World War 1: Civilian Life Flashcards
Who were Siegried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen?
They wrote war poetry that reflected the disillusionment with war and with wartime leadership. The poetry showed who we are as humans, showing what we are capable of and seeing that something is fundamentally wrong with the human condition.
S.S. was so disgusted by the slaughter of troops he protested and was almost tried for treason. A friend stepped in and was instead sent to a mental institution.
W.O. was similar to S.S. He said that people should stop telling the children that it is glorious to die for your country - it’s not.
Why were the German civilians suffering?
Germany had rallied and come into the fight assuming a quick victory. There were food shortages when the war went on longer than expected and there was lack of clothing and heat during the winter because it all went to the soldiers.
A lot of the food for Germany was imported from Ukraine which was on Russia’s side so during the war that food supply stopped. In Germany’s fields there was a bad harvest.
What did women do during the war?
The men were all at the front, so women went to the munition factories to keep up the supplies.
Soldiers on the front thought women were doing knitting circle type things as that was what was depicted on postcards sent to the front to keep up their morale. This was devastating to soldiers that came back home and saw that these were myths and that they’d been deceived.
What was the impact of war on the children?
Children were very neglected.
Their fathers and brothers were off to war, unlikely to return and if they did they would be very damaged (psychologically and physically).
Their mothers were in factories working.
There wasn’t enough milk, fruits or vegetables and so they were very malnourished.
