The Impact of World War 2 on Britain, Germany

and the rest of the World.

Revision Notes

The idea that people have certain rights has existed for longer than 2,000 years, with both the Bible and Quran talking of rights. In Roman times within the Roman Empire MALE citizens had certain political rights, in the past in Britain the rich had more rights than the poor, the Protestants more rights than Catholics, men more rights than women and in the US and South Africa, whites more rights than Blacks.

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In the Second World War over 72 million people died in the World’s largest conflict. Following on from this human rights began with the idea that EVERYONE mattered no matter who they were or what group they belonged to.

World War Two began in September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany's invasion of Poland.

Although the outbreak of war was triggered by Germany's invasion of Poland, the causes of the war are more complex.

Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Almost immediately he began secretly building up Germany's army and weapons. In 1934 he increased the size of the army, began building warships and created a German airforce. Compulsory military service was also introduced.

Failure of the League of Nations

The League of Nations was an international organisation set up in 1919 to help keep world peace (can be compared to the UN today). It was intended that all countries would be members of the League and that if there were disputes between countries they could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. If this failed then countries would stop trading with the aggressive country and if that failed then countries would use their armies to fight.

In theory the League of Nations was a good idea and did have some early successes.

In the late 1920’s the whole world was hit by a depression. A depression is when a country's economy falls. Trade is reduced, businesses lose income, prices fall and unemployment rises.

In 1931, Japan was hit badly by the depression. People lost faith in the government and turned to the army to find a solution. The League called for countries to stop trading with Japan but because of the depression many countries did not want to risk losing trade and did not agree to the request.

The main reasons for the failure of the League of Nations can be summarised by the following:

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Not all countries joined the League. The League had no power. The League had no army. Unable to act quickly.

Can this be compared to the United Nations today and at the moment in particular in Syria?

In 1936 Germany hosted the Olympic Games where it used this event to display its military power, its unity and purpose by allowing thousands of men to march in perfectly drilled formations, flypasts of warplanes, torch lit possessions and domed searchlights were viewed. This enabled Germany to show its might and was greatly emotive to the German people. Do you think that the Olympics today is still used to show might?

The Italian dictator Mussolini and Emperor Hirohito of Japan did not directly cause the Second World War. But their aggressive policies made war more likely because they showed that aggression and force could succeed. If you look at Tunisia this is where the Arab Spring began which has led to discontent in places like Egypt, Libya and Syria which are all trying to change their way of life using aggression to democracy.

After the start of World War Two, life changed considerably in Britain. No nation mobilised more thoroughly than Britain “Don’t you know there’s a war on?” was the common phrase. To avoid giving the enemy visual reference points at night, full blackout curtains had to be used to keep light from escaping from windows. Vehicle lights had to be covered so that only a pinhole was left to allow light to escape. Fuel was rationed, especially gasoline.

World War Two - Conscription

Conscription literally means compulsory military service.

Unlike other European countries, Britain had always relied on volunteers to fight in times of war. Conscription had been introduced in 1916 when more men were needed to fight in the trenches, but it was abandoned when the war ended.

During the 1930’s some men still chose to enter the armed forces after leaving school and in 1937 there were 200,000 soldiers in the British army. The government knew that this was not enough to fight a war with Germany

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and in April 1939 introduced the Military Training Act. The terms of the act meant that all men between the ages of 20 and 21 had to register for six months' military training. At the same time a list of 'reserved occupations' was published. This listed occupations that were essential to the war effort and stated that those employed in those jobs were exempt from conscription.

Reserved Occupations were: Dock Workers, Miners, Farmers, Scientists, Merchant Seamen, Railway Workers and Utility Workers.

When war broke out in September 1939, some men volunteered to join the armed services, but Britain could still only raise 875,000 men. Other European countries had kept conscription between the wars and were able to raise much larger armies than Britain. In October 1939 the British government announced that all men aged between 18 and 41 who were not working in 'reserved occupations' could be called to join the armed services if required. Conscription was by age and in October 1939 men aged between 20 and 23 were required to register to serve in one of the armed forces. They were allowed to choose between the army, the navy and the airforce

As the war continued men from the other registered age groups received their 'call-up' papers requiring them to serve in the armed forces. In 1941 single women aged between 20 and 30 were also conscripted. Women did not take part in the fighting but were required to take up work in reserved occupations - especially factories and farming - to enable men to be drafted into the services.

Men who were too old, young or not completely fit joined the Home Guard, known as Dad's Army.

American fighting men were a resource that helped the allies win victory over Germany and Japan. The American Government took on extra powers to allow it to direct the war effort both through conscription and direction of the economy by instructing companies on what they should produce in the factories. The large scale conscription brought many changes which affected women and black Americans the most. The war ended the American depression and created a boom that America has not since experienced. America like Germany enjoyed a rapid increase in income and standard of living. It is worth remembering that unlike Europe and Asia most civilians had NO experience of the war.

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Propaganda.

Posters were everywhere on every subject from rationing to registering for civil duties. Posters were the main way of persuading people to do the Governments bidding covering patriotism to the anti-Semitism of Nazi ideology. Radios along with other media were also used as propaganda tools. Radio was known as the tool of ‘black propaganda’ by all sides, the most famous being William Joyce the German who broadcast propaganda and whose sneering mock-aristocratic tones earned him the nickname of ‘Lord Haw Haw’. Josepf Goebbels was the German Minister of Propaganda and it was his job to keep the people on the ‘Nazi’ side, so he took control of both the press and radio. He made them give a Nazi version of the news and urged all Germans to love the Fuhrer and hate the Jews; he used the radio to take Hitler’s voice into every German home. New history textbooks were printed and told of the great deeds of the German past, they told ‘lies’ about the Jews and biology books proved they were the ‘master race’. Goebbels was known as a master in the art of propaganda and even at the end of the war was able to con his opponents. In April 1945 in the ruins of Berlin to his subordinates Goebbels said “... in a hundred years time they will be making a fine colour film describing the terrible days we are living through. Do you wish to play a part in this film?”

Conscientious Objectors

Conscientious objectors were men who, for moral or religious reasons felt unable to take part in the war. The British government set up tribunals and those who objected to taking part in the war had to apply for Conscientious Objector status and give their reasons before a panel of officials. The panel had the authority to grant full exemption from any kind of war work, to grant exemption from military service only or to dismiss the application. Approximately 60,000 men applied for Conscientious Objector status. Of those around 18,000 were dismissed. Historically, many conscientious objectors have been executed, imprisoned, or otherwise penalized when their beliefs led to actions conflicting with their society's legal system or government. In the United States, COs were sent to forestry camps, where they laboured very, very hard to cut down trees, or work on agricultural projects. They were also used to fight forest fires.

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World War Two - The Blitz

In the summer of 1940, Hitler decided to invade Britain. His plan was to take control of the English Channel by destroying the Royal Airforce and then to send German troops into Britain to take control.

The German airforce (Luftwaffe) began making daily bombing raids on British ships, ports, radar stations, airfields and aircraft factories. This became known as the Battle of Britain.

