state of the spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks. The Government was concerned about morale because if you have good morale then you are stronger and more willing to fight and destroy the evil Nazis. An example of good morale is people ‘trekking’ into the forests at night, coming back in the morning and going to work. That is good morale. But if you have poor morale you are weaker, you wouldn’t want to fight and you would eventually lose the war. If you had poor morale you probably wouldn’t go ‘trekking’ but if you did then you wouldn’t go to work the next day. The women in the factories had to have good morale, they had to keep making ammunition, planes and tanks because the army desperately needed them.
To keep morale up the government used a number of tactics. Propaganda posters and films, posters, radio and newspaper articles to raise morale. Basically the government was lying to the public to raise morale and keep everyone focused on victory.
Churchill was one of the very few right wing politicians. Churchill never lost faith and always had good morale. He never even thought about giving in to the inferior enemy, the Nazis. ‘‘If the British Empire can last for a thousand years, this will be their finest hour.”
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 weather you agree with this statement.
From what I have read and from what the sources have told me, I believe that it is a myth that the British were courageous and brave though the Blitz.
Source A is a feel good book; it has extracts from other peoples stories that have probably made it subtly better than it actually was. You only tend to remember the good parts. I also think it is subconsciously biased because it is fifty years after the actual event so most of the ‘facts’ would be slightly to very inaccurate.
Source B is a picture of a girls school which had been bombed. It is dated 21st January 1943. The picture was banned by censors because the Government didn’t want people to see dead children in sacking and to show the true extent of the Blitz. The picture is unclear but I think that air raid wardens are just trying to get on with their job. It isn’t posed because why would a censor ban a picture that Government taken. On the first night of the Blitz 430 people were killed and 16,000 seriously injured.
Source C is a photograph taken on the 15th September 1940 with its original caption, “During raids on London last night some North London houses were bombed. Their houses are wrecked but the tenants of the buildings are still showing the British “grit”. Grit means courage and determination.
Source C is a piece of posed propaganda. I know it is staged because everyone is looking at the camera, they are all smiling and they all have their thumbs up. If your house had just been totally destroyed you wouldn’t be smiling and you certainly wouldn’t have your furniture intact. I don’t even thing that the people were eyewitnesses to the Blitz, I don’t even think that the picture was taken in London. This picture goes to show how the Government was prepared to do anything to keep morale up.
Source D is a picture that was taken on the 15th November 1940 after an air raid on Coventry, but wasn’t published until February 1941. It was captioned ‘sorting private property’. Everyone’s belongings and personal property are scattered on the road. The image suggests that it isn’t staged. It isn’t a piece of propaganda because no-one is looking at the camera, except one woman who I think has just glanced round. In the foreground there are two people arguing. It is unclear what they are arguing over but I expect it is over a piece of property. The ground is full of rubble and rubbish. In the background however there is a queue of people. They look as if they are waiting for a bus. This shows that the British people tried to get on with life as much as they could, but in this circumstance I don’t think the bus will come because of all the rubble you can see in the background.
Source E is an extract from a secret report by the Ministry of Information. It is dated 10 September 1940. This evidence must be reliable because it is a secret report telling the Government what it was actually like in the ‘hard hit’ areas. This piece of evidence to me is the most convincing that the British didn’t face the Blitz with courage and unity. “When the siren goes, people madly run for shelters. Citizen Advice Bureau is inundated with young children and mothers hysterical and asking to be removed from the district.” The use of the word hysterical makes them sound so much more desperate to leave. This word also creates a sense of chaos. “Taxi drivers report taking group after group to Euston and Paddington with belongings.” .This is further evidence that the British people weren’t as brave as some sources make them out to be.
Source F is an extract from Harold Nicolson’s diary. It is dated 17th September 1940. Harold Nicolson also knew several members of the Government. He says that there was much bitterness. This could have been because at the end of the 1930’s there was high unemployment or because the people of Britain felt betrayed by the Government. “It is said that even the King and Queen were booed the other day.” I don’t think that he was an actual witness to the King and Queen being booed because he uses ‘it is said that’. This means that he must have heard it from someone else. But I do think that the British people felt betrayed.
Source G is an extract from a book called ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’ It was published in 1988. During the war Coventry produced planes, tanks and armaments. I think that this book is out to tell people about the war and what it was like, although I think that it will be subconsciously biased.
In conclusion I think that the British people weren’t as courageous as the Sources would like us to believe. The only sources that aren’t biased or propaganda based are source B, D, E and F. The most compelling evidence is in Source E. I think that it is the most reliable because it is an actual report. “Young children and mothers hysterical and asking to be removed from the district”. The word ‘hysterical’ makes an image of chaos in your mind. This shows what the Blitz was really like.
The images in source B and in source D shows how destructive the blitz was, and it also shows how peoples lives had been destroyed.
Although most of the sources are propaganda filled and biased it still gives me an insight into what it was like to be in London during the blitz.
