World War II: "A People's War"

Paper Summary:

This paper considers the widely held view that World War II was a 'people's war' and involved everybody in some way. It examines phenomena of the period such as evacuation, rationing, employment of women (considering the views of Arthur Marwick, Penny Summerfield and Harold Smith) and the popularity of leisure activities such as the cinema. It also looks at whether these areas helped to break down the class and gender barriers that were a feature of British life in the 1930s and 40s. It concludes that the war was a people's war only in the sense that everybody's life was touched by it and that it did not overcome the traditional boundaries of class and gender to the extent that has been portrayed over the years.

From the Paper:

"Another aspect of wartime Britain that is said to have had a leveling effect on society is the rationing of food and other items. In early 1940, ration books were introduced, allowing people a quota of basic foodstuffs, according to their individual status, for example, adult, pregnant woman, child, or manual worker, and this scheme was later supplemented by a points system for certain non-perishable goods too. Sue Bruley claims that this scheme was '...extremely popular with women as it was manifestly fairer then the free market...' However, there were still problems in its operation. Women had to contend with long queues for everything, and this caused problems for the full-time workers among them. "

More papers on World War II: "A People's War":

• Essay # 61074 : "World War II and Racism"
• Research Paper # 40080 : "Post World War II Japan"
• Essay # 7112 : "Ethnic Conflict during World War II"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: