Blitz

Synopses

The programme uses the reminiscences of adults who were children in wartime. It covers Britain's blitz and Germany's blitz and looks at similar themes in each.

1. Britain: the impact of bombing
2. Britain: experiences of German aircrew
3. Britain: civil defence
4. Germany: civil defence
5. Germany: evacuation of German children
6. Germany: the impact of bombing

The programme opens with a brief synopsis from the narrator of the phoney war of the summer of 1939, and the arrival of real war the following year.

00:30 - 3:12
Britain: the impact of bombing

Footage

• scenes of normality
• Stukas attacking
• heading for shelters
• central London wrecked
• clearing up

• phoney war
• lengthy eyewitness description of air raid

Ethel Lusby's recollections provide a hard-edged source, in contrast to the 'spirit of the Blitz' material pushed hard by the government and in popular folklore. It must have been a frightening experience to head into the shelter, but to emerge again into a changed world must have been a profound shock. This aspect of the experience is most important to grasp, and the rare colour footage should help to convey the enormity of the destruction and disruption.

Viewing Activity

There is a wealth of literature on experiences of the Second World War. The books of Robert Westall (The Machine Gunners, The Blitz) are great favourites. Using such literature you could compare the representation in this or other material with the story told by Ethel Lusby. Alternatively, search for a section of text which might be used as an alternative voice-over for these first few minutes of film.

03:13 - 06:34
Britain: experiences of German aircrew

Footage

• German planes in preparation
• crews studying maps and technicians loading bombs
• damaged planes returning
• German bombers in action
• dogfights and plane crashes
• civilians rooting around in wreckage

Commentary

• London, then other cities, blitzed
• description of damage to Stukas and heavy losses
• air warfare
• attraction of a downed plane

As the narrator explains the spread of the Blitz to other British cities, the footage shows an aspect of warfare probably unfamiliar to many students. It shows crews studying maps and loading bombs on to Stuka dive bombers. The Stukas had gained a fearsome reputation in the blitzkrieg which had taken Germany to victory over most of Europe in 1939-40.

However, they were battlefield and ground-attack planes, and not so well suited to frontal assault on Britain's air defences. The footage of battered machines returning bears this out. It also bears out Theodor Plotte's claim that he was never restricted in what he filmed, even by the military. Theodor describes the inadequacies of the slow and ponderous Stukas in comparison with the British Spitfires and Hurricanes, and even talks of mutiny over the huge losses.

This rather grim picture is taken up on the British side by John Lill. He describes the scene shown in the footage, where a crashed plane was a magnet for observers old and young. To modern eyes, the rooting around in the wreckage may appear a little ghoulish. The anecdote of the glove found with two fingers still inside it rather confirms this viewpoint.

06:35 - 10:09
Britain: civil defence

Footage

• bowler hat used for blackout purposes
• red lamps on public transport
• Anderson shelters being dug in
• ARP demonstrations on tackling incendiaries

Commentary

• preparation for bombing - blackout
• shelters
• danger of incendiaries
• description of method for putting out incendiaries

The opening footage of this section, along with the narrative, helps to explain the preparations made to guard against air attack. Blackout precautions and Anderson shelters all feature. Older people in the local community may be able to confirm John Lill's comments. Certainly most accounts of bombing refer to the frantic attempts to put out the incendiaries with minimal resources but great courage and enthusiasm. The failure of the ARP demonstration on how to tackle incendiaries is also a reminder of the unreliability of the technology of the period. Britain has a hidden legacy of unexploded bombs buried deep in the earth, as the occasional unfortunate property developer has reason to regret from time to time.

Viewing Activity

Compare the precautions taken in Germany with those in Britain. Begin by making a detailed list of the precautions taken and the dangers such precautions were meant to tackle.

10:10 - 10:59
Germany: civil defence

Footage

• preparations against bombing in Germany
• sandbagged cellars

Commentary

• Russian campaign under way
• authorities defying Hitler's predictions that Germany would not be bombed
• blackout precautions and enforcement

The footage showing sandbagged cellars and digging of trenches is eloquent evidence that German local authorities did not all share Hitler's confidence that Germany would never be bombed. The response to the danger was rather haphazard, as was virtually every aspect of civil government under the Nazis. Some areas were more thoroughly prepared than others, usually reflecting the realism or otherwise of local officials. However Albert Speer, a leading Nazi, recorded in his autobiography that late in 1944 there was still great optimism and confidence that the war would be a glorious victory. It was fortunate for many Germans that the public shelters dug in the cities were well constructed. German civilian casualties could otherwise have been even higher than they were from the saturation bombing carried out by the RAF and the Americans from 1943 to 1945.

Viewing Activity

Compare civil defence measures in Germany with those in Britain.

11:00 - 12:59
Germany: evacuation of German children

Footage

• evacuation of youngsters
• activities of evacuees
• girls' activities

Commentary

• huge organisational effort
• description of activities of youngsters in evacuation camps
• use of propaganda and control of youngsters

Programme 1 dealt in some depth with the experience of the British evacuee. The German experience contrasted in a variety of ways. Firstly, the Germans did not institute a policy of evacuation until relatively late in the war. Secondly, as Horst Schefer recounts, these evacuations were more like breaks from war, organised on the lines of the Nazi Youth Movement's camps.

Note the juxtaposition of some of Horst's recollections with the relevant footage. As he describes how propaganda was an integral part of the experience, the footage shows us small boys playing at war, capturing strategic positions and tying up one of their number as a captive. It raises the question of whether this is an example of Nazi propaganda achieving the desired effect, or whether this is simply how small boys played.

Viewing Activity

If you did not know the date, context or origin of this film, what alternative commentary could be applied to it?

13:00 - 18:30
Germany: the impact of bombing

Footage

• RAF aircrews preparing for raid and taking off
• bombing of Lubeck
• scenes of devastation
• survivors
• port of Hamburg
• firestorm in Hamburg
• aftermath of raid
• casualties

Commentary

• Bomber Harris's policies
• opinions on true aim of heavy bombing
• extension of policy to Hamburg
• description of firestorm and devastating effects
• civilian losses in Germany

The narrator's comments on Bomber Harris, along with the views expressed by Aribert Thermonn, civil defence volunteer in Lubeck, raise the vexed question of saturation bombing. The comments suggest that these attacks were a direct attack on the civilian population. However, while there may be some truth in this, recent research by historians such as Richard Overy has shown the tremendous damage done to the German war economy by heavy bombing, suggesting that the attacks were more than terror raids.

You may have already looked at the Dresden footage, and the similar experiences of firestorms in Hamburg. These raise issues about the morality of bombing. Perhaps the most important question concerns the morality of war as a whole, as opposed to that of any particular method. Whatever issues arise, the footage is rather harrowing: particularly that of the aftermath of the raid. The programme concludes by pointing out that there were ten times more civilian casualties in Germany than in Britain. To put this into context, of course, you must remember that Britain was not bombed to the same degree. More importantly, no fighting took place on British soil, whereas Germany was invaded from east and west.