The Sources provide different interpretations of how the British faced the Blitz. The government was clearly worried about the morale of the British people, particularly during the sustained period of bombing that took place between September 1940 and May 1941. This is supported by the fact that the information contained in Sources B, D and E was kept from the public. However it is unclear whether this was done in order to maintain high morale or raise already low morale.
The evidence from Sources D, E and F, together with our common sense, would suggest that the British people were panic stricken, terrified and nearing anarchy. However, since these Sources all come from the short period of the heaviest bombing, as well as from areas of the country such as Coventry and the East End of London that were badly hit, it is likely inappropriate to generalise this as evidence that the British as a whole did not face the Blitz with “courage and unity”.
By contrast, Sources A, C and G propagate the now widely held and popular view of the British public’s heroism and bravery during the Blitz. Unfortunately, two of these Sources, A and G, are secondary sources that were written some forty plus years after the events they portray. These Sources therefore must be considered biased towards a rosy portrayal of the Blitz as a glorious period in our nation’s history. In addition, Source C is clearly a staged photograph filled with apparently happy, though homeless, people smiling at the camera and giving ‘thumbs up’ signs. Although a primary source since the photograph was taken in September 1940, it must be considered unreliable with respect to its accuracy in interpreting the events of the time.
While each of the Sources either support or refute the statement when taken at face value, none of them stand up to sustained examination. Therefore the Sources cannot be regarded as wholly reliable evidence in either case.
One of the main difficulties in discerning the truth about how the British faced the Blitz is that we are trying to create a single, coherent viewpoint from many thousands of individual stories that span a spectrum of human reactions from selflessness and heroism to cowardice and greed. Therefore, we must look at the facts we are able to discern, rather than the thoughts and feelings generated by hindsight, to attempt to judge the accuracy of the statement.
It must have been difficult, if not impossible, for the mass of the people – the middle and lower classes - to feel as if they were facing the Blitz with courage and unity knowing that the establishment was safely ensconced in their comfortable homes in the country while they had to endure night after night spent in the cramped, filthy, urine soaked and overcrowded public shelters.
As the government’s propaganda campaign depicted life in London carrying on as normal with people dining out and clubbing in the West End, it must have been difficult for the people enduring the bombs falling on the East End or in the port and industrial cities of the country to feel as they were part of a courageous and unified resistance against the German onslaught.
It can be concluded that the statement is somewhat true in the sense that the mass of the British people, being the middle and lower classes that had little or no other choice, did face the Blitz with courage and unity. However, this was chequered with fear, despair and anger directed at both the government and the ruling classes.
