Britain in the age of total War.

Candidate Name: Fatmeh Butt Teacher: J Rowson

Candidate Number: 04603 July 12 2003

Center Number: 92815

GCSE Coursework- Britain in the Age of Total War

1. Study Source A

What can you learn about the response of the British people to the effects of the Blitz? (6)

Source A’s tone and positive language clearly shows that the Blitz is an event to be celebrated. Words like “courage” and “unshakeable determination” clearly show this. It emotive language shows it’s a very sentimental book with stories that will “break your heart and make you smile.” But now having time pass, just gives the war more of a reason to be celebrated. This make people realise what they have experienced, and in result making people think that they are heroes and survivors. Still, you must remember that the publisher is trying to sell the book. Therefore I can infer that the book is biased and perpetuates the myth of the Blitz. It does however acknowledge the bad aspects of the war such as the term “appalling circumstances” shows this. It does focus on the celebration here. However, its emotive language makes the audience realise the effect of the Blitz, but the positive effect it had on the people or “heroes” as the passage says. “Out of terror and tragedy came courage and unshakeable determination” really sums up the passage.

2. Study Sources B, C,

How useful are sources B and C in helping you to understand the effects of the Blitz on the people in Britain? (10)

Source B is dated 1943. A time where the British public would be used to the Blitz and fed up with its ongoing terror. The censors have banned the photo, as the Government didn’t want the public to see it, as it would damage morale. They didn’t want the spirit to be affected by propaganda like this because they needed the full support of the people in the war effort. From this I can infer that the Blitz had a tremendous effect on the public and the sight of the ARP wardens clearing the dead bodies would be too much, but this picture also does only show physical damage, whereas source C shows people’s reactions. The fact that it shows a bombed girls school would affect the audience even more because schoolgirls normally symbolise innocence and purity. This photo was not staged and might not be typical but this would not alter the audience’s opinion.

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Source C is a staged photo taken in 1940 so very early on in the bombing, and as this is early on in the bombing of course people would be enthusiastic. But you can tell it is staged due to irregular angle it is shot at, therefore this doesn’t make this source very useful. It is supposed to show the sense of community as it involves people of all ages in front of all their possessions. They have their thumbs up showing they’re happy. This is used as propaganda to inform everyone how brave the Londoners who have to ...

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3. Study Sources B, C and D

Does Source D support the evidence of Sources B and C about the damage done during air raids? (8)

Source D is again a photo taken in 1940 so still early on in the bombing. I believe D supports source B a lot because again the Government censored it. It was later released in February 1941. This could be because it was in the run in to Christmas and therefore the Government didn’t want to damage the public spirit. All three sources are Government propaganda to make the public feel something. All are used or not used, as the case is to improve or maintain morale. The photo in source D is unclear but I believe it to show people arguing over personal property. Source D supports source B as it shows the negative affects of the Blitz on the British people therefore the Government banned it but they might have censored it so the German’s didn’t know how much damage was caused to Coventry. Its delayed release could be to soften the blow to British public due to he despair and desolation it contains.

However, Source C doesn’t support it because that shows the positive affect of the Blitz pulling the community together. Source D shows just the opposite. It also shows a bit of damage to buildings in the background. Source C didn’t. Source C is staged while D is obviously a snap shot so people weren’t told what to do so they are obviously showing their own feelings. The source itself is not too clear and it is hard to obtain a great amount of information from.

4. Study Sources E, R 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? (12)

The British Government was concerned about the morale of the British people in the autumn of 1940 because of many reasons. Source E shows a report stating that panic was seen everywhere in September 1940. This is from a secret report by the M.O.I. and I know already that the Blitz had only just started in the autumn of that year and so this source is from very early on in the Blitz therefore it could just be the population of London being scared of facing such a daunting prospect. They could have got used to the bombing and so the panic would die down. The words “madly for shelter” and “hysterical” show the panic within the East End at the time.

Source F is from Harold Nicolson’s diary and as he knew several members of the Government I can infer that he was likely to be well informed. It states, “The King and Queen wee booed the other day”. This would be very worrying from the Governments point of view as the royal family is figureheads of Britain and to boo them shows that the people are not in support of the nation.

Source G comes from a book. It says that people would trek to the countryside at night but continue to turn up to work the next day. This shows that people were frightened of the bombing but still wanted to back to the war.

The Government was concerned about the morale of the British people in the Autumn of 1940 because they realised without the people at home there could be no war as there would be no-one to work in munitions factories or to maintain supplies. They realised that if the bombing got to them now there would be no return. After the ‘phoney’ war where British inhabitants expected to be bombed they had slipped into a false sense of security so they were unprepared to an extent. So people were affected by the Blitz but the Government were not necessarily bothered because the production work was still being done and so the war could continue. Total war needs total support.

5. 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 all the sources, and your own knowledge to explain whether you agree with this statement. (14)

I don’t agree with the “myth of the Blitz”. I feel that it did unite the country but in a state of panic and fright. Source E shows that people were scared of the bombing. I feel due to the date this was just them coming to terms with the bombing. After a while they would become used to it and it would be a normal activity. So the resilience was more like regularity and the pluckiness was more like immunity. I do think that the Blitz did bring the community to work together. Source B proves this. I believe that the people had no other choice but to help each other and throughout time the bond between the people grew and grew as they could relate to the experiences that everyone was going through.

Source C does show that the people did have the same thing in common. The fact that they were all being bombed. Of course there were trekkers who avoided the bombing as much as possible as source G suggests but they are only trying to save themselves. This shows that maybe it was everyman for them but I don’t feel that this is the whole story.

Source D might also suggest that at the beginning of the war people were not united and that’s why they might be fighting over personal property. I do feel that the facts have been exaggerated through time like in Source A. That people convinced that they were being courageous but it was the fact that the individuals were being courageous that made the people as a group courageous and it is the fact that the group overall were brave that has been amplified.

I also believe that Government propaganda managed to convince the people that they were brave and this may have had even more of an effect on them as they might think that if they ran away they weren’t being brave therefore letting their Government down.

As source G says “attendance at work remained surprisingly good” does back up the myth of the Blitz at it shows that it didn’t have too big an effect on the people but I think this due to the fact that people always need money and due to rationing people could always do with the cash and also if Britain lost the war the economy would fall unbelievably like it did in Germany after the 1st World War so they would need the money just to survive. It was the fact that Hitler promised to turn the economy around that he got into power.

So overall I think that the “myth of the Blitz” is a myth but I do feel that there was some unity but I don’t believe it was a conscious decision made by the public. I believe it was due to Government propaganda and the fear of not being brave.