Topic 3: Britain at War Gov - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Topic 3: Britain at WarSlide2

Gov controlSlide3

How reliable are sources A and B as evidence of the importance of the Ministry of Information?

P.

Source

A is reliable as evidence of how important the ministry of information was because it shows that no one was above censor, not even the king or Prime Minister.

E.

Evidence to support this is the source states that when Churchill made a telephone call to Eden the telephone censor cut of the call and reminded Churchill ‘I must remind you, sir, there should be no mention of any damage suffered’,

showing that even Churchill’s messages were cut off if they were seen as a risk to national security.

O.

From

my own knowledge I know that one of the prime functions of the Ministry of Information was to ensure that no information was leaked that would either demoralise British people or that would encourage the enemy. Whilst propaganda was also used, the MOI’s censorship stopped negative messages from reaching the public.

R.

This

source is mostly reliable, firstly because the content of the source agrees with my own knowledge of the censorship that occurred. It is a first hand account of one of the censors, so this source is reliable as the information is a recollection of what actually happened to one person during the war. It may be seen as less reliable because it is not a ‘typical’ account as it is just from one perspective. It is also written in a newspaper so may exaggerate the important of the Ministry to make the story more entertaining.

P.Source

B is also reliable as evidence of the importance of the Ministry of Information as it shows just how many people were employed to undertake the task of censorship.

E.Evidence

to support this is that this source show 1300 censors working on letters and telegrams in a censor’s office.

O.From

my own knowledge I know that over 250,000 more civil servants were employed by the government, and a significant number of these worked in the Ministry of Information.

R. This source is mostly reliable, as it is an actual photograph of the Ministry and shows people busy censoring letters. It is somewhat limited as we cannot see exactly what they are doing, and we cannot tell from the picture alone what the effect or ‘importance’ of this job is. The source could be staged, however from my own knowledge I know that many people did work for the Ministry of Information and therefore it is likely to be reliable.Slide4

rationingSlide5

Working women

What was the purpose of source C? (p.51)

The message of this source is that women did difficult and often dangerous work in England during World War II and should be respected for this. Evidence to support this is that the source states that ‘they’ve pulled airmen from burning planes, died at gun posts’. The source goes on to state that women in England deserve respect for the work that they do and mentions the rewards ribbon is for bravery in wartime not just ‘knitting more socks than anyone else’. This means that women who in wartime deserved to be respected for their contribution to the war effort that was part of the hard work of war not just supporting the real troops – they were all in it together.

The purpose of this source is to inform American servicemen who were coming to England of the way they are expected to behave around British women officers and to remind them that women were as much a part of the war effort as they are. Evidence to support this is that this source is from ‘Instructions for American Serviceman’ which was a booklet issued by the US

W

ar

O

ffice for soldiers going to fight in Britain in 1942. This meant that the booklet was created by the American army specifically to inform American soldiers of role of women in the war effort in Britain, and provides specific detail of the jobs that they did as

they were different in Slide6

Working after the warSlide7

Explain

why…using the source and OK.

[POINT]

- The first reason

why D-Day was a success was because of the deceptions that the allies laid.

[EVIDENCE]

- Evidence to support this

is the source says that ‘the single most important factor in the success of Overlord was the deceptions’.

[

EXPLAIN]

– This meant that the Germans did not prepare for an attack in Normandy. Instead they were expecting an attack at Calais, the point where the English Channel is narrowest. [LINK]- Therefore D-Day was a success because the Germans were taken by surprise at Normandy where their defences were weak. [POINT] - The second reason why D-Day was a success was because of the success of the supply lines that the allies had prepared. [EVIDENCE] - Evidence to support this is that the Allies had built a fuel pipe line called Pluto. This meant that they could pump fuel to the army when it arrived in France. [LINK] – Therefore the allies were able to continue to fight the Germans after the initial invasion. This was all made possible because of US economic strength and production.

Explain why D-Day was a success. Using Source C (page 57) and your

O

wn Knowledge to support your answer.Slide8

Question

Marks

Type of question

4

10

Evaluating Reliability

Exam Question: 10 mark

How reliable are Sources A and B as evidence of why Germany was defeated in WW2?

