The Blitz During World War II

The Blitz ‘Blitz’ is from the German word - blitzkrieg which means ‘lightning war’. The Blitz was the sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, in World War II. While the "Blitz" hit many towns and cities across the country, it began with the bombing of London for 57 consecutive nights.

Where was affected? By the end of May 1941, over 43,000 civilians, half of them in London, had been killed by bombing and more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged in London alone. London was not the only city to suffer Luftwaffe bombing during the Blitz. Other important military and industrial centres, such as Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Clydebank, Coventry, Greenock, Sheffield, Swansea, Liverpool, Hull, Manchester, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Nottingham and Southampton. Adolf Hitler's aim was to destroy British morale and make the British feel they were losing the war.

Invasion British citizens lived under the constant fear of invasion as had happened in other European countries such as France. Despite the damage it caused, the Blitz did not make invasion easier or force the British to surrender. However, such constant bombing was devastating for families who lost their homes or their loved ones.

Homelessness These children are left sitting outside their home which has been destroyed by the blitz. Many people were left homeless but the ‘spirit of the war’ made people pull together and look after one another.

Devastation in London during the blitz.

Surviving the Blitz It was possible to survive the blitz if you had the following things: A gas mask Blackout curtains A local air raid shelter Luck!

Gas Masks Britain was at risk from dangerous gasses being dropped from Nazi bombs during the blitz. Everyone in Britain was given a gas mask which they had to carry AT ALL TIMES. It had to be near you to put on at a moment’s notice should a gas attack occur. If you breathed in poisonous gasses dropped from bombs you would probably die.

Blackout Curtains The Nazi planes that flew over England usually came at night. They would look for large areas of light which they judged to be the cities (targets) on which to drop their bombs. Blackout curtains were used to block light from houses, this would make it difficult for the planes to find their targets. It was strictly enforced.

Cars were also modified to reduce light they gave out when driving at night.

Accidents during the Blackout Thousands of people died in road accidents. The number of road accidents increased because of the lack of street lighting and the dimmed traffic lights. To help prevent accidents white stripes were painted on the roads and on lamp-posts. People were encouraged to walk facing the traffic and men were advised to leave their shirt-tails hanging out so that they could be seen by cars with dimmed headlights. Other people were injured during the Blackout because they could not see in the darkness. Many people were injured tripping up, falling down steps, or bumping into things.

The London Underground (Makeshift Bomb Shelter) during the Blitz

An Anderson shelter

What are these children doing? Where are they? What do you think they are saying to each other?

After the Blitz While the Germans never again managed to bomb Britain on such a large scale, they carried out smaller attacks throughout the war, taking the civilian death toll to 51,509 from bombing.

Pilot-less Planes In 1944, the development of pilotless V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets briefly allowed Germany to again attack London. In total, the V weapons killed 8,938 civilians in London and the south east. They were nicknamed ‘doodlebugs’. They were given just enough fuel to make it to their target. When the fuel ran out they would drop from the sky. People heard a whining sound in the sky when the rockets came overhead. When the whining stopped there was a terrifying silence before the plane dropped into a dive bomb.

Discussion Points What made living in big cities dangerous? Why did they need air raid shelters? What do you think was the worst thing about living through the Blitz? Why was there a ‘black out’ at night? What problems did the black out cause for people? Why did people always need to carry a gas mask?