The Royal Airforce took to the skies and there were many battles between British and German planes over the Channel and South Coast. Although British losses were high, German losses were higher and at the beginning of September Hitler decided to try a new tactic to conquer

Britain.

During the Second World War the German bombing raids were far more serious than in the First World War because advances in technology meant that more powerful bombers and more destructive bombs could be used. These attacks were known as the Blitz, which is a shortened version of the German word blitzkrieg, which means lightning war. The German raids, which began on 7 September 1940, targeted British towns and cities with the aim of destroying civilian morale, forcing the British into submission and undermining British armaments production.

The main aims now were the disturbance of production and incoming supplies. The underlying purpose was to slow down British armament production and begin a full-scale economic war. To destroy civilian morale we began 'reprisal raids' at the same time.

British towns and cities suffered heavy bombing from the autumn of 1940 to May 1941, with the targets usually military or industrial centres.

From May 1941 the attacks became less and less frequent as Hitler diverted resources to the invasion of the Soviet Union.

• The primary target was London, which was bombed every night from 7 September to 2 November 1940, especially the docks and factories of the East End. Some 12,500 people died during December 1940.

• In the south, Bristol, Southampton and Plymouth were also targeted. The naval base at Portsmouth was the target for a massive attack on 10 January 1940 where 930 civilians were killed and 3,000 injured.

• Coventry was badly hit by a series of raids in November 1940 with the

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Germans using incendiary bombs to increase the damage caused. People were so terrified that they fled from the city each night, sleeping with relatives or in open fields in nearby countryside.

• In the north, Manchester was attacked in December 1940 while Liverpool suffered its worst raid - from over 500 bombers - in May 1941.

• Glasgow and the Clyde shipyard towns were hit hard in the spring of 1941.

• Belfast suffered badly in April and May 1941. At least 1,000 people were killed and 150,000 were made homeless.

Two sources below show the effect of bombing:“Bombing had far less effect than was thought at the time. The German arms industry increased its output until the autumn of 1944, in spite of the air raids. The attacks on the German ball-bearing plants almost grounded their air-force for a while. But by the end of the war, they had more ball bearings than they needed. Our attacks on the air-craft factories were a total failure. .... Bombings were meant to destroy German industry and the spirit of the people. It did neither”

Adapted from the words of Professor J.K. Galbraith, who toured Germany at the end of the war to find out how much damage bombing had done.

“For the allies, bombing had some good results. Two million Germans had to be employed on repair work. German soldiers must have been depressed, thinking about their wives and children at home. Thousands of men who could have been at the front were manning anti-aircraft guns. Hundreds of fighter planes, instead of helping the army, had to defend the cities”

Adapted from a book written by Henri Michel in 1975. The author spent many years study in the Second World War.

The 'Blitz Spirit'

The Blitz provided the media, especially newspapers, with the ideal opportunity to portray the Nazis as evil murderers who must be defeated. Moreover, at first sight, the bombing appears to have been a failure. Far from destroying morale and bombing Britain into submission, it had the opposite effect and made the British people even more determined to stand up to Hitler. People seemed cheerful in the face of great hardships and determined to get on with everyday life. The underground was full of people singing as they sheltered from the bombs.

However, high morale was not felt by everyone, everywhere. Censorship and propaganda was very effective in playing down the negative (and quite understandable) reactions of individuals or groups who were badly affected by the bombings

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Bombing Raids

Hitler believed that by targeting civilians he could force the British to surrender and on 7th September 1940 began his daily bombing campaign. London was the main target but other major cities were also bombed. Casualties were high. On the first day of bombing 430 people were killed

and 1,600 badly injured.

Within a few weeks the daily bombing raids had become nightly raids. Hitler decided to make the bombing raids at night to increase the 'fear factor' and

also to make people weaker by not allowing them to sleep properly. People in London slept in underground stations for protection.

Shelters

There were public shelters in most towns, but many people built Anderson shelters in their gardens so that they had protection if they were unable to get to the public shelter. Anderson shelters were made out of corrugated iron and were very strong. A hole was dug in the garden, then the shelter was placed in the hole and it was covered with earth. An air-raid siren warned people when a raid was about to begin.

The government tried to confuse the German bombers by enforcing a 'blackout'. Street lamps were switched off, car headlights had to be covered and people had to hang black material in their windows at night so that house lights could not be seen. Going out at night could be dangerous during the blackout; cars crashed into each other and pedestrians, people walked into each other, fell off bridges or fell into ponds.

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After May 1941, the bombing raids became less frequent as Hitler turned his attention to Russia. Nevertheless, the effects of the Blitz were devastating. 60,000 people lost their lives, 87,000 were seriously injured and 2 million homes were destroyed.

World War Two - The Home Front

Although it was the men who went off to fight the war, the people left behind at home also had a part to play in the war. The Home Front is the name given to the effect of the war on people's everyday lives.

The impact of war on Britain

Effects on industry

Bombing of industrial targets was generally not effective because precision was needed. Some factories were isolated, unlike housing estates, and they could easily be missed at night. Most factories were able to resume production within two to three days of being hit.

Effects on civilians

Bombing affected everyday life. The government gave out air raid shelters before and in the early months of the war. Some 2 million Anderson shelters were provided. These definitely saved thousands of lives by protecting people from shrapnel and flying glass. However, they offered little protection from falling masonry and many poorer people did not have gardens in which to build them. In 1941, therefore, 500,000 Morrison shelters were provided, which could be set up indoors.

Only 27 per cent of people used these private shelters. The rest used public shelters or 'self-chosen' shelters, such as the London underground. At the beginning of the war, the government had rejected the use of the underground for shelter, but the force of public demand made them change their mind. In September 1940 they opened up 80 stations. People felt safer in these stations and enjoyed the comradeship and shared sacrifices.

Surveys suggested that only 40 per cent of Londoners regularly took shelter. This accounts for the high casualty rates. By June 1941, 43,000 civilians had been killed and 1.5 million homes lost due to German bombing raids.

On 10 September 1940 a bomb hit Buckingham Palace while the king and queen were at Windsor. Even though the damage was slight, people were impressed with the attitude of the Royal Family who insisted on staying at Buckingham Palace throughout the war.

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People sleeping in an underground station in London during the Blitz.

Evacuation

When the war began in September 1939 the government knew that large cities would be the target for German bombs and that casualties would be high. Evacuation was introduced to move school children, teachers,

mothers with children under the age of five and disabled people out of the cities to the countryside where there was little risk of bombing raids.

Evacuation was voluntary and the government expected more than 3 million people to take advantage of the scheme. However, by the end of September 1939 only 1.5 million people had been evacuated and most of those returned to their homes when there were no bombing raids. When the Battle of Britain and the Blitz began in 1940, evacuation was re-introduced.

The children to be evacuated assembled in the school playground. They all wore name tags and had to carry their gas mask as well as their belongings. After saying goodbye to their parents they travelled by train or by coach to their destination where they met the people who were to house them. Most of those evacuated had no idea what their life as an evacuee would be like nor when they would see their parents again.

Rationing.

