The "People's War"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines why the British came to refer to the Second World War as the "People's War." It looks at how, for the very first time during a war, civilians were involved on a scale hitherto unknown. It shows how the relentless bombing of British cities by the Luftwaffe ensured that thousands of people experienced the devastating effects of war at firsthand, as entire families lost all their worldly goods, parents lost their children to German bombs and many children were orphaned. It illustrates how men and women from every generation, as well as children took an active role in helping the war effort in active roles such as volunteer services, the Home Guard and the special female sections of the services that were set up, such as the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service), the "WRENs" (Women's Royal Naval Service) and the "WAAF" (Women's Auxiliary Air force).

From the Paper:

"Some actions towards the war effort were of course imposed on people by the government. Rationing is one example of this, as is the commissioning of pots and pans and iron railings to go towards the building of fighter planes. Also compulsory was the evacuation program of city children to quieter and more rural areas, deemed safer than the industrial areas of their homes. Families in the countryside suddenly found themselves invaded by a small army of dirty, rude, bed-wetting children, who were intensely homesick being away from home for the first time at such a young age, and entirely ignorant of country life. Many of them had never even seen grass before."

More papers on The "People's War":

• Book Review # 107494 : "The Trojan War"
• Research Paper # 7033 : "Before the Civil War"
• Term Paper # 138821 : "The Hague Treaty and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials"
• Book Review # 130415 : "The Proud Tower" and the Great War"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: