Transcript Britain and World War II - Colaiste Muire Learning Hub

Britain and World War II

Churchill:

‘Churchill might be the right man in time of
war’..

..British people often said during the
1930s..

.. ‘but not in peace’.

Now it was war..

..and no other elder statesman in the
Britain of 1940 could have inspired as
much confidence..

..his hour, indeed, had come.

The Battle of Britain:

The invasion of Britain in ‘Operation Sealion’ required the establishment of air
superiority over the English Channel..

This task was entrusted to Goring’s
Luftwaffe..

Britain hadn’t been invaded since the “Glorious
Revolution” of William of Orange (1688)

During WWII, for the first time, civilians found
themselves on the front line..

..primarily as targets of aerial bombardments

**The impact of the war on the ‘home
front’ was on a scale never seen before..
There were many inconveniences:
 Strict blackouts had to be maintained
 There were severe shortages
 Public transport was curtailed (little petrol)

News was censored (propaganda
campaign)
 Eventually there were shortages of
everything from food to toiletries


..leading to the introduction of rationing
As U-boat attacks on British shipping
lanes intensified..
 ..a system of food rationing was
introduced


Jan 1940: a ration book was allocated to
each person

Coupons could be exchanged in local
shops for supplies ranging from tea,
sugar, cooking fats..

..to bacon, eggs and milk
Fresh fruit and veg were not rationed..
 ..but were subject to availability


Non-native fruits (bananas, oranges..)
disappeared from shops and stalls
*Beer and tobacco were not rationed..
 ..both were considered necessary for
morale


The quality of beer declined as oats and
potatoes replaced barley
As part of a “Dig for Victory” campaign..
 ..public parks were turned into vegetable
allotments.


The Ministry of Food set up British
Restaurants which provided cheap but
nourishing meals

The general public was asked to donate
to the war effort through a series of
appeals..

..many of these were nothing more than
PR exercises
The Home Guard
**Hitler’s cynical occupation of the
remainder of Czechoslovakia in March
1939..
 ..dispelled all lingering illusions and hope
of peace


**In April..for the first time in her
history..Britain introduced compulsory
military service in peacetime
Older or less fit men joined the Home
Guard - ‘Dad’s Army’
 It’s primary objective was to combat
possible German parachute landings
 Poorly armed, it had a positive effect on
British morale during the war

Women and the War
More and more women joined the
workforce..
 ..taking over jobs traditionally done by
men..
 ..early 1940: a new law required
unmarried women of military age to
register for national service

..many joined auxiliary forces such as,
 ..the Women’s Aux Air force
 ..the Aux Territorial Service
 ..the Women’s Royal Naval Service


Others worked in munitions factories
The Women’s Land Army attempted to
combat against food shortages..
 ..over 25,000 members in 1940

The largest such group was the Women’s
Volunteer Service..
 ..which helped victims of bombing raids

The Blitz

Although the Battle of Britain ended in
1941, German night-time raids continued
well into 1942..

High-explosive bombs, incendiaries
(designed to cause fires) and parachute
mines caused horrendous damage and
suffering




Civilians sought protection in ‘Anderson Huts’
and ‘Morrison Shelters’..
..as well as in the tube stations.
**Luftwaffe raids killed more than 44,000
civilians
(A single Allied raid on the German city of
Dresden on 13-14 Feb,1945 killed over 50,000).
Evacuation

As early as 1938 the British Gov set up an
Imperial Defence Committee..
..it produced a report estimating that over
1 million Britons would die..
 ..(with another million injured)..
 ..in the first two months of the war.

High-risk areas were identified.
 When war broke out (Sept 1939), an
evacuation plan was immediately put into
action.


Thousands of children left the cities for
foster homes in the countryside.

Each child carried a case with a change
of clothing and their gasmask within..

A label attached to their coat detailed their
name, age, address and new destination
The operation lasted 3 days..
 ..827,000 children
 ..103,000 teachers/social workers
 ..524,000 mothers and babies
 ..13,000 expectant mothers
 ..7,000 people with disabilities
 ..were all evacuated.


Many returned to their homes in the cities
during the Phoney War period (Sept.
1939 - May 1940)

A new evacuation had to be hastily
organised with the onset of the Blitz
(Sept. 1940)
Refugees

From the moment Hitler came to power in
1933, people began to flee Germany..
Between 1933 and 1939, over 56,000
refugees from Nazi-occupied territories
fled to Britain..
 ..the majority were Jewish


After the outbreak of war, it became almost
impossible to escape Europe as a refugee..

Over the course of the war, fewer than 6,000
refugees managed to get to Britain..

..by then the reception they received was often
hostile
Once it is known that Britain offers
sanctuary..
 ..the floodgates will open and we will be
inundated by thousands seeking a home
- Daily Mail, 1935


Sympathy for Jewish refugees increased
again from August 1942..

..as news of mass deportation to ghettos and worse - reached Britain
Conclusion

10 July 1940 - the first heavy bombing
raid was made on southern England..
..for a month bombing was concentrated
on Channel shipping and ports..
 ..then for another month on airfields and
London


Thereafter - Hitler continued bombing
London and the big industrial cities..

..**to see if Britain could be bombed into
considering a compromise peace
Use of superior fighter planes..
 ..directed to their enemies by radar..
 ..and by sacrifice of many of her bravest
and most skilled pilots..


..**the RAF inflicted unsustainable losses
on the Luftwaffe

17 September 1941 - Hitler ordered that
‘Operation Sealion’ be postponed
indefinitely

(15 Sept. - he had lost 56 planes)
**The principal defenders of Britain were
a few hundred young fighter-pilots..
 ..British and Dominion..
 ..Czech and Polish..
 ..Belgian and French


***It was the classical revenge of all the
countries Hitler had tried to destroy.
‘Never,’ in Churchill’s famous phrase, ‘in
the field of human conflict..
 ..was so much owed by so many to so
few.’