During World War II all sorts of essential and non-essential foods were rationed, as well as clothing, furniture and petrol. Nevertheless, fair shares for all meant that the diet and health of the nation improved during the war.

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W h y w a s r a ti o n i n g i n t r o d u c e d ?

Britain has always imported food and other goods from overseas. Being an island this means that goods come into the country by ship or air. In 1939 most goods were transported to Britain by ship.

From the beginning of the war, one of Hitler's tactics against Britain was to use

submarines to torpedo ships bringing supplies to Britain. This meant that imported goods were in short supply.

Before the war, Britain imported 55 million tons of food; a month after the war had started this figure had dropped to 12 million.

The Ration Book became the key to survival for nearly every household in Britain. Every member of the public was issued with a ration book.

Ration Books

W h a t w e r e r a ti o n b o o k s ?

They were books which contained coupons that shopkeepers cut out or signed when people bought food and other items. (People still paid for the goods with money.)

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Every man, woman and child was given a ration book for food and had to register with a grocery store. The grocery store was only given enough food for the people on their list. When someone bought rationed food, the grocer stuck a sticker in his or her ration book to show that that week's ration had been purchased.

At first only butter, sugar and bacon was rationed. By the middle of 1940 all meat, eggs, cheese, jam, tea and milk was also rationed. Clothes were rationed from June 1941 due to a shortage of raw materials and also to allow the factories and workers to concentrate on producing weapons, aircraft and ammunition for the war.

One Person's Weekly Food Allowance

4oz (113g)lard or butter

12oz (340g)

sugar

4oz (113g) bacon

2 eggs

6oz (170g) meat

2oz (57g) tea

Vegetables were not rationed but were often in short supply. People who had gardens were encouraged to plant vegetables instead of flowers. The government called this 'Digging for Victory' and produced posters to persuade people that they were helping to win the war by planting vegetables.

The only fruit that was available was that grown in Britain e.g. apples, pears, and strawberries. Bananas, oranges, peaches and other imported fruit were not available at all.

Dried egg powder was available and was used to make scrambled eggs.

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W h y w e r e t h e r e d i ff e r e n t c o l o u r r a ti o n b o o k s ?

'The colour of your ration book was very important as it made sure you go the right amount and types of food needed for your health.

Buff-coloured ration books - Most adults had this colour

Green ration books - Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 5. They had first choice of fruit, a daily pint of milk and a double supply of eggs.

Blue ration books - Children between 5 and 16 years of age. It was felt important that children had fruit, the full meat ration and half a pint of milk a day.

W h y d i d t h e G o v e r n m e n t I s s u e r a ti o n b o o k s ?

To make sure that everybody got a fair share of the food available.

The government was worried that as food and other items became scarcer, prices would rise and poorer people might not be able to afford things. There was also a danger that some people might hoard items, leaving none for others.

Rationing was introduced to make sure that everyone had a fair share of the items that were hard to get hold of during the war.

W h e n w a s r a ti o n i n g i n t r o d u c e d ?

Rationing was introduced at the beginning of 1940.

National Registration Day

On National Registration Day on 29 September 1939, every householder had to fill in a form giving details of the people who lived in their house.

H o w d i d r a ti o n i n g w o r k ?

Using the information gathered on National Registration Day, the government issued every one with an identity card and ration book.

Register with local shopsEach family or individual had to register with a local supplier from whom the

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ration would be bought. These details were stamped in the book and you could only buy your ration from that supplier.

CouponsThe books contained coupons that had to be handed to or signed by the shopkeeper every time rationed goods were bought. This meant that people could only buy the amount they were allowed.

W a s r a ti o n i n g f a i r ?

Some people considered food rationing to be very unfair. Eggs, butter and meat could be obtained fairly easily without coupons in rural areas.

By the summer of 1941 greengrocers in the towns were taking their lorries into the country to buy vegetables direct from growers.

W h e n d i d f o o d r a ti o n i n g s t o p ?

Fourteen years of food rationing in Britain ended at midnight on 4 July 1954, when restrictions on the sale and purchase of meat and bacon were lifted. This happened nine years after the end of the war.

It wasn't just food that was rationed during World War II. Clothing also became scarce.

Clothes rationing began on June 1, 1941, two years after food rationing started. Clothes rationing ended on 15 March 1949.

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Clothing ration book - Can you spot the two books for children?

W h y w e r e c l o t h e s r a ti o n e d d u r i n g t h e w a r ?

There was a shortage of materials to make clothes.

People were also urged to "Make do and mend" so that clothing factories and workers could be used to make items, such as parachutes and uniforms, needed in the battle against Germany.

H o w d i d p e o p l e b u y c l o t h e s w h e n t h e y w e r e r a ti o n e d ?

Everyone was given a Clothing Book with coloured coupons in it. Every item of clothing was given a value in coupons. To buy clothes people handed over their Clothing Book to the shopkeeper who cut out one of the coupons. They then handed over money to the shopkeeper to pay for the clothes.

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Clothing coupons

The coupon system allowed people to buy one completely new set of clothes once a year.

W h e r e d i d p e o p l e g e t t h e i r c l o t h e s c o u p o n s f r o m ?

The government gave every person a clothes ration book full of coupons.

W h y w e r e t h e r e d i ff e r e n t c o l o u r c o u p o n s ?

Each page of coupons was a different colour to stop people using up all their coupons at once. People were only allowed to use one colour at a time. The government would tell people when they could start using a new colour.

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Coupons from one colour could be saved and used with the next colour.

H o w m a n y c l o t h i n g c o u p o n s c o u l d e a c h p e r s o n u s e ?

Each person was given 60 coupons to last them a year. Later it was reduced to 48 coupons.

Children were allocated an extra 10 clothing coupons above the standard ration to allow for growing out of clothes during a year.

C l o t h e s C o u p o n s

The two images below show how many coupons you would need to buy different items of clothing.

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Second hand clothes were not rationed and children's clothes were handed down from one child to the next or sold on to other families. The

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government used the slogan 'Mend and Make Do' to encourage people to repair or patch torn or worn clothes.

Rationing dates:

1939 - Petrol rationing (ended May 1950)

8 January 1940 - Rationing of bacon, butter and sugar

11 March 1940 - All meat was rationed

July 1940 - Tea and margarine were added to the list of rationed foods.

March 1941 - Jam was put on ration.

May 1941 - Cheese was rationed

1 June 1941 - Rationing of clothing (ended 15 March 1949)

June 1941 - Eggs were put on ration

July 1941 - Coal was rationed because more and more miners were called up to serve in the forces.

January 1942 - Rice and dried fruit were added to the list of rationed foods.

February 1942 - Soap was rationed so that oils and fats could be saved for food.

Tinned tomatoes and peas were added to the list of rationed food.

