The British Government wanted to prepare and be safe if another war did break out. Throughout the 1930’s preparations for civil defence were inhibited. A short-term cause for evacuation was the Munich crisis in September 1938 when evacuation rehearsals were carried out. Preparations for evacuation had taken place long before September 1939, after such incidents as Mussolini’s conquest of Abyssinia 1956 - 1936, when Italy heavily bombed its cities and innocent victims. Mussolini had targeted Africa for its land and resources such as minerals; and in doing so killed many people even when Britain and France were aware. Italy was also in favour of supporting Hitler at the time of evacuation, so Britain and France feared Italy. The British Government had also made plans to evacuate all children from the cities to the countryside; as they assumed that the cities and ports would immediately be bombed. Materials were sent to thousands of homes to build outdoor bomb shelters. The British government may have realised that if large numbers of children moved away from the cities less food would be needed. Huge fear of invasion swept through the country with the thought of bombings. The Spanish civil war in 1937 was a major example of the German’s capability to destroy cities using aircrafts and modern weapons. Hitler and Mussolini sent troops, weapons and aircrafts to aid the Nationalists. The Spanish civil war was a rehearsal for World War II, as it helped the Nazi’s test their military capability. Evacuation had to be seriously considered if such a thing ever happened in Britain.
The League of Nations was a short-term cause of Evacuation in Britain, due to its inefficiency in crisis situations. The League of Nations was known to have no real power when it started in 1921 as it had no army or real power and tried to keep up international peace with a dismal effort. It failed to stop incidents such as Mussolini’s conquest of Abyssinia in1935 and Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931. With it’s continuous failure it helped make the member countries look weak. This may have boosted the Nazi moral in progressing to the next stages in their warfare; including the use of bombs and invading other countries. Evacuation in Britain may have occurred without the League of Nations but it was a catalyst that sped up the process. Britain and France were two major targets for Hitler, who were the dominant members of the League of Nations from when it started, to when it finished in 1945.
A spark cause of Evacuation could have been when officials in Whitehall made alarmist predictions that the declaration of war with Germany would be followed immediately by the devastation of Cities. Such predictions would have been supported by the Nazi’s involvement in the Spanish civil war. Britain was also an island, and the invention of planes that could drop bombs meant that Britain was no longer protected by water. And as Britain was against Germany they would have to prepare. This included epidemics, the disruption of food supplies and panic among the civilian population. In 1936 at a school in Madrid 70 children were killed and civil servants wondered what the effect on public moral if a similar event happened in Britain. Britain may have the advantage of less War casualties if the main target areas were evacuated of children.
Britain was soon divided into evacuation areas, reception areas and neutral areas. London was the largest city in Britain. It was a central target and would be the most difficult to evacuate with it’s large population. Evacuation according to many was certainly needed. Gas masks were issued for safety precautions and everyone had to carry at all times. Bombs that contained gas would have generated large amounts of fear in the British public because of its known effects from World War 1.
In 1940 many returned back to the main cities due to the lack of bombing, around 80% had returned. Unfortunately the Blitz began on the same year, the phoney war was over and the second wave of Evacuation began. This time the Government concentrated on moving the population inland, as ports were popular targets from German bombers. The Government also tried to persuade parents to keep their children in the reception areas using propaganda and posters.
Hitler planning to invade Britain after defeating France would have been a spark cause of Evacuation in Britain on September 7th 1940. ‘Operation Sealion’ was the name of the Nazi’s plan to take control of Britain. To do this they needed to control the skies above Britain because the German Luftwaffe could destroy the major cities and scare Britain into surrender. If Britain surrendered then the Germans could invade swiftly and with minimum effort. The Luftwaffe attacked British air fields, ports and radar stations. This was all an attempt to gain air superiority. The spark cause of the evacuation in Britain was when the Germans changed their tactics to bombing the major cities. This helped save the country from a close defeat by air as the British lost 185 aircraft and 300 men in the first week of the air raid attacks. Unfortunately a bomb attack on London had begun; this marked the beginning of the blitz, as many other cities would be next.
I think that the main reason that the British Government decided to evacuate children from all the major cities in Britain on September 1st 1939 was the long-term cause of introducing aircraft into modern warfare. I believe that if aircraft were not introduced and used in warfare then both sides would not of had the opportunity to launch bombs and missiles in the early stages of World War II. If no bombs were dropped then there would have been no fear of air raid attacks and mass destruction on the inland of Britain. The public of Britain would have been safer and therefore there would have been no reason to evacuate children to the countryside. The British Government decided to evacuate children from all the major cities in the early stages of the war due to bombs being dropped from planes, which destroyed lives and the cities. The aircraft’s bombs were a major threat to the health and moral of the British public, and it was not right for innocent children to be the victims of it. Therefore small children were evacuated, as they were Britain’s future.
I think that the main spark cause of Britain evacuating it’s major cities on September 1st 1939 was due to the predictions of officials in Whitehall, that declaring war with Germany would be followed immediately by air raid attacks and the devastation of Cities. We now know that their predictions were correct and at the time were taken very seriously, as many knew that Britain was vulnerable. If Cities were bombed then it would be necessary to ensure the safety of the children; as they were the countries future.
I believe that the most important spark cause of the second wave of evacuation in Britain was the German’s change in tactics after ‘operation sealion’. The German air force the ‘Luftwaffe’ was ordered to bomb Britain’s vital cities, beginning with London. Hitler was trying to break British moral, and was responding to the British bomb attacks on Berlin. It was necessary that the Major cities were to be evacuated again, as this time the phoney war was over and there was a real threat of the Germans succeeding. The Blitz had begun.
These are the main reasons why I believe Britain had to be evacuated twice throughout the early stages of the war. The first evacuation was certainly due to fear of invasion and other possibilities of attacks by the Nazi’s, and the second wave was due to actual attacks after the phoney war. Germany had had shown to be a major threat that kept Britain in constant fear. If children were killed as a result of war then there would be little future for any country.
