What can you learn from source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz?
Britain in the Age of Total War
Question One
Study Source A.
What can you learn from source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz?
The Blitz was a period within 'World War Two' starting upon the 7th of September 1940 and lasting until Mid-May 1941. The aim of the Blitz was to destroy the British morale by intensively bombing the major cities in England. Hitler had turned his attention to the British populous after his attempt to cripple the RAF failed. As a result, World War Two became known as a 'Total War' because it affected both the soldiers fighting in the front line, and the civilians at home.
Source A, is an extract from 'Waiting For The All Clear,' a book published in 1990 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz. Source A can teach us much about the response of the British people during the Blitz. We are informed that the British people had "an unshakable determination." Along with this, they 'kept their sense of humour.' The source goes on to tell us that people 'didn't have to be in uniforms to be heroes,' here the source is referring to the fact that normal people were thought of as being as courageous as those in the battlefield. ARP(air raid protection) wardens, firemen, police and many other institutes that helped the public. Also people who were everyday going people were also seen as heroes as they too helped England to pull through the 'Lightening War.' We can learn that there was a great deal of apparent unity from the British public in Response to the Blitz.
The attitude of that 'the Blitz brought out the best' in people is evident in this source.
We are told that 'Out of terror and tragedy came courage'. This suggests that during the Blitz, the British people had very high morale it was as though the Blitz brought out the best in people. This fact would undoubtedly relate back to the 'Dunkirk Spirit'. This was born when in 1940 between 27th May and 4th June, when approximately 340,000 men were rescued by the Royal Navy and hundreds of small privately owned boats in 'operation dynamo.' Even though the BEF has suffered some 68,000 casualties and left much armament behind, the 'Dynamo Operation' was heeded a great success and was certainly a propaganda victory for the British Government. We can therefore make the conclusion that the response of the British Public to the Blitz was largely controlled by the Government.
It could be argued that this source is indeed a form of propaganda. This is because it is from a book celebrating 'the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz.' As a result the book would only concentrate on the positive aspects of the Blitz, such as the 'unshakeable determination' shown by the British throughout the Blitz. The book would almost undoubtedly miss out the point that nearly 43,000 people had died because of the Blitz, and the many more thousands left homeless. Contributing to this is the fact that the extract from the book which is source A, is actually from the publisher's description of the book's contents on the inside front cover. This being the case I feel that source A will not touch upon the major negative issues during the Blitz as source A is basically an attempt to sell their book to the public, and stories of cowardice and low morale would not sell so well. This being the case we can not learn the true response of the British Public to the Blitz only from this source.
Consequently I feel that although there is much that can be learned from this source such as the 'unshakeable determination' that was shown by the British public. This is how the British public want to remember the Blitz and the reaction of the people to it. There is still a lot which we can not learn, things like the great hardships for the British with a lack of food and materials. The ordeals which they would have to go through when they would return from their shelters to find rubble where there houses once stood. The word 'memories' ...
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Consequently I feel that although there is much that can be learned from this source such as the 'unshakeable determination' that was shown by the British public. This is how the British public want to remember the Blitz and the reaction of the people to it. There is still a lot which we can not learn, things like the great hardships for the British with a lack of food and materials. The ordeals which they would have to go through when they would return from their shelters to find rubble where there houses once stood. The word 'memories' which comes up in the source on the last line is of great significance. It suggests opinions rather than facts relating to those who are writing the book. People tend to only remember the pleasant things and forget bad or negative events when writing down their 'memories,' for this is only "Human Nature."
Question Two
Study sources B and C.
How useful are sources B and C in helping you understand the effects of the Blitz on people in Britain?
The effects of the Blitz upon the British people were both positive and negative. From the negative viewpoint we can see that nearly 43,000 Londoners were killed. Many more thousands were made homeless. However it is also generally perceived that the Blitz brought out the 'Best in people,' as a result this effect of the Blitz was positive. I will be looking at two sources and seeing how useful they are in helping me to understand the effects of the Blitz upon the British people.
