Source G is an extract from the book ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’ which was published in 1988. This source differs to the others in that it is a secondary source and therefore could be less reliable. Perhaps the book could have collated information from people who have lived through the Second World War soon before the publication date which in order indicates the people would be quite old and what information they give could be different to versions they would have given 40 years earlier as well as perhaps lapsing in clarity.
The source describes how the reliance of workers ‘remained surprisingly good’ as well as their morale. There is still a sense of patriotism and community spirit although there was ‘widespread fear’. It also gives details of how many people ‘trekked’ to the Countryside during bombing yet many of those were the same people that would still continue to turn up for work.
So what do the sources deduce? Source E suggests clear evidence of hysteria and a need to boost morale and reassure the people of Britain on the home front. The second source indicates the government had severe problems on which they had to act against. Britain at the time was a particularly patriotic country and the fact the King and Queen were booed when visiting a site destroyed by bombing is a very serious worry, especially because the government relied on the home front to have a realistic fighting chance in the war. The final source (G) gives a different opinion to those of the other 2 although it is saying morale is high as is community spirit it does state there was ‘widespread fear’. Obviously this is not what the government want – they need people to feel safe in the governments hands and to be reassured war is the best option and Britain has competent leaders who are working the best for peoples safety so they deliver the best quality when they are at work as possible.
So why is it the government are concerned about morale?
The government relied on the media to lift the moral of the country, otherwise all support for the war would be lost and all the industries that were needed for the war effort would not be able to produce anything without the workers. The government were aware of this which is why they were so concerned about morale. The confidence of the country was important for the vital production of war materials. If the public were depressed and scared of a town or city since it was being bombed they would move. The government did not want this to happen, because if the people left the cities there would be no one to work in the factories or workhouses. So in turn the government made every effort to keep the spirits up, believing a happy worker is a better worker. The population had to be happy so they could produce enough in the factories and out on the farms. The public were needed to support the war because if they had a country full of people opposed to the war they would not be able to carry on.
The media invented the Blitz spirit, which kept most Londoners going during the worst days of bombing. It also raised feelings with the daily reports of courage and bravery from the front lines. Radio was a major contributor to raising the public’s morale. People could be taken away from the blackout and be entertained.
To cheer up the nation the BBC created a program called ‘it’s that man again’ which aimed a joke on average every 11 seconds! This show raised morale too as it was very good entertainment for the public and it was important to keep people busy in order to prevent them questioning the war. Another show had a doctor named Dr Hill. This program was to give women a reassurance that the government knows what the women have to put up with, and to make them feel like they were being looked after and appreciated.
Morale was especially important in the autumn of 1940 because with the recent great defeat at Dunkirk and the problems throughout the Blitz people would have started to loose faith in their country and their morale would drop. Therefore the government went about boosting the nation’s morale using censorship, propaganda, and campaigns and as the war went on by only broadcasting the good things that were happening and forgetting about the bad things. The government reported Dunkirk as a heroic rescue and only reported the positive things about the Blitz, such as brave rescues and how many enemy planes had been shot down. There had also recently occurred the Battle of Britain and German successes in France which had all taken there toll.
In conclusion we can now see why public morale on the home front was so important to the government and how the problem was tackled. Events going on affected not only people’s spirit but their ability to function too as the sources showed. The government relied on the home front to not only keep themselves going but the ammunitions for the troops coming as well. Basically if it were not for those people there would not be a war at all. Therefore it was vital for the government to keep them on their side. They did this by use of media.
The media reinforced community spirit; it made people continue in their everyday struggles. Each person in Britain was convinced they were fighting Hitler in his or her own way. The media was responsible for keeping the public fighting on.
