Domestic Impact of WWII
There was a lot of devastation throughout Britain during WWII. It really hadn't been very long since this country had been at war. Although the mood is never very uplifting when a country is at war, the people of London were growing very tired and disheartened. There were more times than not that people were hiding in shelters or were evacuated to the countryside. The bombings of the city made it look like a wasteland, it was unrecognizable during this time. The civilians who had been killed were stolen from. There were more citizens who had been killed than servicemen. During the war, the population went form 8.6 million to 6.7 million.
Women weren't typically working in these times but they had to take on jobs usually done by men because so many men were at war. The nation wasn't doing very well financially or economically. They had a £25 billion debt and a US loan was the only reason the government was still going. There were food shortages and Britain couldn't afford to pay for imports. Advertisements were made to promote food conservation and mending old clothes. Kids were only allowed to have three pairs of shoes a year.
The Imperial War museum had a lot about the second world war. They had an exhibit talking about the Allpress family who unfortunately had to make it through this terrible time. There were many kids who had to be taken care of. The house had bomb shelters in it. A part of this exhibit had old radio pieces playing from incredibly vintage radios. I feel as if the radios give everything that comes out of that speaker a haunting feel. It may have just been the fact that this war is such a hard one to talk about,
A few years after the war finally ended, the people who had stayed in London helped to rebuild the destroyed city. It was a very cold winter in the beginning of 1947. There was also a shortage in coal. The Olympics were held in London in 1948 and athletes were encouraged to bring their own food. There were major reforms came into play in order to fix the debts and shortages. The British Nationality act came into play and things progressively got better.
Plenty of people are always very interested in this war, I am one of those people. This was a major war not just to certain countries, it played a big role everywhere. I simply could not even imagine being at home and hearing a siren then having to run into a bomb shelter to keep safe. In the museum there was a bomb simulator which gave you a feel for what it would be like to live through or prepare for a bombing. If you were to sit down in the simulator and really put yourself in the situation it would be terrifying. It breaks my heart thinking how many people had to get used to this. It also breaks my heart to think there are still some places in which citizens have to worry about where they step or where they're going to hide because of a war going on. So many men and women did a tremendous amount in order to keep things moving during this rough time. Men and women during these times were hard workers and they did all they could. I can only imagine and only want to imagine how rough it was to live during this war or a war like this.
Women weren't typically working in these times but they had to take on jobs usually done by men because so many men were at war. The nation wasn't doing very well financially or economically. They had a £25 billion debt and a US loan was the only reason the government was still going. There were food shortages and Britain couldn't afford to pay for imports. Advertisements were made to promote food conservation and mending old clothes. Kids were only allowed to have three pairs of shoes a year.
The Imperial War museum had a lot about the second world war. They had an exhibit talking about the Allpress family who unfortunately had to make it through this terrible time. There were many kids who had to be taken care of. The house had bomb shelters in it. A part of this exhibit had old radio pieces playing from incredibly vintage radios. I feel as if the radios give everything that comes out of that speaker a haunting feel. It may have just been the fact that this war is such a hard one to talk about,
A few years after the war finally ended, the people who had stayed in London helped to rebuild the destroyed city. It was a very cold winter in the beginning of 1947. There was also a shortage in coal. The Olympics were held in London in 1948 and athletes were encouraged to bring their own food. There were major reforms came into play in order to fix the debts and shortages. The British Nationality act came into play and things progressively got better.
Plenty of people are always very interested in this war, I am one of those people. This was a major war not just to certain countries, it played a big role everywhere. I simply could not even imagine being at home and hearing a siren then having to run into a bomb shelter to keep safe. In the museum there was a bomb simulator which gave you a feel for what it would be like to live through or prepare for a bombing. If you were to sit down in the simulator and really put yourself in the situation it would be terrifying. It breaks my heart thinking how many people had to get used to this. It also breaks my heart to think there are still some places in which citizens have to worry about where they step or where they're going to hide because of a war going on. So many men and women did a tremendous amount in order to keep things moving during this rough time. Men and women during these times were hard workers and they did all they could. I can only imagine and only want to imagine how rough it was to live during this war or a war like this.