Source B is a photograph from the time of the Blitz in the year of 1943; it was taken in Britain at a bombsite. This bombsite is unfortunately at 'Catford Girl's School.' We are told that this photograph was not allowed to be published at the time of being photographed; the government censored it. This is when the government does not allow an article or photograph to be published because of its content. This photograph was not allowed to be published because of the distressing scenes it shows. The photograph shows dead bodies in sacking, you can imagine the impact that this photo would have had upon the British people during the Blitz if it was allowed to be published. The British people would have seen this as a sign of great loss as though they were losing the war. Maybe Hitler was beginning to win the war; maybe Britain was going too loose the war. These views would have undoubtedly crossed the minds of the British, if these pictures were licensed to be published. As they were not I believe that the government wanted British morale to remain high. From this I can conclude that there was a major fragility in the morale of the British, as the government did not see it adequate to publish these type of photographs. Along with this key fact I can also infer that as Source B shows children being bombed, this shows that evacuation was not a scheme that all children took part in. Consequently the British evacuation was not at the level at which they had intended.
Source C however is a photograph possibly showing the positive effects of the Blitz. The photograph was published in 1940 on the 15th of September. It pictures many Londoners standing together; they seem to be rather happy. On closer inspection of the source we are told that the people pictured had their houses 'wrecked' in bombing raids. This at first seems to be a saddening occurrence, as the people have had their houses bombed. But as we read further we can see why the people photographed are happy, for they kept the 'British grit' despite the horrifying events they were facing. This would've undoubtedly encouraged the morale of the British, as they would see this as a sign that everybody could beat the Germans. This fact would undoubtedly relate back to the 'Dunkirk Spirit'. This was born when in 1940 between 27th May and 4th June, when approximately 340,000 men were rescued by the Royal Navy and hundreds of small privately owned boats in 'operation dynamo.' Even though the BEF has suffered some 68,000 casualties and left much armament behind, the 'Dynamo Operation' was heeded a great success. Propaganda played a major role in the Dunkirk Spirit. It could be argued that this source is indeed a source of propaganda. This is because it was published to encourage British morale. Consequently it could be argued that this source is not very useful because it is biased.
We can also infer from the dates of the sources the effects that the Blitz had upon the British. As source C was taken at the start of the Blitz the true effects of the Blitz had not yet been felt. Whereas Source B was taken just after the peak of the Blitz consequently showing the effects of the Blitz. However I feel that Source C was published when it was, because the Government wanted to control their 'Public' and at the start of the Blitz felt they had to keep morale at a high level. However Source B was taken whilst the Blitz had almost finished running its course as a result the British Government did not have the intensity of the burden to keep morale high of that they had at the start of the Blitz.
Therefore I believe that both sources are useful to an extent. They show both good and bad points of the Blitz. But the fact that both sources are photographs they can be seen to be unreliable as photographs are "Snapshots in time."
Question Three
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?
Source D is a photograph taken on the 15th of November 1940 after the air raid on Coventry but was not published until February 1941. Hitler recalled planes from fronts all over Europe to deliver a crushing blow to the centre of the British car and aircraft production industry Coventry. Heavier than anything even London had experienced, such concentration on a provincial city with a tightly packed shopping centre was utterly devastating. The fires could be seen for miles.
The main reason for this short censorship is the distressing scenes it shows. Many buildings have been reduced to nothing more than rubble many people are homeless. We can also see that there seems to be much property which people have lost, as there are people trying to sort the rubble from the personal property of people.
Sources B and C therefore to a large extent are supported by source D. In source B we can see the saddening scenes of a girl school having been obliterated by the Germans. We can also see the dead bodies of girls put away in sacks. Source B, was also censored by the government for a while before it was released. Source C on the other hand wasn't censored at all by the government. This is because it shows many people all gathered together and smiling, consequently it is not a saddening photograph.
Source B, however has less in common with source D, but source C has more in common with source D. This is because it seems to me to me that both photographs are sources of 'Propaganda.' Source C pictures many Londoners together; seeming to be happy. Source D however shows buildings having been bombed, people looking scared, all in all showing disheartening scenes. So at first glance source D seems to be a natural photo having not been tempered with.
But on closer inspection we can see that this photograph was captioned with 'Sorting Personal Property.' This would have undoubtedly increased morale as people would think that if these people are moving on, as they are 'sorting personal property' after being bombed. So why shouldn't we?
