Looking Through the Pamphlet
Primary source documents are like a window into the past. Upon analysis, they tell us about what the society at the time was like and how people of different classes, ages, ethnicities, and genders were treated. “After the Raid” was a pamphlet distributed by the British Ministry of Home Security in 1940. It was distributed in response to the German bombing raids that hit the metropolitan areas such as London. The British Ministry of Home Security took measures to make sure that aid was distributed to those who really needed it and to those with lower incomes. To understand why the government felt that it was necessary to distribute this pamphlet, we must first understand the what life was like in Britain during the beginning of World War II.
So why did the Ministry of Home Security have to print out this pamphlet? In June 1940, the German army invaded and conquered France. Their next stop, Great Britain. They had a plan called Operation Sea Lion which involved a cross-channel invasion of the main land. The battle began on July 10th, 1940 starting with bombing raids on shipping freights, convoys, and ports. In August, the main attack was unleashed. It was called Adlerangriff (or Eagle Attack) and it targeted air bases, aircraft factories, and radar stations in southeastern England. The main goal of this attack was to wear down the British air defense which was easily accomplished. While the British had about six hundred frontline fighters to defend with, the Germans had 1,300 bombers and about 1,200 fighters. Although they were considerably outnumbered, the British had an early warning radar system that prevented German bombers from executing any surprise attacks. This along with the fact that the Germans had no concrete plan of attack gave the British a little bit of an advantage in this battle for air control (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Just when the Germans thought they were ahead, the made a huge mistake. The Germans “accidentally” dropped bombs on civilian areas in London and as a response, the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. This angered Hitler so much that he ordered the Luftwaffe (the German air force) to start bombing cities such as London, Coventry and Liverpool. The bombing raids started on September 7th and London was hit for fifty-seven consecutive nights. Although this was tragic, it gave some what of an advantage to the Royal Air Force by relieving pressure on one of their heavily hit air force groups, allowing one of their stronger groups to take initiative. To avoid the Royal Air Force, the Germans began “Blitz” raids at night. This caused a high civilian casualty, but contributed little to their original goal. Because the German air force could not control the sky, the invasion date for Operation Sea Lion was postponed. When winter arrived, Hitler suspended the mission and began to focus on the invasion of Russia. Instead, they decided to focus on blockading Britain with their submarine warcraft (Encyclopedia Britannica).
When I started to analyze the pamphlet, I noticed that there was no mention of evacuating children. At first, I thought it was because that the evacuations were kept secret so that the Germans would not find out and target trains that were evacuating children to the country side. If they had mentioned the evacuations in the pamphlet and it fell into the wrong hands, the plan could be compromised. However, I found out that the evacuations happened about a year before Operation Sea Lion was even in place. The evacuations did not happen as a result of the bombings like I thought they had. It was a preventative measure the British government took to save the young.
Operation Pied Piper was the name for the evacuation. The name actually comes from a German legend. The legend is about a rat catcher who was promised pay if he could get all the rats out of the town. He did this, but the town refused to pay him. As revenge, he lured all the children in the town out and they disappeared (Encyclopedia Britannica). The British government began making plans for the evacuation during the summer of 1939. Teachers, like Judith Grunfeld, were given pamphlets with preparation and details on how the evacuation would play out. The children had to have their rucksacks packed and brought to school everyday in case that day was the day when they would have to be evacuated (Welshman 13-14). The evacuations began on Sept. 1st, 1939, the same day that Germany invaded Poland. The children were not only sent to the rural areas of Britain, but they were also sent to Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (Zimmerman).
Britain may have jumped the gun when it came to the evacuations considering the fact that Germany did not start attacking them till the summer of the following year. However, it shows that the government valued its most defenseless members of society and wanted to assure the safety of the next generation. Although they put a high value on the safety of their children, the government was also concerned about the people that could not evacuate, the adults.
“After the Raid” was distributed in 1940 by the British Ministry of Home Security. The pamphlet covers many different topics. In the beginning of the document, the British government sends comforting words. “When you have been in the front line and taken it extra hard the country wants to look after you.” The government probably thought that it was necessary to state this so that no one felt that the government was not doing anything to help their people. Another significant statement they make in the beginning of the document is “conditions are different in different areas and the services may not always be quite the same.” This had to be stated so that people would not be confused if they tried to find a Rest Centre only to realize there was none in their area. Those areas that were well off more than likely had all the services described in the text while the poorer neighborhoods probably had limited services.
Upon first glance, it is noticeable that there are certain phrases in the pamphlet that are emphasized with italics. After analyzing the text, it is evident that the reason for emphasis is that the government wants to make sure that nobody abuses the system who does not really need the help. For example, in the section dealing with pre-planning, they tell people to make plans to stay with relatives or friends “in case your house is destroyed”. It seems that they only wanted people to evacuate when their house was destroyed, not damaged. This is probably because they did not want people abusing the system because in the same section, the pamphlet states that your host will be paid a lodging allowance. Although the lodging allowance was small (five shillings for adults; three for children), the British government wanted to make sure that their money was only going to people who really needed it. After all, they had a war that needed funding as well. There are other emphasized phrases like, “nowhere to sleep and eat” (when it comes to using the services at the Rest Centres) and “if your gas is cut off, or your kitchen range is out of action” (when it comes to getting a cheap hot meal at Londoners’ Meal Service restaurants).