By 17 March 1942, coal, gas and electricity were all rationed

26 July 1942 - Rationing of sweets and chocolate. Each person was allowed about 2oz (55 grams) a week

August 1942 - Biscuits rationed

1943 - Sausages are rationed

1945 World War Two Ends - 1948 ending of rationing began but rationing continued on many items until 1954.

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25 July 1948 - end of flour rationing

15 March 1949 - end of clothes rationing

19 May 1950 - rationing ended for canned and dried fruit, chocolate biscuits, treacle, syrup, jellies and mincemeat.

September 1950 - rationing ended for soap

3 October 1952 - Tea rationing ended

February 1953 - Sweet and sugar rationing ends

4 July 1954 - Food rationing ends

Women

As more and more men were 'called up' to serve in the forces, women were called upon to take over the jobs traditionally done by men.

Women worked in the factories producing aircraft, ammunition, weapons and other goods needed for the war effort. They worked long hours and could earn as much as 40 shillings (£2.00) a week. This was quite a good wage in the 1940s but was less than the men had been paid for doing the same job.

The women who worked in the fields and on farms were known as Land Girls. They were given a uniform and had to live on the farms where they were sent to work. They worked long hours and the work was hard. Land Girls were paid 32 shillings (£1.60) per week. Nine out of ten single women by mid 1943 were working and some operated machinery and worked as welders in ship yards. Margaret Weldon, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force recalled “In a way it was like going to university. We were mostly that age and you see people change as they grow up through a war. Before the war I had never been anywhere much and I knew very little. The people I knew were confined to my local area. In the WAAF I met all kinds of people in all kinds of

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circumstances. I saw things I never thought I would see. And there’s an instant bond between us all....” World War 2 in Photographs.

Other jobs done by women included: Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), Air Raid Wardens, Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), Special Operations Executive (SOE) [known as Secret Agents or Spies], and Entertainers.

There was much more to women's work during World War Two than 'Make Do and Mend'. They built tanks, worked in rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines.

Signing up

During World War One, women volunteered for essential work in order to release men to go into the armed forces. As World War Two loomed, campaigns emphasised the need for women to volunteer in similar fashion. However, that this time volunteering was not going to meet the demands of wartime production, and in 1940, a secret report by Sir William Beveridge demonstrated that the conscription of women, as well as of men, was unavoidable.

From spring 1941, every woman in Britain aged 18-60 had to be registered, and their family occupations were recorded. Each was interviewed, and required to choose from a range of jobs, although it was emphasised that women would not be required to bear arms. Many women, however, were eventually to work - and die - under fire.

In December 1941, the National Service Act made the conscription of women legal. At first, only single women aged 20-30 were called up, but by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed in essential work for the war effort.

Changing roles

ATS anti-aircraft crew, 194121

Most women who volunteered before the war went into civil defence or the Women's Land Army. The main civil defence services were Air Raid Precautions (ARP), the fire service and Women's Voluntary Services (WVS). Initially, the women mainly carried out clerical work, but their roles expanded to meet demand, and female pump crews became commonplace.The WVS was the largest single women's organisation at this time. It was formed to support civil defence and to provide services not provided locally by other organisations, and had over one million members. Typical WVS contributions included organising evacuations, shelters, clothing exchanges and mobile canteens.

The Women's Land Army/Scottish Land Army was reformed in 1938 so that women could be trained in agricultural work, leaving male workers free to go to war. Most WLA members were young women from the towns and cities. ere no mechanical devices used then and every pit-prop was cut

Ambulance crew, Fulham, 1941.

In the 1930s, social roles were clearly defined. A woman's place was in the home, a man's place was out at work. It was acceptable for women to work outside the home if they had no family to look after, but they were paid less than men were - even when doing the same jobs. Before the war, nearly five million women in the United Kingdom had paid employment, but most would have expected to leave as soon as they married, or when they had their first child.With the onset of war, everything changed. Fathers perhaps joined the armed forces, or were sent away to do vital civilian work, so mothers often ran the home alone - and had to get used to going out to work, as well. Young single women, often away from home for the first time, might be billeted miles from their families.

Flexible working hours, nurseries and other arrangements soon became commonplace to accommodate the needs of working women with children.

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Before long, women made up one third of the total workforce in the metal and chemical industries, as well as in ship-building and vehicle manufacture.

They worked on the railways, canals and on buses. Women built Waterloo Bridge in London. Nellie Brook left the munitions factory where she worked due to poor health, and was assigned to aircraft manufacture.

Fashion and freedom

Trousers made quite an impact on women's fashion Military styling and lines influenced fashions at the start of the war. Women often wore trousers, or a one-piece siren suit (so-called because it could be pulled on quickly when an air raid warning siren sounded). Headgear became practical, seen as a means of keeping hair out of the way rather than as a fashion statement. Large handbags - to carry all the family's ration books - were also practical rather than fashionable accessories.Knitting became a national female obsession. Various schemes gave advice on recycling or making clothes last longer, two of these were the Make Do and Mend, and Sew and Save, schemes. Leading designers worked on the Utility scheme, aiming to make the best use of materials to produce functional clothing.

Hair was worn long, but off the face. As war drew to a close, women adopted the 'Victory Roll', where the hair was rolled up tightly, fixed in place, and topped with a swept-up curl. Longer hair, like red lipstick, was thought to add to a woman's glamour. The popular wisdom was that such feminine touches boosted morale, both for women and for the men around them.

The practical demands of wartime changed social customs beyond all recognition. People enjoyed far greater social freedom than before, with more opportunities for encounters with members of the opposite sex, and a sense that normal rules did not apply in the face of so much imminent danger.

The drawback to such new opportunities was the increase in numbers of people with venereal disease, Being, or having an illegitimate child were

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socially unacceptable then, but even so, there was a huge increase in the number of children born to single mothers during the war. However, increasingly explicit sex education did mean that people ended the war far better informed about this topic than they might have otherwise have been.

A global response

The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was formed in 1938. Its initial plan was to recruit 25,000 female volunteers for driving, clerical and general duties. In 1939, however, it was in action in France with the British Expeditionary Force.

The vast majority of women in the ATS served in anti-aircraft command, on searchlights - the 93rd Searchlight Regiment were all female. They also worked in mixed batteries on anti-aircraft guns, but were not officially allowed to fire them.

The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) was reformed in the spring of 1939. Women aged 18-50 and living near naval ports could apply. The WRNS maintained ships of the Royal Navy and were involved in some of the most secret planning for D-Day.

The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was created in July 1939. Among other duties, they boosted the numbers in the Royal Observer Corps, and in maintaining and flying barrage balloons.

Some, mainly from the voluntary First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, worked with the Special Operations Executive, dropping into enemy territory and working as saboteurs, couriers and radio operators.

Elsewhere overseas, female nurses in military field hospitals worked near the front line of battle, and many served with allied forces such as SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces). Women also came to Britain as members of other Allied forces - such as the Women's Australian Air Force, and its Canadian and American equivalents. Others came from across the then British Empire to serve in the ATS. At its peak the British auxiliary forces consisted of nearly half a million members.

Women in 1945

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VE Day, London, May 1945. Recruitment posters showed women as glamorous and independent, and images of women, especially in uniform, were used to sell everything from cigarettes to shoes. In the cinema, women were usually depicted as practical and capable - and those who moaned were usually dead by the end of the film.Women's contributions to the war effort were highlighted in newspapers and magazines, and auxiliary forces paraded regularly through towns. As the war ended, however, printed publications took for granted the return of women to the home.

