Britain in the age of total war.

Adam Mohamedally

Britain in the age of total war

What can you learn about Source A about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz?

Source A has been extracted form a book that was published in 1990 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Blitz. It states that ‘the British people showed that they didn’t have to be in uniform to be heroes’. It tells people from this day that even though out of the dreadful disasters, there were signs of bravery and ‘unshakable’ strength of mind; trying to survive the best that they could. The source shows that in the worst of conditions, Britain kept in there with each member of the population feeling as if they are making a difference. So they kept on smiling. This book is a celebration of the Blitz and is therefore going to be slightly one sided to make the British sound even more heroic and determined than they were. The book would leave out the awful and realistic elements of the Blitz because the article is to promote patriotism rather than to inform.

How useful are sources B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the Blitz on the people of Britain?

Source B is a photograph of the air raid on 20 January 1943 on London. It shows the heavy destruction of a girl’s school that was hit. All of the pictures that were in the papers had to have been approved before they were published; the censors banned this one showing the sacking of the bodies. This was because they knew that it would lower the morale of the people. Source C on the other hand shows the complete opposite. This includes a photograph of the day after the raids on the 14th September 1940. All of the houses were bombed and wrecked but the tenants of the buildings still showed courage and determination, ‘grit’. It seems rather suspicious that they have gathered all of their things together on the street and are standing round it, looking in the same direction with their thumbs in the air. I think that this was an attempt from the government or the media to boost the morale of other people around Britain with this picture. Source B doesn’t show anyone other than the medics sacking up the bodies, so they are just doing their usual job. From both of these sources, you can appreciate the pain that people went through with death and destruction, but on the other hand, whether it is the media or not, they kept their spirits high around the country with these propaganda pictures. What the government feared most among the people was defeatism. If the morale was at a low, then people would stop caring and the war would be lost to the Germans.

In all I think that with both of these sources you cannot accurately establish the true attitude of the British during the Blitz because both of these pictures are in contrast with each other. They can only give you an impression as to what is going on but nothing more than that. It is especially hard to establish what was going on when the accuracy of source C is questionable. The people in the picture were possible bribed with extra rations to look happy for the picture.

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Does source D support the evidence of sources B and C about the damage done during the air raids?

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Does source D support the evidence of sources B and C about the damage done during the air raids?

Source D shows a photograph that was taken on the 15th of November 1940 after the air raids on Coventry. It was titled ‘sorting personal property’. In the picture we can see that there is rubble in the road with what looks as though some people ate standing around and collecting what they think belongs to them. I would say that this source does agree with B and C in one sense. You can see the destruction that went on from the raids from 1940 – 1943. In both C and D they are collecting what is theirs. But, I think that C is a propaganda picture and is not what really happened during the war. Sources B and D on the other hand appear to give quite an accurate account of what life was like for the people that were affected by the raids around Britain. It is obvious that with these pictures we can see that the raids did last for a long time and a lot of the destruction was done. Even though source C was more likely a propaganda picture, it does give us the impression that the people there are homeless. But in D we are unsure of this. One would think that these people have nowhere to live but it could possibly be that the picture was taken during the day and that was what they did them. The picture in source D was not published when it was taken; they waited until February 1941 before it came out. This was probably because in 1942 things didn’t seem to be as bad in the picture as it was in 1940. This way people would think at the time that this was bad.

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?

At night, all of the streets and shop lights were turned off; homes had their windows blacked out with thick curtains or blinds. In time the people that went through this would have to get used to it, but in the beginning I assume it was pretty terrifying. The only thing that the Londoners really wanted were the underground train stations as a place to stay for shelter (many were homeless). At first the government would not allow them to use these as shelters; they were afraid that the people, once inside the deep shelters, would not want to come out again and this would be bad for morale. But then in October 1940, the government had to give in and they were opened up. Source C shows us this as it is an extract from a secret report to the government by the Ministry of Information on September 10th 1940. In this report, it tells is how when the sirens (raid alerts) went off, the people would run madly for the shelter. It says hat the taxi drivers report that they would take group after group to Euston and Paddington station with the belongings that they carried with them. What the government feared most among the people was defeatism. This was known as the idea that the war could not we won and that Britain should agree peace terms with the Germans. Another sign that morale was under strain was looting. On occasions, Churchill, the king and queen were booed whilst they visited the streets of the east end that were bombed. This point is mentioned in source F. “it was said that even the king and queen were booed the other day when they visited the destroyed areas.” We should assume that this source is accurate because it has been extracted from a Harold Nicholson’s diary. This would, should tell us his true feelings at the time of the Blitz because he is not likely to lie to himself in his diary. He also mentions that there is a slight bitterness and a bad feeling about the east end of London. There was tension between the upper and lower classes. The wealthier west end had their own private and comfortable shelters in the hotels that ordinary people could not use. There was one occasion where this led to protestors occupying the shelter in the Savoy hotel. This huge tension was made greater by the fact that most of the bombing fell on the working class (east end); industrial areas of the big cities (east end). Hardly any bombs fell on the richer (west end). This made it seem to some that the people in the east end were doing more than their fair share for the war. In despite of all of this, the morale of the people did hold up and the civilian population remained firmly believing Churchill’s policy of continuing the war until it was won. If this morale didn’t keep up among the population, there would be serious defects noticed in the army, navy and RAF. But the situation in 1940 was desperate with defeatist talk amongst the people. Source G is an extract from the book, ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’ it was published in 1998 so it is very possible that it is inaccurate. It backs up the idea that as long as the men and women continued to work as per usual towards the country’s production, the economic life would continue, and the planes, tanks and armaments would roll off the assembly lines; keeping Britain in the war and from defeat. So it can be said that without the high morale of the civilian population, Britain would have lost the war straight away and this was why the government was so concerned with that.

