The Effects of the Blitz on Everyday Life in Britian

The Effects of the Blitz on Everyday Life in Britian

The Blitz was the Germans attempt to destroy British transport and

industry. Large industrial areas such as the London docks were bombed

frequently and mass transport systems such as the trains were targeted

and attacked by the German air force (the Luftwaffe), other key areas

in transport and industry that were targeted for regular attacks, were

the key road junctions, power stations and ports.

The Blitz began on the 17th September and spanned almost a year, until

the late summer of 1941. The Blitz was a period of time in which the

government set out strict regulations for the British people to follow

in order to ensure their safety. It was also a very bizarre period of

time as many things that would normally be quite drastic and

devastating became common place for example the 13,000 deaths from

bombing alone over just 4 months and the destruction of 157 houses in

a single night began to be considered common practice by the British

public, and although people began to settle to this lifestyle and

adjust to these terrible living conditions, the continual bombing and

death was still depressing and lowered people’s morale knowing that

their houses were being destroyed and that their family members were

being killed.

During the Second World War many women volunteered to become Air Raid

Wardens. The role of air raid wardens was to ensure that the

governments war regulations were being kept, the government empowered

the air raid wardens to issue penalties and fines to those who weren’t

upholding the regulations, for example if an air raid Warden was

dissatisfied with the quality of someone’s window which had been

improperly taped then the air raid wardens would be able to issue a

fine or a warning.