It was understood throughout the war that what Britain's women were doing was really 'a man's job'. So many of them were dismissed from their work once peace was declared. Government policy encouraged men to return to their pre-war occupations, and wartime nurseries were wound up. In industries that were not heavily unionised, however, some women were kept on - not least because they were cheaper to employ than men.

Recognition of the contribution of the auxiliary forces came quickly, after the war was over, with the creation of permanent women's forces in 1949. And post-war food shortages meant that the Women's Land Army continued until 1950. The WVS proved itself too useful ever to disband and continues today, becoming 'Royal' in 1966.

The wartime achievements of civilian women were less easy to define, however, once normal life was resumed, and there was no obvious immediate change in their circumstances. Nevertheless, by the 1960s the experiences of those who had done 'a man's job' in the war years began to resonate with a new generation. Their stories added weight to the campaign throughout that decade for equal workplace opportunities, and equal pay, for women.

The war did change the attitudes of some women. War gave them confidence and self respect. For many also the chance to enjoy the independence and freedom the war had offered them.

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Hitler made no preparation to fight the ‘total war’ and sweeping victories in France and Russia prevented most Germans from the wars hardships. It was not until 1941 that an attempt was made to encourage women to work and many worked in factories and produced consumer goods rather than weapons. Many women worked as maids and cooks. What they did use was the millions of slave workers transported from Eastern Europe.

In America the war years provided women with more opportunities and improved their status. Many women worked in factories and learnt and used skill previously only men had. American women did jobs similar to British women and some lost their lives. Women in 1942 began to wear trousers more and once the war ended many women were not prepared to return to live as it was before the war. Child minding services and factory nurseries were set up so that mothers could work and in 1940 35% of married women worked increased to 50% by 1945. Some American fathers and husbands complained about this but women claimed it was their patriotic duty and although women were doing equal work they were earning more having moved from low to high paid jobs but not equal pay to men unlike today. Like today some men were prejudiced and thought that certain jobs should be men only and when the fighting men returned from the war women should give up working and return home. In a lot of cases this happened but it paved the way for the rights and opportunities of women to be extended to help place them in the position that they are today.

Home Guard

The Home Guard or Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) was formed in 1940 when there was a real risk that Hitler might invade Britain. The men that served in the Home Guard were all volunteers and were mostly those that were too old (over the age of 40) or too young (under the age of 18) to serve in the forces. They became

known as 'Dad's Army'.

The men were issued with a uniform and an armband with the letters LDV to show that they were members of the Home Guard. Members of the public

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were asked to donate any rifles, pistols or shotguns that they might have to provide the Home Guard with weapons. Those that were not provided with weapons made makeshift weapons from pieces of pipe or knives.

Most of the men had full time jobs and trained in the evenings. As well as preparing themselves to be ready to fight off a German invasion, the Home Guard also guarded buildings that had been bombed to prevent looting, helped to clear bomb damage, helped to rescue those trapped after an air

raid, guarded factories and airfields, captured German airmen that had been shot down and set up roadblocks to check people's identity cards.

World War Two - German Prisoners of War in Britain

In 1939 there were just two Prisoner of war camps in Britain. By the end of the war; there were more than 600.

Each camp was given a number and was either a disused building - factory, college, hotel etc, or was a specially constructed building known as a Nissen hut. A typical Nissen hut made of corrugated iron is

pictured below.

Although there were German prisoners of war in Britain from 1939, Britain was reluctant to accept large numbers of German prisoners of war until there was no longer a threat of a German invasion of Britain. Prior to the successful allied defeat of Germany in Africa in 1943, the majority of

German prisoners of war were sent to camps in Canada and the US.

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However, after the allied invasion of Western Europe, known as D-Day, 6th June 1944, captured German soldiers were transported to Britain. Those who were Luftwaffe pilots or who were suspected of having knowledge of German military plans were taken for interrogation before being sent to a camp. Strong Nazi supporters

and members of the SS were sent to remote camps such as in the Scottish Highlands.

The terms of the Geneva Convention stipulated that prisoners of war should not be forced to work while in captivity. However, given the choice, many German prisoners of war chose to work rather than sit around the camp doing nothing. Those that chose to worked on farms - harvesting, digging ditches or repairing fences, in the construction industry - rebuilding homes damaged by bombing, or clearing bomb damage.

There were also activities within the camp such as lectures, concerts and English lessons, football and other sports. The range of alternative activities such as these varied from camp to camp.

German prisoners of war were allocated the same food ration as British servicemen and given access to medical care. However, although they were relatively well looked after many German prisoners of war suffered mentally. They had no information about their families, the state of their country or when they would be released.

At the end of the war prisoners were subjected to a re-education programme designed to equip them for life in the new Germany. Prisoners were also assessed with regard to continuing loyalty to Nazi ideals. Those that showed continuing loyalty remained in captivity. The first German prisoners of war returned to their homes in 1946, the last in 1949.

Japanese Americans.

Today we find it shameful how brutally these people were treated. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour Americans felt hatred towards the Japanese and they took out their anger on the people who had moved and

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lived there for a long time. Civil rights were lost and President Roosevelt ordered that they be moved to internment camps. Many of them lost all of their possessions including their homes and it is estimated in all they suffered a total loss of over $400 million pounds. Because of this some refused to pledge loyalty to the USA and they were shipped to Japan. In 1998 apologies were made and those still alive offered compensation.

Russia

The war in Russia was huge; it stretched more than 2,000 miles from North to South. In 1943 the Germans had five million men there but on the other side the Russian army was even bigger and growing. The Russian factories were producing tanks, guns and aircraft at a rate the Germans could not match.

After Stalingrad the Russians knew that they could beat the Germans.

The War in the Pacific.

For six months following the attack on Pearl Harbour Japan was very successful. This ended in May 1942 when the battle of the Coral Sea was a draw and stopped their advance. Technology changed and instead of ships being the main strength it became lanes and aircraft carriers. At Midway the Americans sank all the Japanese carriers and this helped ensure that Japan would lose the war.

Japan had one thing no other army did and that was ‘Kamikaze’ pilots these were heroes who divided their planes, full of bombs, straight onto allied ships. Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen were considered brave (or sometimes mad) but the war was still lost. Life for those at home was no better as in mid 1945 cities were being bombed and ships that brought in food and oil were sunk.

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How Did The Second World War Affect The British and other Societies?

Every event has its consequences and nothing happens accidentally- there is no doubt about it. It does not matter if the event touches just one personal life or the whole world. War has affected the personal, social and political life of millions of people on our planet, even those who had no idea who Adolph Hitler was or where the Great Britain was situated. The German and Japanese forces were said to have been successful when they began because they had more power and resources – which is why America and China are considered to be world leaders today. Also because they used new strategies and took others by surprise and the forming of new ideas in every field today i.e. medical research can lead to countries being considered World leaders and specific companies obtaining more money. Is the biggest and best country today the one with the most money or power?