‘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.

During the Blitz, all of the people came together and helped to stop and make sure that the Germans didn’t get it easy in bombing the British. At night, all of the street and shop lights were turned off and homes had their windows blacked out with thick curtains or blinds. This could be shown as courage and unity by the way that even though they were being attacked and could take the easy way out and panic, they stayed together and came up with ways to make it hard for the Germans. The government prepared for raids as early as February of 1939 with Anderson shelters. These were issued for free to the poor people.

The only thing that the Londoners really wanted were the underground train stations as a place to stay for shelter (many were homeless). At first the government would not allow them to use these as shelters; they were afraid that the people, once inside the deep shelters, would not want to come out again and this would be bad for morale. But then in October 1940, the government had to give in and they were opened up. Source C shows us this as it is an extract from a secret report to the government by the Ministry of Information on September 10th 1940. In this report, it tells is how when the sirens (raid alerts) went off, the people would run madly for the shelter. It says hat the taxi drivers report that they would take group after group to Euston and Paddington station with the belongings that they carried with them.

Looting was another key sing of morale under strain. On occasions, Churchill, the king and queen were booed whilst they visited the streets of the east end that were bombed. This point is mentioned in source F. “it was said that even the king and queen were booed the other day when they visited the destroyed areas.” We should assume that this source is accurate because it has been extracted from a Harold Nicholson’s diary. This would, should tell us his true feelings at the time of the Blitz because he is not likely to lie to himself in his diary. He also mentions that there is a slight bitterness and a bad feeling about the east end of London. There was tension between the upper and lower classes. The wealthier west end had their own private and comfortable shelters in the hotels that ordinary people could not use. There was one occasion where this led to protestors occupying the shelter in the Savoy hotel. This huge tension was made greater by the fact that most of the bombing fell on the working class (east end); industrial areas of the big cities (east end). Hardly any bombs fell on the richer (west end). This made it seem to some that the people in the east end were doing more than their fair share for the war. In despite of all of this, the morale of the people did hold up and the civilian population remained firmly believing Churchill’s policy of continuing the war until it was won. If this morale didn’t keep up among the population, there would be serious defects noticed in the army, navy and RAF. But the situation in 1940 was desperate with defeatist talk amongst the people. Source G is an extract from the book, ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’ it was published in 1998 so it is very possible that it is inaccurate. It backs up the idea that as long as the men and women continued to work as per usual towards the country’s production, the economic life would continue, and the planes, tanks and armaments would roll off the assembly lines; keeping Britain in the war and from defeat. So it can be said that without the high morale of the civilian population, Britain would have lost the war straight away and this was why the government was so concerned with that.

In the autumn of 1940, there was initial terror in the first few weeks. But, the people got used to it over time just like you can get used to pretty much anything. The reason why things didn’t get completely out of hand was because people evacuated, trekked, and found shelters (mainly in underground stations). People that were left homeless went to towns such as Windsor, Reading and Oxford, and in one instance camped in the quad of the university. Although the evidence suggests that the British people were very frightened, it would appear that the sources E, F, and G show us that the British had been bombed almost every night and certain areas of the country were very badly hit. The sources that were published at the time suggested that Britain could take it; such as source C. This was propaganda from the media and the government. This is one of the sources that suggest Britain faced the Blitz with courage and unity.

In conclusion, I will have to disagree with this statement even though there are fewer sources that show us how that there is courage and unity being expressed. The ones that do such as source C appear to be largely propaganda based. But if we look at the others such as source D, they are still getting on with their lives.