The home front 1939-1945 Flashcards
What was different about world war two to other wars?
-Brought war to civilians for the first time
Why did the government prepare for war?
- Govt. prepared for war and invasion as early as 1935 (ministry of information planned) as Germany was also preparing, but Chamberlain tried appeasement so weren’t ready to fight in 1939
- 1937 bombing in Spanish civil war showed the devastating effect it could have on people
How did the government prepare civilians for the war?
- Govt. made cards for cigarette packs to advise in bomb or gas attacks
- Identity cards and gas masks fitted and given out
- Blackout- streetlights turned off, windows covered, street signs taken down
- In 1939, Anderson shelters, and in 1941, Morrison shelters were introduced, and 500,000 were distributed in one year
What government ministries were set up to prepare for the war?
- 1939- Ministry of Supply to take over vital industries
- Ministry of Food
- Ministry of Labour organised armed forces and home front
Who was prepared to defend and look after the home front?
- 1 million members of the home guard in 1940- manned anti-aircraft guns and cleared up bomb damage
- ARP set up in 1937- put sandbags out to stop bomb damage, organised the blackout- 1939 there were 1.5 million wardens
- Emergency services trained
When did evacuation occur?
- Govt. knew they would bomb cities so began before war
- Sept 1st evacuation started, and by 4 days time, 3 million had been evacuated
Key features of evacuation
- Children, pregnant mothers and blind people were evacuated, it kept them safe and freed up parents
- Most children were evacuated with their schools and their teachers often went with them
- By Christmas, no bombing had happened so many children went back
- There was a second wave of evacuation in 1940 when the Germans started bombing London but it was on a much smaller scale
Why did the Germans start the Blitz?
- Battle of Britain failed so they tried to damage morale to make civilians pressure govt. into surrendering
- Allies had begun the night-bombing of Germany in August
When was the Blitz and where was hit?
- Sept 7th to Nov 2nd 1940
- London was constantly bombed, 16 cities were bombed, including Liverpool and Coventry
How did civilians cope with the Blitz?
- Built shelters or sheltered in underground
- Social activities helped morale
- WRVs provided tea and soup
What were the effects of the Blitz?
- Transport links, gas, electricity and water were hit heavily
- Over 43,000 people were killed
- Weakened morale, but not hugely
Blitz on Coventry
- 14th November 1940
- Coventry was bombed because Britain bombed Munich
- The cathedral was destroyed
- 500 bombers dropped thousands of bombs
- Around 500 were killed, 4,000 homes were destroyed
- Govt. knew Coventry was going to be bombed but didn’t want Germany to know they broke their code so did nothing
Why did the German bombing change?
- After D-Day, Germany set sights back on demoralising public
- Hitler needed good press as he was no longer fully respected
What new bombs did the Germans have in 1944?
- Pilotless bombs (V1 and V2) that didn’t show up on radar and couldn’t easily be shot
- They were called doodle bugs as they made a small sound, but when the noise stopped, you knew it was falling
- Only 1000 of 5000 V2s launched reached their target
What were the effects of the new style of German bombing?
- Scary as anti-aircraft guns and blackouts had little effect
- Demoralised hugely as people were fed up after five years
Propaganda in war
- Encouraged volunteers and working harder for war effort
- Warned of dangers of ‘careless talk’
- Encouraged not wasting food and materials for war effort
Censorship in war
- Newspapers censored, reported bombings but concentrated on heroism rather than deaths
- TV and radio told what to play
- Cinemas showed patriotic films and showed newsreels before every film
- Every piece of post sent out was checked
- Armed service had their own censors checking mail
Why did rationing occur?
-70% of Britain’s food was imported, so govt. began planning food control in 1936 in fear that Germans would sink ships, by Jan 1940, 100 ships had been sunk
When did rationing start?
-Rationing began 8th Jan 1940; everyone got the same, whether rich or poor, some had better diets than before
How was rationing monitored and what was rationed?
- People had ration books and registered with a shop which recorded coupons used
- Food, petrol, coal, clothing and materials were rationed
How did people get more food during rationing?
- People were encouraged to grow food (‘Dig for Victory’, even the moat around the Tower of London was turned into a veg. patch), and keep chickens and rabbits,
- Broadcasts gave recipes and tips to make food go further
- Black market existed- rationed food was sold for a high price
What were the roles of women in the army?
- Women’s sections in armed forces were ATS (army), WAAF (air force), and WRNS (navy)
- Work progressed from cleaning, cooking and office work to later, drivers, anti-aircraft posts, radio operators and spies, but they couldn’t go into battle
What jobs did women take up in the war?
- By March 1940, over 45,000 men had left farming for the war, so Woman’s Land Army was reformed by govt. in 1939
- Worked in engineering, iron and factories, but were nervous of the ‘male feel’ at first, and were usually supervised by men
- In 1941, govt. introduced conscription for unmarried women aged 20-30, could choose armed services, civil defence or industry
- By 1943, 10,000 women worked on the railways
What were the attitudes towards women working?
Women who enjoyed and did well at their work were often respected, but some still held old-fashioned views
Did the roles of women change after the war had ended?
- Didn’t change position of women (no equal pay), but gave taste of freedom
- Women who had been ‘minding’ jobs for servicemen had to give them up, seen as more important to find men work