Butler Education Act of 1944

The Butler Education Act set up a general program for secondary education in England. It raised the school-leaving age to 15. After age 11, children in state schools would be tested. The results would determine one of three educational destinations for them:

1. Grammar school, from which one might eventually go to a university 2. Technical school

3. A modern secondary school

Each alternative would be provided by the State for free. Today the age range you leave school at is changing is this because of the recession? And the education act is considering being reformatted some political parties’ say it is reverting back to this? Is it? Why?

Dispersal of Industry

Second, the British Government adopted a policy of scattering industry. As industry scattered, large numbers of people scattered with it and moved to new communities. Their influx often resulted in friction between the old timers in a region and the newcomers. Today young people are struggling to buy homes in the countryside due to cost and industry types have changed.

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Do you think this has an impact?

Aftermath.

After the war in 1945 there was still prejudice and discrimination against black people and women in the British society, but it was weakened by wartime experiences. The amount of causalities also had an effect. In all, 55 million people died. This and the deaths at Hiroshima and Nagasaki made society more suspicious of war.

America fighting for freedom against racism and to allow for a free world was still allowing discrimination itself. In the armed forces Black Americans were still segregated as were the Japanese Americans. Many Black soldiers did the menial work and suffered insults from whites. In Britain where Americans were stationed many GI’s were upset that British pubs, cinemas and buses did not operate racial segregation. One black soldier during the war commented “It’ll be different after the war” and while it took a while now blacks and whites have equal rulings.

In 1945 the World was exhausted by war. Cities in Germany and Japan had been levelled by bombers. In Japan two places destroyed by the atomic bomb. Lots of areas of Europe and South East Asia had been destroyed by fighting. Road, rail and canal systems destroyed. Ports had a lot of wreckage, droughts were happening, bad harvest and in the Soviet Union alone 25 million people were homeless.

The wartime alliance between the US, Britain and the Soviet Union was breaking up. Europe was being divided into two, Eastern Europe dominated the Soviet Union and Western Europe would rely on the US to save it from political and economic collapse. You could relate this to what is happening in Europe today but we see Germany as a world leader along with China.

In 1945 it was decided that Germany would be divided into three zones. Russia was in charge of the east, Britain of the north-west and the USA the south west. Berlin, the capital, was the Russian zone. All traces of the Nazi party were wiped out. Voting was introduced and the elections were free except for the Nazi party. In eastern Germany Russia ensured that the Communists won – a little like it being said that Putin in Russia ensured he

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won the right to be President and anyone openly opposing him found unfortunate things happened although there is no proof to support this. In 1948-49 the Russians tried to make the Western powers give up areas of Berlin and to do this they stopped movement of all Berlin’s traffic by road and rail to the western zones. This meant that the British and American planes brought in fuel and food that the people of west Berlin needed. This can be related to now in underdeveloped countries where the Red Cross tries to ensure that food, fuel and medical aid is provided to countries in need.

The Cold War came at the end of WW2 which saw a divided Germany, part of Berlin being part of the Soviet Union a war splitting the country in 2 and never should they meet. Stalin was considered to be trying to take over countries like Hitler and make them communist. It may have been he only wanted to defend and protect Russia as they suffered greatly from the German invasion, but Britain saw Russia as a threat and in 1949 NATO was formed with the aim of protecting Western Europe from Russian Attack. The Cold War continued for forty years, until the Berlin wall was knocked down by revolutionaries who wanted the World to change.

“The Russians threw aside the goodwill that they had earned during the war. They tried to embarrass and weaken the democracies at every turn. They spoke of peace, but threatened war. Slowly, the West remembered that the aim of Communists was to spread world revolution”

Adapted from a book written by R.J. Unstead in 1963.

“Stalin told me that the plains of Poland were the invasion route of Europe to Russia. So he had to control Poland. It was fear. He didn’t want to see a united Germany. Stalin made it clear to me – I spoke with him many times – that they could not afford to let Germany build up again. They’d been invaded twice, and he was not willing to let it happen again.”

Adapted from words spoken by Averell Harriman, who was American ambassador to Russia from 1943-1946.

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The Affluent Society

During the war workers had money to spend and craved entertainment to allow them to escape what was happening and films helped to do this. Hollywood produced many films, as they do today, but unlike now due the war cut off many overseas markets. Despite this the US government realised the importance of films and they were used as propaganda. Patriotism proved profitable for MGM, Paramount and Warner Bros. It also helped the British film market with lots of documentaries being produced along with realistic films and even now the British public associates well with ‘realism’ type programmes. Germany had a different take on films and the cinema and its cinema consisted of a mixture of hymns embracing national history and military strength, along with anti-Semitism as well as escapism.

Today, all countries still use filming and some of the American companies are still well known and make much money, the question is do they still all contribute to propaganda? Could they be altering history for example the film U52 changed who did what and is this propaganda tool?

Immediately after the end of World War II, Britain underwent enormous social change. The country was bankrupted after the war. The new Labour government provided the reformation of the main institutions such as mining, railways, road traffic, air traffic, petrol, electricity and even the Bank of England. From 1957 to 1963 it was Harold Macmillan who ruled the country. This era is also called the time of “The Affluent Society”. “What happened during the fifties, though it may not be what Macmillan or his colleagues or, indeed, anyone else expressly intended, was the arrival of the British version of ‘the affluent society’. On one hand, there was an economic growth because markets were slowly recovering from the war crisis and there was still a supply of raw materials from former colonies. And on the other hand the statisticians found out that “the employment of women and ‘moonlighting’ of many people led to improving of living standard”. Now the life seemed easier to the Brits. The falling birth rate signified smaller and richer households. They were better equipped and more and more families owned cars, they could buy new mortgage houses and spent holidays abroad, e.g. in Spain, France or Italy. Even workers could afford holidays at Mediterranean Sea. Whereas before the

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war the car was the matter of richer people, after 1945 the number of car owners has increased. Television sets had been a rarity in the early 1950’s; but “by 1961 75 per cent of families had one.” The increase of TV is caused also by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953.

While prices of food and other necessities were steadily rising, the prices of small cars, in relation to earning power, were falling, and many products of new technology, such as television sets and washing machines, were, despite inflation, actually costing less. The people in Britain represented self-sufficient and quite isolated society. The general model was based on affluence set by customers. On the other hand it was found that productivity was falling. Sociologists revealed deep inequalities and class differences which stopped the modernization of the ‘stagnating society’.

Situation of Servants and Aristocracy after the War.

Before the war it was quite common among the people who belonged to the upper class had butlers and maids. But after 1945, women from the middle class were taking care of their households by themselves and there was a lack of maids because the servants can hardly find a job. Some of them fought in the war and sometimes there had no place to come back to. During the war, some houses became temporary hospital for injured people and there were no jobs for servants. After the war, old families had not enough money to keep their mansions and that’s why they rented or sold them to museums, galleries or to people who became rich after the war. “Old aristocracy cannot take care of their old castles and parks anymore and that’s why many of them became the property of the National Trust.”

Welfare State

Under the press of the labour movements, the Minister of Health (1945-51) took measures to improve the social insurance and established the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. The NHS is generally regarded as the jewel in the crown of the welfare state.

