The Reasons Behind Evacuation of Children From Britain During World War II There 2 waves of evacuation in the early years of the war. The children were evacuated into the countryside in September 1939. Mostly children were evacuated because they were seen as the 'future generation' along with old people, pregnant women and teachers. Evacuation was an enormous task which include everyone, because of this it had to be organized well, it was a voluntary and people only took in children at their own free will. Also was no-one was forced to evacuate although government propaganda did encourage parents to send their children. Evacuation was the 1st of its kind to British people because in WW1 civilians were not directly involved in war. Also most people felt that children especially would just get in the way and distract parents from the war effort. However from the day that war was declared and May 1940 nothing actually happened between Germany and Britain. This period was known as 'The Phoney War' which lasted 7 months. During this period, children, pregnant mothers and teachers were moved backwards and forwards between the city and the countryside as the threat of bombing increased and decreased. This had drastic effects to their lives, as they could not settle down and live their lives normally. The second wave of evacuation was taken more seriously this occurred when bombing in the south coast began in Canterbury. After 1941 life got better for these people. Children were now settled in their new foster homes and bombing became lighter for the women working in the cities Safety was obviously a key reason for evacuation. The threat to civilians was new to people since WW1 bombers and other weapons had significantly developed and posed a major threat to civilians than ever before. Also the German devastating blitzkrieg tactic was a major threat Britain knew what sort of damage this tactic can do to any country; blitzkrieg was particularly effective in the Spanish town of guernica. Although blitzkrieg was a risky tactic it appealed to
Evaluation of the Success of the Evacuation of Children from Major British Cities during World War II
Why the Major Cities of Britain were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 and 1941
World War Two triggered a significant change in the attitudes that people had towards one another. With all the death and destruction, one would assume that the lives of the citizens of Bexley would be run by fear during this terrible time, especially as Bexley happened to be an area that received a great deal of bombing. However, this was not the case. A temperament known as the ‘Blitz Spirit’ was widely adopted, encouraging the citizens of Bexley to rally together and face the war with courage and optimism.
world war, where it plunged into the war as soon as the United Kingdom got involved, in the
[4] From the memoirs of J.B Gent a Child in the war who lived on
World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...
Why the British Government Decided to Evacuate Children from Britain's Major Cities in the Early Years of the Second World War
Even before War with Germany was accredited, the British government felt that it was necessary to shield the civilian inhabitants, especially children; pregnant mothers, disabled people and teachers accompanied them. The government decided to evacuate children from the major cities into rural areas. They had many reasons for doing this, each of them mainly linked to fear of civilian casualties.
Why the Major Cities of Britain Were Bombed by the Germans in 1940 - 1941
On September 3, 1939 Britain and France declared war on Germany after the deadline for troop withdrawal passed. (BBC UK)
In 1942 Roosevelt signed the Executive order 9066 which forced all Japanese-Americans to evacuate the West Coast. They were forced out no matter their loyalty or their citizenship. These Japanese-Americans were sent to Internment camps which were located in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. There were ten camps all-together and 120,000 people filled them (2009). The immigrants were deprived of their traditional respect when their children who were American-born were indorsed authority positions within the camps. In 1945 Japanese-American citizens with undisrupted loyalty were allowed to return to the West Coast, but not until 1946 was the last camp closed.
Through selection at the extermination camps, the Nazis forced children to be separated from their relatives which destroyed the basic unit of society, the family. Because children were taken to different barracks or camps, they had to fend for themselves. In the book A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal, the author describes the relief he felt when reunited with his mother after the War.
World War 2 was a war that lasted from the 1st of September 1939 to the 2nd of September 1945. That’s 2 years longer than the first war. This war was started by Nazi Germany when they invaded Poland. This was the largest conflict in history that impacted every inch of the earth, including Canada.
in the war in between 1939 and the end of 1941, was largely based on a
It’s 4:30am on September 1st, 1939 and the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein awaits for the order to open fire on the Polish garrison of the Westerplatte Fort, Danzig in what was to become the first military engagement of World War II. Meanwhile, sixty two German divisions supported by 1,300 fighter planes prepared for the invasion of Poland. Fifteen minutes later the invasion would take place and spark the beginning of World War II. Two days later at 9am Great Britain would send an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that they pull from Poland or go to war with Great Britain. Four hours later the Ultimatum would expire and Great Britain would officially be at war with Germany on September 3rd, 1939. Six hours later France would also declare war on Germany.