Evacuation started in September 1939, when around d 1.5 million, mainly school children, were moved from the main cities to the countryside. Before the Germans invaded Poland – 1st September 1939, Britain had told them that if they did, they would declare war on them, and so, when they did, they left Britain with no choice. After seeing the civilian killings in WWI, the British decided on evacuation, and unlike some other European countries, they had the time to plan it and carry it out before the German bombings commenced. They used leaflets, radio messages and posters to try and persuade parents how important evacuation was to the protection of their children. A lot of people were affected by the policy, around 1.5 million in September alone were evacuated, most of which were in the first week of the policy.
The Luftwaffe of WWII were a lot different to the Zeppelins of WWI, as they were a lot more modern and had been developed since the update in technology. They were faster, quieter and more equipped. The Spanish Civil War showed people that the Germans meant business. They had caused such devastation with their bombing raids on civilian populations in various Spanish cities, that it showed the rest of the world what they were capable of with modern weapons.
The Blitz was a devastating event in Britain. It lasted for 77 days, as London was bombed every night except one, as well as Bristol, Liverpool, Plymouth, Southampton, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry and Glasgow. Industrial areas or ports were targeted, as well as Coventry’s Cathedral. By the time the Blitz had ended in the summer of 1941, about 43,000 people had been killed and 2 million were homeless. This made the evacuation policy more likely as it put so many people at danger and gave parents and the Government a reason to think about getting school children to the safety of the countryside.
The Sudetenland affected the decision to evacuate because Hitler had been allowed to get his way with it. He had walked all over the League and used threats to get his way. Also helping the choice for evacuation and war was the Nazi-Soviet pact, the uniting of two super countries which posed a threat to the rest of the world.
Children being evacuated freed up Mothers to work in the war effort and saved their lived to enable them to have futures. The public felt safer knowing that that their children were away from danger. It also freed up fathers to fight in the army without the worry of what might be happening to their families.
When Germany declared war on Poland, the British Government reacted by getting ready for war and sending a force to France to protect them. Not much was done during this period, the phoney war.
Evacuees returned to the cities because they thought that the worst of the bombings were over and they thought that it would be safe for the evacuees to return to their normal lives. There was a second wave of evacuees when in 1944 V1 flying bombs and V2 Rockets were being dropped, yet again meaning the separation of families.
I think the main factor for the Government enforcing the evacuation policy was to protect the children and people of London. This factor was more important than the others because it protected civilians, therefore providing them with a future. Protecting the children also freed up parents from worrying and allowed women to help in the war effort, and men to fight well.
