Impact of the Blitz

The Impact of the Blitz: Government

London was a focal point in WWII, as Hitler and the Axis of power tried to force Britain to surrender. Civilians were heavily affected but came together in what became known as the ‘Blitz Spirit’.

Mass Observation - MO

This was part of the Home Intelligence Service that tried to find out how morale was holding up during the war.
It was made up of two parts:
- Personal writing - a national panel of volunteers who were recruited to respond to questionnaires or write diaries.
- Topic Collections - a team of paid investigators who recorded the behaviours and conversations they observed.

Propaganda

Propaganda had a variety of aims:
- Keep up civilian morale.
- Encourage people to act in the way the government wanted to e.g. wearing gas masks.
- Stress the importance of the war effort e.g. collecting scrap metal for reuse in armaments.
- Warn of the dangers of spies.
- Win support of other countries.

Censorship

Censorship - limiting or preventing certain news from being shared.
This was designed to stop too much information about what happened getting out, both to uphold morale and ensure the enemy could not measure the impact of their attacks.

The Impact of the Blitz: Civilians

Leisure

The government was determined to ensure leisure was not disrupted:
- Radio – news and comedies.
- Cinema reopened in September 1939 and showed rousing films e.g. In Which We Serve.
- Cinemas also showed (censored) news reels.
MO reports suggest propaganda worked.

Transport

Disrupted transport made getting to work difficult.
The Blackout made it difficult to get anywhere at night.

Utilities

Disrupted gas, electricity and water supplies meant those who still had a home, couldn’t use it normally.

Homelessness

In the first six weeks of the first Blitz, about 250,000 Londoners lost their homes.
Only 7,000 were rehoused.

Sleep

People lost a lot of sleep.

Death

Civilian Defence Volunteers dealt with death and mutilation on a scale they probably hadn’t imagined, and it had an effect on them.

1Medieval Warfare c.1250-1500

1.1Medieval Warfare & Society

1.1.1Weapons

1.1.2Composition

1.1.3Recruitment & Training

1.1.4Experience of Civilians

1.1.5Case Studies

1.1.6Change in Medieval Warfare

2Early Modern Warfare c.1500-1700

2.1Early Modern Warfare & Society

2.1.1Weapons

2.1.2Composition

2.1.3Recruitment & Training

2.1.4Experience of Civilians

2.1.5Case Studies

2.1.6Change in Early Modern Warfare

3Industrial Warfare c.1700-1900

3.1The Industrial Period & Warfare

3.1.1Weapons

3.1.2Composition

3.1.3Recruitment & Training

3.1.4Experience of Civilians

3.1.5Case Studies

3.1.6Change in Industrial Period Warfare

4Modern Warfare c.1900-present

4.1Modern Warfare & Society

4.1.1Weapons

4.1.2Composition

4.1.3Recruitment & Training

4.1.4Experience of Civilians

4.1.5Case Studies

4.1.6Change in Modern Warfare

5The Historic Environment

5.1London & the Second World War, 1939-45

5.1.1London: A Target

5.1.2Preparations for War

5.1.3The Blitz

5.1.4V1 & V2 Attacks

5.1.5Impact of the Blitz

5.1.6The War Effort

5.1.7The Government

5.1.8The Royal Family

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