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New homesThe Britain after WWII was destroyed a lot. This was a great challenge for architects. A main task was to build houses for living and schools.

Post-war housing policies offered homes in new housing estates often many miles from the old communities in which grandparents and other relatives lived. So this led to an “estrangement” in families which were more unite before the war and it was common that grandparents lived near their children. Before the war it was usual that all the family had a dinner together. But the post-war trend was that people became more separate from one another. This led to the fact that family members were getting more isolated and the old strong family structures became less tied. The consequence of this situation was that children’s freedom was more tolerated and accepted by their parents.Many schools built after the war were well-designed inside but not very impressive from outside. People had to equip their homes. The war taught them about using “utility” furniture but they wanted to live in modern and nice-equipped homes again so they learnt to equip their houses creatively and comfortably.

The Reflection of Time in Arts.

The arts did not die during the war. The people were hidden in air-raids shelters and this involved long hours of waiting. It was better than thinking of what was happening outside. This “encouraged the reading of novels” People could read novels at any time and any place but the situation was different with drama which could be played only in theatres. Some theatres were playing during the war to encourage people and to bring them new hope. The opera and ballet companies lost its public during the war and they were referred to different kind of people who did not understand the music very much. “At the end of the war the Sadler’s Wells Ballet was transferred to the Royal opera House, Covent Garden.”, which is known till nowadays.

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Entertainment

Apart from the books there was a great phenomenon after the war: a cinema. People wanted to forget the hard years of war horrors and to think of things which differed from the recent reality. A cinema was an entertainment for a large spectrum of people because the tickets were cheap. The cinema attendances reached its peak in 1946 – 1/3 of the population were going once a week and 13% twice a week. Going to the cinema was common Saturday night entertainment. People also went to watch football frequently. They could get more relaxed because they shouted a lot and this helped them to express their hidden emotions.

New generationThe post-war generations are always very different from the pre-war ones. They seem to be happier, more easy-going and full of new energy because the war remains only in their parents’ memories. Money spending and buying clothes, records, audio equipment “would have been unimaginable to previous generations.” Later on, in the 60’s, these post-war children became hippies and they fought against the war in Vietnam. Changed relationships

TECNOLOGY IN WAR AND ADVANCES.

Technology and industry contributed to the allied victory in World War 2.

1939-41: a war of movement

When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, it was feared that he would attack France next. So a British Expeditionary Force of 400,000 men was sent to defend France. When the attack came, in May 1940, British and French forces were swept aside; France fell in five weeks. Suddenly warfare was very different from how it had been in 1918.

A new attacking tactic, called blitzkrieg, using new technology, caused this difference.

• A blitzkrieg attack started with old-style shelling by artillery, but also new high-altitude bombers.

• Then several, separate groups of tanks, coordinated by radio, punched 36

deep into enemy territory.• These advances were followed by infantry, a traditional force but moving in

small, independent attacking groups and at unprecedented speed, using lorries and parachute drops.

• Aerial cover came from Germany's new dive bombers, the terrifying Stukas.

The dominance of defence had been blown aside by the technology of aircraft, tanks, motor vehicles and radio communication.

British forces retreated to the coast where they were trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk. For ten days all kinds of British ships went to their aid; by 4 June 330,000 British troops had been rescued.

Germany planned to invade. But the Royal Navy kept control of the English Channel. And, thanks partly to the Spitfire, the Royal Air Force fought off the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. The German advance had been stopped.

Key industries, such as mining, shipping and the railways were under government control and the government ensured that industry manufactured the equipment needed by the armed forces. Britain produced 2,000 military airplanes in 1938; by 1943, it was producing 26,000 each year. This was typical of the Allied war effort. By 1944, compared to its enemies, the Allies were producing:• twice as much steel;• four times as many aircraft and tanks;• seven times as many rifles and machine guns.

Source A: The Spitfire was Britain's most successful airplane in the Battle of Britain. Each one cost about £6,000, and 20,000 had been produced by 1948.

Victory

With the might of the USA and USSR on her side, by 1944 Britain was fighting

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an outnumbered and weakened enemy.

•For example, for the D-Day landings in 1944, the Allies hadair superiority of 70:1.

The Allies also had superior technology.

• The Germans had wasted some of their scientific energy on the VI and V2 rockets, which were used to bomb Britain but had had little effect.

• British scientists developed radar to find and destroy enemy ships and aircraft; they also used ciphers to de-code secret enemy messages.

• The Allies also benefited from atomic technology. In the Far East, their main enemy was Japan. But the Allies won the race to make atomic weapons. In August 1945, the US air force dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered.

e been use

Lasting effects on society

Total war is waged against your enemy's people as well as their armies. So both sides in the Second World War blockaded enemy ports and used bombing of large towns, not just to disrupt industrial production but also to cause huge casualties and undermine public morale.

• During the Second World War, 400,000 German and 60,000 British civilians were killed in bombing raids on big cities.

• In total, over 20 million civilians were killed in Europe.

Altering things during wartime sometimes changes society permanently. For example:

• Some 100,000 West Indians volunteered for the British armed forces; there were 400 black flying crew and 6,000 ground staff in the RAF; 15,000 black seamen manned supply ships.

• Women were conscripted into the armed forces from 1941. They were also conscripted into wartime jobs in factories, on the land and in civil defence.

When the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan this began the atomic age and America possessed a new devastating weapon. The atomic bomb being the birth of nuclear powered weapons and although a different grade of uranium can be related to nuclear power. The war has undoubtedly the impact on human relations. Many men died in the war or came back with injuries. These were not able to work like the healthy ones and it did not bring so much satisfaction into families. We can also prove that war destroyed many marriages. Divorces “reached a peak of 60 000 in 1947, ten times the pre-war figure.” The reason of this shocking

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number was clear: men could not get used to the new situation of everyday family life on one hand, but on the other hand women did not have to keep marriages just because of husband’s money. There was also a change in the law system; in 1949 the Legal Aid Act was passed and it “opened a possibility of divorce to many who had previously been deterred by the expense”. But popularity of marriage as the social institution continued. “Even of those divorced, three quarters remarried.” After both world wars in the 20th century there was a baby boom; men came back from battle-fields and people felt safer because they knew that their children would be born for the peaceful life. The baby boom balanced also the loss of human lives during the war.

The Role of WomanThe Second World War affected also the position of woman in society. The changes started after the end of Victorianism and was greatly accelerated by WWII. Before the war, many women were at home to keep the households and to take care of their children; men were breadwinners. But the majority of men had to go to fight for their country, and women had to earn some money to survive. They took the men’s position and they were good at it. They gained more self-confidence and therefore when men came back from battlefields they had to count on women as equal partners. Many wives became widows – most of them did not marry again because they did not have to – they could earn enough money for their life; but some were trying to find a new husband which was quite difficult because there was a lack of men.

Prisoners of warNot only the men who returned from the war on the continent had big problems to get used to the normal life again. We cannot forget the prisoners of war who lived in terrible conditions of prisoners’ camps. These were situated on Asian territories and it is clear that the living conditions were so cruel and degrading. Many of them died and those who survived came back home and they could never forget this horrible experience.

