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GCSE History- Britain 1931-49 > The home front 1939-1945 > Flashcards

The home front 1939-1945 Flashcards

1
Q

What was different about world war two to other wars?

A

-Brought war to civilians for the first time

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2
Q

Why did the government prepare for war?

A
  • 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
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3
Q

How did the government prepare civilians for the war?

A
  • 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
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4
Q

What government ministries were set up to prepare for the war?

A
  • 1939- Ministry of Supply to take over vital industries
  • Ministry of Food
  • Ministry of Labour organised armed forces and home front
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5
Q

Who was prepared to defend and look after the home front?

A
  • 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
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6
Q

When did evacuation occur?

A
  • Govt. knew they would bomb cities so began before war

- Sept 1st evacuation started, and by 4 days time, 3 million had been evacuated

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7
Q

Key features of evacuation

A
  • 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
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8
Q

Why did the Germans start the Blitz?

A
  • 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
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9
Q

When was the Blitz and where was hit?

A
  • Sept 7th to Nov 2nd 1940

- London was constantly bombed, 16 cities were bombed, including Liverpool and Coventry

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10
Q

How did civilians cope with the Blitz?

A
  • Built shelters or sheltered in underground
  • Social activities helped morale
  • WRVs provided tea and soup
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11
Q

What were the effects of the Blitz?

A
  • Transport links, gas, electricity and water were hit heavily
  • Over 43,000 people were killed
  • Weakened morale, but not hugely
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12
Q

Blitz on Coventry

A
  • 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
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13
Q

Why did the German bombing change?

A
  • After D-Day, Germany set sights back on demoralising public
  • Hitler needed good press as he was no longer fully respected
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14
Q

What new bombs did the Germans have in 1944?

A
  • 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
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15
Q

What were the effects of the new style of German bombing?

A
  • Scary as anti-aircraft guns and blackouts had little effect
  • Demoralised hugely as people were fed up after five years
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16
Q

Propaganda in war

A
  • Encouraged volunteers and working harder for war effort
  • Warned of dangers of ‘careless talk’
  • Encouraged not wasting food and materials for war effort
17
Q

Censorship in war

A
  • 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
18
Q

Why did rationing occur?

A

-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

19
Q

When did rationing start?

A

-Rationing began 8th Jan 1940; everyone got the same, whether rich or poor, some had better diets than before

20
Q

How was rationing monitored and what was rationed?

A
  • People had ration books and registered with a shop which recorded coupons used
  • Food, petrol, coal, clothing and materials were rationed
21
Q

How did people get more food during rationing?

A
  • 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
22
Q

What were the roles of women in the army?

A
  • 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
23
Q

What jobs did women take up in the war?

A
  • 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
24
Q

What were the attitudes towards women working?

A

Women who enjoyed and did well at their work were often respected, but some still held old-fashioned views

25
Q

Did the roles of women change after the war had ended?

A
  • 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

GCSE History- Britain 1931-49 (4 decks)

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