The British government not only wanted to make sure that the people who received the aid truly needed it, but also make sure that those receiving the aid had lower level incomes. For example, in the section dealing with how to replace furniture and other belongings, they state, “If your income is below a certain amount you can apply to the Assistance Board… If your income is above certain limits, you do not come under the Assistance Board’s scheme…” The government wanted their money going to those in desperate need of help. They also assumed that the more affluent could easily replace their lost belongings because of their wealth.
Something that is unclear from reading this pamphlet is the exact date that it was distributed. Was it distributed before or after the bombings? If it was distributed before the bombings, were the programs effective or were they overwhelmed by the amount of people who needed help? Did they have enough resources? If it was distributed after the bombings, were the programs established in response to the horrors that happened as a result of the bombings? I tried to look up a specific date for the pamphlet, but hit several dead ends. These questions are ones that really intrigue me and I wish I knew the answers to them.
The British government took preventative measures to make sure that their people were safe, while also taking steps to make sure that those hardest hit by the bombings were also taken care of. They wanted to make sure that aid was distributed only to those who really needed it and to those with lower income levels. Something that we cannot find out through the source however is the exact date when the pamphlet was distributed, leaving us with unanswered questions. It just goes to show how much we information we can obtain from a primary source document.
So why did the Ministry of Home Security have to print out this pamphlet? In June 1940, the German army invaded and conquered France. Their next stop, Great Britain. They had a plan called Operation Sea Lion which involved a cross-channel invasion of the main land. The battle began on July 10th, 1940 starting with bombing raids on shipping freights, convoys, and ports. In August, the main attack was unleashed. It was called Adlerangriff (or Eagle Attack) and it targeted air bases, aircraft factories, and radar stations in southeastern England. The main goal of this attack was to wear down the British air defense which was easily accomplished. While the British had about six hundred frontline fighters to defend with, the Germans had 1,300 bombers and about 1,200 fighters. Although they were considerably outnumbered, the British had an early warning radar system that prevented German bombers from executing any surprise attacks. This along with the fact that the Germans had no concrete plan of attack gave the British a little bit of an advantage in this battle for air control (Encyclopedia Britannica).
Just when the Germans thought they were ahead, the made a huge mistake. The Germans “accidentally” dropped bombs on civilian areas in London and as a response, the British retaliated by launching a bombing raid on Berlin. This angered Hitler so much that he ordered the Luftwaffe (the German air force) to start bombing cities such as London, Coventry and Liverpool. The bombing raids started on September 7th and London was hit for fifty-seven consecutive nights. Although this was tragic, it gave some what of an advantage to the Royal Air Force by relieving pressure on one of their heavily hit air force groups, allowing one of their stronger groups to take initiative. To avoid the Royal Air Force, the Germans began “Blitz” raids at night. This caused a high civilian casualty, but contributed little to their original goal. Because the German air force could not control the sky, the invasion date for Operation Sea Lion was postponed. When winter arrived, Hitler suspended the mission and began to focus on the invasion of Russia. Instead, they decided to focus on blockading Britain with their submarine warcraft (Encyclopedia Britannica).
When I started to analyze the pamphlet, I noticed that there was no mention of evacuating children. At first, I thought it was because that the evacuations were kept secret so that the Germans would not find out and target trains that were evacuating children to the country side. If they had mentioned the evacuations in the pamphlet and it fell into the wrong hands, the plan could be compromised. However, I found out that the evacuations happened about a year before Operation Sea Lion was even in place. The evacuations did not happen as a result of the bombings like I thought they had. It was a preventative measure the British government took to save the young.
Operation Pied Piper was the name for the evacuation. The name actually comes from a German legend. The legend is about a rat catcher who was promised pay if he could get all the rats out of the town. He did this, but the town refused to pay him. As revenge, he lured all the children in the town out and they disappeared (Encyclopedia Britannica). The British government began making plans for the evacuation during the summer of 1939. Teachers, like Judith Grunfeld, were given pamphlets with preparation and details on how the evacuation would play out. The children had to have their rucksacks packed and brought to school everyday in case that day was the day when they would have to be evacuated (Welshman 13-14). The evacuations began on Sept. 1st, 1939, the same day that Germany invaded Poland. The children were not only sent to the rural areas of Britain, but they were also sent to Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (Zimmerman).
Britain may have jumped the gun when it came to the evacuations considering the fact that Germany did not start attacking them till the summer of the following year. However, it shows that the government valued its most defenseless members of society and wanted to assure the safety of the next generation. Although they put a high value on the safety of their children, the government was also concerned about the people that could not evacuate, the adults.
