The Effect of the Biltz on the British People During the latter part of 1940, Hitler began the Blitz, trying to crush the nation’s people. This of course affected their everyday lives in many different ways: restraints, laws, contributions, regulation and destruction. Evacuation was the most organised reaction of the war. The country was divided up into three areas: neutral, evacuation and reception. Children and other vulnerable people were moved from places likely to be bombed. These people moved from evacuation areas in a four day period. The whole transport system was taken over for this. Reception areas were in rural areas. The evacuees were not used to rural life and were separated from their families. There was a clash between city and country values. Poor people often found themselves in wealthier homes and were often treated badly. Evacuation saved many lives, but had other important effects. People learned how each other lived. In the urban areas, to reduce the risk of casualties, people were ordered to stay off the streets and all cinemas and theatres were closed during the blackout, due to their vulnerability. For the first time people had to endure blackouts. All houses had to have blackout all over the windows and all lights and street lights were extinguished. During the blackouts it was hard for German bombers to see what they were trying to bomb. Air Raid Precautions were put into place to make sure people were safe inside their houses. It also ensured that people were not harmed from broken glass and shrapnel, by taping up windows. Many people resented this, especially the poor, as some of them were not able to pay blackout fines due to their economical status. The A.R.P helped save many lives during the Blitz. They supplied the people of Britain with their services during the Blitz and became the backbone for the survival of the British people. During the bombing, people had to shelter away from the danger. Londoners sheltered in the underground stations. People rushed to the stations after work and the area was fully packed inch for inch.
Why the Major Cities of Britain were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 and 1941
An article from the Evening Standard, published on the 13th January 1941, states that ‘Seventeen women and children who were trapped in the basement of a London house damaged by a bomb....
Ways the British Government Attempted to Hide the Effects of the Blitz from the People of Britain
”Battle of Britain, in World War II, a series of air battles between Great Britain and Germany, fought over Britain from Aug. to Oct., 1940. As a prelude to a planned invasion of England, the German Luftwaffe attacked British coastal defenses, radar stations, and shipping. On Aug. 24 the attack was shifted inland to Royal Air Force installations and aircraft factories in an effort to gain control of the air over S England. Failing to destroy the RAF, the Germans began (Sept. 7) The night bombing, or blitz, of London. Heavy night bombings of English cities continued into October, when the attack was shifted back to coastal installations. The Germans gradually gave up hope of invading England, and the battle tapered off by the end of October. Though heavily outnumbered, the RAF put up a gallant defense; radar, used for the first time in battle by Britain, played an important role. The Germans lost some 2,300 aircraft; the RAF 900. The Battle of Britain was the first major failure of the Germans in World War II, and it thwarted Hitler's plan to force Britain to accept peace or face invasion” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia).
Along with the blitz came the Myth of the Blitz, as explained by Angus Calder in his book, The Myth of the Blitz. The Myth of the Blitz was the idea that the people of London united across classes into a heroic force against the bombings and Nazi Germany, as advertised in the propaganda distributed by the British government. The Myth asserted that Londoners as a whole kept calm and carried on despite the massive destruction and high numbers of casualties. However, as with any myth, the Myth of the Blitz was not entirely based on fact and incorporated some invented ideas. Despite the Myth’s gross exaggerations, it still held a core of truth. The blitz did bring people of the same class together through shared experien...
England's Royal Air Force battled Germany's Luftwaffe from August 1940 until May 1941. During that conflict, England was subjected to air raids day and night. When Hitler finally withdrew his birds of war, four hundred thousand British citizens had been killed, forty-six thousand had been seriously wounded, and one million homes had been leveled. After one raid, a relief team helped a woman who had covered been covered in powdered brick and plaster and was bleeding profusely. As they aided her, she repeated four words continually in a tone of quiet terror: "Man's inhumanity to man…Man's inhumanity to man…" (Jablonski 148).