The words of a German Refugee, fleeing from the Russian army in 1945 are:

“We were taken from our truck .... A (Russian) officer came along and selected 39

those who were to die..... We others were ordered back to our wagons and told to watch. An execution squad of ten soldiers shot the victims as they knelt in the snow, begging for their lives.”

The BBCJust as the British Parliament has the reputation for being ‘the mother of parliaments’, so the BBC might be said to be ‘the mother of information services’. Its reputation for impartiality and objectivity in news reporting is, at least when compared to news broadcasting in many other countries, largely justified. During the Second World War it became identified with the principles of democracy and free speech. It brought the news but also the commentaries and opinions and helped people to survive the horrible 6 years. Because the BBC had a good quality of broadcasting and the excellent reputation, people from the other countries used to listen to the BBC not only during the war, but also afterwards. People from the countries behind iron curtain used to listen to the BBC broadcasting which represented true and verified information. The BBC is still highly regarded today.

ConclusionThe Second World War has influenced society, economics and minds of people not only in Britain but all around the world. The life after the war was completely different from the one before 1939. People were experienced from the first war but the second one was much cruller and it has a bad impact on generations. The eyewitnesses still remember the terror and they are able to hand over the terrible experiences. The war has influenced all branches of human performing – literature, theatre, media, education, politics and social background not only in the 50’s and the 60’s.The life is not only black and white. Every item hides also some positive traces even it seems to be impossible when we talk about such a terrible event like the Second World War. We can rank for instance completely changed life of women among the positive features.

World War 2 resulted in the United Nations being set up, following on from the League of Nations. The United Nations comprised of fifty one nations that

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signed a charter in 1945, now having one hundred and ninety three members. The aim of its security council was/is to deal with disputes, keep peace, and stop war. The charter signed saying each member country would have a vote and a seat in the UN’s General Assembly. The Security Council then and now is there to try to settle quarrels with words not bombs as all agreed a World War could never happen again. If it thinks fit it can send in observers to keep hostile sides apart today we are looking at this happening in Syria. It can ask members to use force to stop wars and restore peace and can punish the guilty state. In 1945 it had 11 members now it has 15 but it is the views of the main 5 permanent members that have a right to veto any idea and stop plans being put into action. These states were the great powers of the war U.S.A., Russia, Britain, France and China. The U.N. also drew up the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

When WWII started, these stresses reached crisis status. Many leaders in Britain realized that the war would bankrupt the country, overstress its financial and industrial base, and likely cost Britain its position as a world leading nation. Churchill would hear no arguments however, and proceeded on a war path. Ultimately this led to the bankruptcy and collapse of empire predicted by wiser heads.

The two wars thus changed Britain in tremendous fashion. Britain turned from a nation with vast overseas possessions in mining, plantations and other assets, to a creditor nation. The colonies were quickly lost. The assets were mostly sold at distressed prices to finance the war.

The Britain that emerged from WWII was much poorer than the one that entered it. The government changed too in reaction to this increase poverty. The old conservative, industry/colony based governments of the past were swept aside. (Churchill didn't even get to stay in office until the conflict was over). The replacement government was socialist in makeup, controlled by labour unions, hostile to industry, agreeable to high taxes on capital, and shot through with communist influence.

Britain went into a long decline, until, incredibly, their standard of living fell below that of Germany and other European nations. The Thatcher government

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of the 1980s stabilized the situation somewhat but basically Britain today is just another minor nation on the map. The world leading nation that entered WWII is a thing of the past.

But, the Brits are one of the rare nations who understand the needs of society and the seriousness of the situation and all the classes without exception can adapt to extreme conditions.

The war could not have been won without the help of the American Industry. The fact that Americans could produce in large numbers was one of the most important weapons the Allies had. The war years put down the foundation of American economic and industrial strength in the post war era.

America after the war enjoyed great prosperity their lifestyles envied by all around the world. A post war ‘baby boom’ increased the population and during the 1950’s the USA produced half of the Worlds goods. Many Americans themselves moved to new homes, suburbs and communities began, shopping centres called malls started and washing machines, cars, TV’s and fridges became everyday items, installing a swimming pool became a status symbol whereas today most American homes have them. A down side to this was inner cities suffered as fewer well off people lived or worked there. Hire purchase increased and savings dropped Britain’s saved 10% of their earnings compared to 5% for Americans. In 1960s the standard of living for Americans was 3 times that of a Britain, spending was encouraged and the economy grew. Today in Britain we are in a recession and money is tight but spending is being encouraged as it is said to be a good way to remove recession, although Germany disagrees with this having put in place austerity measures for the last 15 years and now being a country of power. Companies made mass profits, people earned more money, but they lacked social provision and even now are still fighting for the rights to free health care which Britain implemented with the set up of the NHS after the war, America still has to pay for medical care.

After the war the growth of the church was great in America, parents were encourage to join as a defence against the growth of communism and to help the threat the Cold War may make to America. Other reasons were to help communities to grow after the war and because of people moving to the suburbs. ‘One Nation under God’ was used to pledge allegiance and ‘In God we

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trust’ became mandatory on all US currency – God was the ‘Supreme Being’ Religion provided a moral defence to an affluent society and religion is still of more importance in America today than it is with white British people.

The USSR were keen to persuade people that their society was better than any other.

Countries often have agreements with each other that if they are attacked they will help each other. This is what happened in the Second World War. Britain agreed it would help Poland in 1939 if they were attacked and it is because of this that Britain ended up fighting Germany.

International conflicts are often over the economic and political power of land. Land means power and it may have natural resources such as oil or it could be strategically important. This was the case for Hitler, he wanted political power, he also wanted coal and iron from the land he took to help his country achieve economic power and make it one of the wealthiest countries in the world, he wanted his country to be the best place to live and to be able to produce and build better weapons to ensure success.

Some countries want to impose their political ideology and this was the case with Russia who wanted to impose Communism on countries in Eastern Europe. By making people by it communism it would feel safer from the outside world.

Religious beliefs also lead to international conflicts Al Queda (and his followers) and the Taliban are/were good examples of this. Both would like the introduction of Shari’ah law and Islamic fundamentalism. Egypt is currently considering Shari’ah law as the Muslim Brotherhood has been elected into Government but the Army are still in charge. Libya after fighting a Civil war to remove Colonel Gaddafi are also considering Shari’ah law as one of the parties currently waning to be voted in believe in this law.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_did_World_War_2_change_life_in_Britain

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AQA Humanities book Nelson Thornes 2009 Keith Davison, Alan Marchant, Phillipa Woodyatt.

History B – Edexcel GCSE Warfare & The impact of War. Pearson Company 2009, Jon Child, Steve Waugh.

World War 2 in Photographs. Paragon 2010.

The Twentieth Century World. Stanley Thornes. 1995. Neil DeMarco & Richard Radway.

The USA 1917-1980 Oxford. 1996, 1998, 2000. Nigel Smith.

The Second World War Era. Oxford. 1993. Walter Robson

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/united-kingdom/3883-conscientious-objectors.html

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