“After the Raid” was distributed in 1940 by the British Ministry of Home Security. The pamphlet covers many different topics. In the beginning of the document, the British government sends comforting words. “When you have been in the front line and taken it extra hard the country wants to look after you.” The government probably thought that it was necessary to state this so that no one felt that the government was not doing anything to help their people. Another significant statement they make in the beginning of the document is “conditions are different in different areas and the services may not always be quite the same.” This had to be stated so that people would not be confused if they tried to find a Rest Centre only to realize there was none in their area. Those areas that were well off more than likely had all the services described in the text while the poorer neighborhoods probably had limited services.
Upon first glance, it is noticeable that there are certain phrases in the pamphlet that are emphasized with italics. After analyzing the text, it is evident that the reason for emphasis is that the government wants to make sure that nobody abuses the system who does not really need the help. For example, in the section dealing with pre-planning, they tell people to make plans to stay with relatives or friends “in case your house is destroyed”. It seems that they only wanted people to evacuate when their house was destroyed, not damaged. This is probably because they did not want people abusing the system because in the same section, the pamphlet states that your host will be paid a lodging allowance. Although the lodging allowance was small (five shillings for adults; three for children), the British government wanted to make sure that their money was only going to people who really needed it. After all, they had a war that needed funding as well. There are other emphasized phrases like, “nowhere to sleep and eat” (when it comes to using the services at the Rest Centres) and “if your gas is cut off, or your kitchen range is out of action” (when it comes to getting a cheap hot meal at Londoners’ Meal Service restaurants).
The British government not only wanted to make sure that the people who received the aid truly needed it, but also make sure that those receiving the aid had lower level incomes. For example, in the section dealing with how to replace furniture and other belongings, they state, “If your income is below a certain amount you can apply to the Assistance Board… If your income is above certain limits, you do not come under the Assistance Board’s scheme…” The government wanted their money going to those in desperate need of help. They also assumed that the more affluent could easily replace their lost belongings because of their wealth.
Something that is unclear from reading this pamphlet is the exact date that it was distributed. Was it distributed before or after the bombings? If it was distributed before the bombings, were the programs effective or were they overwhelmed by the amount of people who needed help? Did they have enough resources? If it was distributed after the bombings, were the programs established in response to the horrors that happened as a result of the bombings? I tried to look up a specific date for the pamphlet, but hit several dead ends. These questions are ones that really intrigue me and I wish I knew the answers to them.
The British government took preventative measures to make sure that their people were safe, while also taking steps to make sure that those hardest hit by the bombings were also taken care of. They wanted to make sure that aid was distributed only to those who really needed it and to those with lower income levels. Something that we cannot find out through the source however is the exact date when the pamphlet was distributed, leaving us with unanswered questions. It just goes to show how much we information we can obtain from a primary source document.
Works Cited
Primary source
British Ministry of Home Security. After the Raid. N.p.: British Government, 1940. Print.
Secondary sources
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Battle of Britain (European History, 1940)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Hameln (Germany)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Evacuation." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Welshman, John. Churchill's Children: The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Internet resource.
Zimmerman, Dwight. "Operation Pied Piper: The Evacuation of English Children During World War II | Defense Media Network." Defense Media Network. N.p., 31 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
British Ministry of Home Security. After the Raid. N.p.: British Government, 1940. Print.
Secondary sources
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Battle of Britain (European History, 1940)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Hameln (Germany)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Evacuation." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
Welshman, John. Churchill's Children: The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Internet resource.
Zimmerman, Dwight. "Operation Pied Piper: The Evacuation of English Children During World War II | Defense Media Network." Defense Media Network. N.p., 31 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Primary Source
The British government wrote this pamphlet for the British people. It was distributed in 1940 during World War II because the Germans began bombing inhabited places such as London. It was written so that the British people would know what to do and where to turn if they were affected by the bombing.The pamphlet warns people to have a plan of action, where food and shelter can be found, how to get a new home, how to trace friends and relatives, etc.
The picture to the right is a screen shot of an interactive map that allows you to see every bomb that was dropped on London. The interactive map (which can be accessed through the link) shows what types of bombs were dropped where, how many bombs were dropped in a specific area, and even allows you to search specific areas within London. If you find this fascinating, remember this next time you're in London; there is an app that uses GPS to tell you if a bomb has hit that spot http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2243951/The-astonishing-interactive-map-EVERY-bomb-dropped-London-Blitz.html (this article mentions the app and contains the map)
This image gives us a look at what London looked like during the war. The beautiful city had been transformed into a battlefield and was constantly bombarded by bombs from the Germans.
This picture I like to call, "Are you my mummy?" For any of the brave souls that stayed in the London area, it was a good idea for them to carry around a gas mask because at times it was hard to breathe with all the dusk and debris. Gas masks were also one of the essential items that children had to have in their knapsack everyday in case that day was the day they needed to be evacuated.
Britain cared so much about it's children that they felt the need to evacuate them to safer places in the north and even overseas. Although this kept them safe, it was not always pleasant experience for the children or the parents