This small line, this small sentence turns this once distressing photograph into propaganda genius. Along with this it also cast doubt over the neutrality of the source. Was the photograph tampered with, whilst it was censored by the British government for three months? Have they cut out possible pictures of dead bodies, of children? All we can see are 5-6 people 'sorting personal property.' We can not see any people mourning? Were these factors not evident when the photograph was originally taken or did the government tamper with it, did they always intend to release the photograph as Propaganda? Therefore I feel even though this source shows the severity of bombing by the 'Luftwaffe' upon Coventry was bad, I believe it does not show the full extent.
This fact of bias propaganda is also evident in source C. Yes we can see homeless people as in source D, and yes we can say that there are a lot of people who are homeless, this does support the great damage done in source D. But we can also say that this photograph is too Propaganda. We are told the people that the people pictured had their houses 'wrecked' again supporting source D. This at first seems to be a saddening occurrence as the people have had their houses bombed. But as we read further we can see why the people photographed are happy, for they kept the 'British Grit' despite the horrifying events they were facing. The British government would have released this photograph to keep morale high. Using it as propaganda as with source D. As a result it casts doubt on the natural nature of the source. Was this source (C) all hoaxed? Were these people brought in from the street, to pause, as homeless people? Was the damage so bad that after the Blitz that so many people were made homeless? Because of the biased view of this source we must consider these questions.
Therefore I believe that source B, though not published until after the Blitz, shows the true severity of the bombing. Source D does agree with this. It was not allowed to be published when it was taken, again source D having similarities with source B. However source B was not released as propaganda, thus it is more reliable than sources C and D on the damage done by the Blitz.
We can also infer from the dates of the sources the effects that the Blitz had upon the British. As sources C and D were taken at the start of the Blitz the true effects of the Blitz had not yet been felt. Whereas Source B was taken just after the peak of the Blitz consequently showing the effects of the Blitz. However I feel that Sources C and D were published when they were, because the Government wanted to control their 'Public' and at the start of the Blitz felt they had to keep morale at a high level. However Source C was taken whilst the Blitz had almost finished running its course as a result the British Government did not have the intensity of the burden to keep morale high of that they had at the start of the Blitz.
Question Four.
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?
The declaration of war struck fear throughout many people in Britain. The Government, such as in the First World War took emergency powers. This changed the lives of millions of people throughout the country. Britain feared that bombing would play a great part in the Second World War. For this reason many children had to be evacuated out of the major cities and into the countryside, where the bombing was a lot less intense or non-existent. With all men between the ages of 19 and 40 conscripted to the armed forces in 1939, the old people and women found themselves alone and needing to be independent for the first time. In 1940 they started to ration the supplies of food. At the beginning it was just the basic foods that were rationed such as sugar, butter, cheese, and bacon. Then, later on in 1940 other meats and tea were rationed as well. There was a policy for equal shares on all of the basic foods and anything else was purchased on a point's basis. This caused long queues, which was another one of the problems that the home front had to face. Many would even sleep outside the shop doors in order to get their rations. The black market flourished in some areas selling off goods that were rationed or were hard to get hold of. London was bombed on 75 out of 76 nights. People
built Anderson shelters in their garden or took refuge down the tube
stations. Although Anderson shelters could not survive a direct hit they
could protect families from nearby blasts. People were not completely safe
in the underground because if a bomb went down a ventilation shaft then most people below would die. Coventry suffered the second worst attacks
especially on November 4th 1940 when a massive air raid caused 30% of its buildings to be destroyed including the Cathedral.
The British morale seemed to be high in the Autumn of 1940. However there are suggestions that not all morale was high during the Blitz. For example in source E, we are told how people would "run madly" around when the "siren" would go off. This suggests that many people were scared about what was happening almost "hysterical," thus the government would be concerned for British morale. However this source is not very reliable as it was published by the "Ministry of Information" basically the governments personal propaganda agency.
In source F, we are told that "even the King and Queen were booed" when they visited bombsites. This would have been very concerning for the government as the King and Queen were seen as major role models back in World War Two. If they were being booed the British morale had too have been low. This source is reliable as it is a diary entry from "Harold Nicholson," this being the case nobody was supposed to read it, adding to its reliability. Along with this Nicholson knew several members of the government showing that he knew the current affairs of the country.
Muazzam Chaudhri 11O
History
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