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Collection
In this collection of resources, we examine daily life during the London Blitz, the period of intense bombing of the British capital from 1940 to 1941 during the Second World War (1939-45). We look at Nazi Germany's objectives for the bombing, how civilians spent night after night in air raid shelters, and some of the privations endured such as the evacuation of children and rationing of food. We also encounter eyewitness accounts from those directly involved such as firefighters, air raid wardens, and women volunteers.
One of the oddest things about our everyday life is its a mixture of ruthless horror and every-day routine. I pick my way to work past the bomb craters and the shattered glass, and sit at my desk in a room with a large hole in the roof (a block of paving stone came through).
Phyllis Warner (Gardiner, 48)
Questions & Answers
What were the living conditions like during the Blitz?
- Living conditions during the Blitz were seriously affected by the bombing. Raids frequently damaged infrastructure like electricity, gas, and water supplies. Air raids often required sleeping in uncomfortable air raid shelters. Hundreds of thousands of people had their homes destroyed and lost loved ones. The homeless depended on government and charity rescue centres for food and clothing.
What was life like during the Blitz for kids?
- Many kids were evacuated from cities during the Blitz. For those who remained behind, there was often no school available, food was in short supply, and many of their parents lost their homes to bomb damage so that they had to live in rescue centres before being rehoused, often in a new neighbourhood away from their friends.
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About the Author
![Mark Cartwright]()
Mark is a full-time writer, researcher, historian, and editor. Special interests include art, architecture, and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the WHE Publishing Director.
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License & Copyright
Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 10 July 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
