Britain%20and%20World%20War%20II

1
Britain and World War II
2

• Churchill

3

• Churchill might be the right man in time of
  war..
• ..British people often said during the 1930s..
• .. but not in peace.

4

• 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.

5

• The Battle of Britain
• The invasion of Britain in Operation Sea-lion
  required the establishment of air superiority
  over the English Channel..

6

• This task was entrusted to Gorings Luftwaffe..

7

• Britain hadnt 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

8

• 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)

9

• News was censored (propaganda campaign)
• Eventually there were shortages of everything
  from food to toiletries
• ..leading to the introduction of rationing

10

• 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

11

• Coupons could be exchanged in local shops for
  supplies ranging from tea, sugar, cooking fats..
• ..to bacon, eggs and milk

12

• Fresh fruit and veg were not rationed..
• ..but were subject to availability
• Non-native fruits (bananas, oranges..)
  disappeared from shops and stalls

13

• Beer and tobacco were not rationed..
• ..both were considered necessary for morale
• The quality of beer declined as oats and potatoes
  replaced barley

14

• 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

15

• 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

16
The Home Guard

• Hitlers cynical occupation of the remainder of
  Czechoslovakia in March 1939..
• ..dispelled all lingering illusions and hope of
  peace

17

• In April..for the first time in her
  history..Britain introduced compulsory military
  service in peacetime

18

• Older or less fit men joined the Home Guard -
  Dads Army
• Its primary objective was to combat possible
  German parachute landings
• Poorly armed, it had a positive effect on British
  morale during the war

19
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

20

• ..many joined auxiliary forces such as,
• ..the Womens Aux Air force
• ..the Aux Territorial Service
• ..the Womens Royal Naval Service
• Others worked in munitions factories

21

• The Womens Land Army attempted to combat against
  food shortages..
• ..over 25,000 members in 1940
• The largest such group was the Womens Volunteer
  Service..
• ..which helped victims of bombing raids

22
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

23
(No Transcript)
24

• 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).

25
Evacuation
26

• 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.

27

• 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.

28

• 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

29

• 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.

30

• 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)

31
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

32
(No Transcript)
33

• 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

34

• 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

35

• Sympathy for Jewish refugees increased again from
  August 1942..
• ..as news of mass deportation to ghettos - and
  worse - reached Britain

36
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

37

• Thereafter - Hitler continued bombing London and
  the big industrial cities..
• ..to see if Britain could be bombed into
  considering a compromise peace

38

• 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

39

• 17 September 1941 - Hitler ordered that
  Operation Sealion be postponed indefinitely
• (15 Sept. - he had lost 56 planes)

40

• The principal defenders of Britain were a few
  hundred young fighter-pilots..
• ..British and Dominion..
• ..Czech and Polish..
• ..Belgian and French

41

• It was the classical revenge of all the
  countries Hitler had tried to destroy.
• Never, in Churchills famous phrase, in the
  field of human conflict..
• ..was so much owed by so many to so few.