Why the Major Cities of Britain Were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 - 1941
Corrie’s father knew it was not true, but the prime minster stepped down and Winston Churchill became the new prime minster. While Germany invaded Holland, Corrie and Betsie sat in Beje (their house and clock shop) and watched the bombs fall. Betsie started to pray for Hitler, the Germans and the pilots of the planes. Corrie would not acknowledge such a ridiculous prayer. She only sat and listened. After that the Germans slowly started taking over Holland. First it was only little things. Prices rose and coffee was a luxury that only the Germans and collaborators could afford. New shoes and clothes were harder to find. Some of the rules included no one was allowed out past 9:30, but it soon was pushed to 8PM. Also, they had to put dark curtains over their windows so the British would not pinpoint their position. Some of the rules were ridiculous! The Nazis banned orange colored tulips! Sadly, some of the rules were more serious such as the oppression of the Jews. One of the new rules was no radio. This was a problem because the ten Booms and many other families got their news of the war from the radio. One of their radios was big and bulky the other one was small and easy to hide. Corrie dropped the old radio that had been given to her father as a present off at the police station, and hurried home to help hide the other radio. Beje had many nooks and places to hide because of the way was it was
This was to prepare for a ground invasion called Operation Sea Lion. “Eagle-day” is then planned to be begun by the Germans, which is a continued destruction of the RAF and a plan to install radar. However, this is delayed with poor weather conditions. Bombing continues in Britain, but the RAF are not yet defeated. They defend themselves aggressively, destroying at least 104 German aircrafts with a continued defeat of 330 German aircrafts. The British are constantly killing thousands of German troops, and Hitler eventually postpones Operation Sea Lion, with a new interest in dominating Russia. From both sides of the battle, more than 3,000 aircraft were destroyed; 1,023 from the British side, and 1,887 from the Luftwaffe. 544 RAF command pilots died, and 2,500 Luftwaffe aircraft were killed. During the relentless bombing known as “The Blitz”, 40,000 British citizens tragically died in the process. Britain had a much higher advantage in the war, due to its high performing navy, compared to Germany’s non-existing navy due to losses in Norway. If the Germans never gave up on this battle and won, the United States would probably become involved much deeper in the war. The Battle of Britain officially ended on October 31,
Reasons Leading to the Evacuation of Children from Britain's Major Cities Early in World War Two
The State of Britain in 1815 After the end of the Napoleonic wars between France and England, which had lasted about a quarter of a century, England was the most powerful country in the world. This had come about because of many changes throughout Britain in Industry, Agriculture, Society, and Politics and also because of International incidents. The culmination of all these changes was that Britain had changed dramatically and had become a much more 'modern' state. In this essay I will be exploring the changes and what effects they had. From about 1750 the Industrial Revolution had begun in Britain, this was the transition from an essentially land based economy to an industrial one with high levels of services industries and manufacturing.
Salden, Chris. “Wartime Holidays and the ‘Myth of the Blitz’.” Cultural History 2, no. 2 (May 2005).
In the early months of 1941 the world was at war. Not all countries where involved in combat since the war was primarily focused on Europe, but many countries outsi...
It’s 4:30am on September 1st, 1939 and the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein awaits for the order to open fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig in what was to become the first military engagement of World War II. Meanwhile, sixty two German divisions supported by 1,300 fighter planes prepared for the invasion of Poland. Fifteen minutes later the invasion would take place and spark the beginning of World War II. Two days later at 9am Great Britain would send an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that they pull from Poland or go to war with Great Britain. Four hours later the Ultimatum would expire and Great Britain would officially be at war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939. Six hours later France would also declare war on Germany.
What Happened in Britain During the Great Depression? It is easy to hear “Great Depression” and immediately think only of the United States. The reason for this is that the Great Depression began in the United States, but the effects were far from isolated to the United States. Though Britain was affected in many ways by the Great Depression, I believe that the greatest overall effect of the Great Depression on Britain was a high and unrelenting unemployment rate.