To successfully answer this question you need understand the difference between

utility

(usefulness) and

reliability

(accuracy). Usefulness is about what you can find out from a source. Reliability is about whether or not you can trust the source. You must use NOP and reliability.[POINT] Source B is more RELIABLE as evidence of why Germany was defeated because it tells me that Germany was defeated because the USA could produce weapons and their factories were not attacked by Germany. [EVIDENCE] Evidence to support this is that the source says ‘massive production of the USA made victory certain in the end’. [OWN KNOWLEDGE] This agrees with my own knowledge because I know that the USA was not bombed by Germany in WW2 as it was too far away and that the USA produced the best weapons ending with the creation of the A-Bomb. [RELIABILITY] This source is reliable

because

it is from a text book. The purpose of a text book is to educate people so it will seek to give an objective and honest assessment of the reason why Germany was defeated.

[

POINT]

Source

A

is less RELIABLE as evidence

of why Germany was defeated

because

it is a cartoon which simplifies the situation.

[

EVIDENCE]

Evidence to support this

is that the cartoon

shows me Hitler being strangled by the three allies, Britain, the USSR and the

USA. This is a simplification of what happened.

[OWN KNOWLEDGE]

This agrees with my own knowledge

because I know that the Grand Alliance was formed to defeat the Nazis.

[

RELIABILITY]

However th

is

source

is not reliable

because

it is a cartoon which means that it has simplified the issue. It wants me to feel that the allies are equal partners. In fact the USA supplied weapons and money but the USSR did most of the fighting.

[CONCLUSION]

In my opinion, Source B

is more reliable than

Source A because of it is from a history book and is therefore seeking the truth whereas source A was a contemporary piece of propaganda.Slide9

The allies defeated Germany because

the Germans didn’t have enough weapons - How

far do you agree with this statement

? (pp.58-59 Edexcel textbook sources)

Source C somewhat backs up this point as it shows that the Germans had very little resources left to fight back against the allies as in the cartoon it states ‘if only we had spare Panzers’. This meant that they didn’t have enough tanks. From my own knowledge I know from my own knowledge I know that Germany’s resources were stretched following

Dday

and that its resources were strained in comparison to the combined might of the allies. This source is reliable as it agrees with my own knowledge and shows that the Germans did have fewer resources however, from my own knowledge I also know that the British used Radar to have an advantage over the Germans and that the British lost lots of troops in the final months fighting the Germans and therefore strained German resources was not the only reason that the Germans were defeated. This source is a British cartoon which is exaggerated as

Wermacht

officers would not have actually lent civilians a tank rather than a train. It may also have only have been produced to boost morale in Britain, however some of the facts are accurate.

This statement is not supported by source A and B as it suggests that the huge rate of weapon production from the allies was the main reason that Germany was defeated. Evidence to support this is in source A it shows the allied advance on a map which shows Germany surrounded by invasion forces from Britain and the USSR, but it shows an arrow with all supplies of weapons being provided by America. In source B it also states that ‘It was the massive production of the USA that made victory certain in the

end’.This

shows that whilst the USSR and Britain provided large numbers of troops and that they did produce lots of materials, they relied on the USA for the weapons needed to finally beat Germany. These sources are both reliable as they come from school textbooks which are intended to inform, and because they are written well after World War Two we can assume that they are not trying to make one country seem ‘better’ than another in terms of winning the war. Source A particularly shows a strategy rather than an opinion and so it does not provide partial judgement about who produced the most weapons it just simply states the facts. Source C somewhat backs up this point as it shows that the Germans had very little resources left to fight back against the allies as in the cartoon it states ‘if only we had spare Panzers’. Whilst this source in a British cartoon which is exaggerated and may only have been produced to boost morale, I know from my own knowledge I know that Germany’s resources were stretched following

Dday and that its resources were strained in comparison to the combined might of the allies.Slide10

Topic 4: Labour comes to powerSlide11

What is the purpose of Source D? (8 marks)

[POINT

]

Source

D

is

a propaganda poster created by the Labour Party for the 1945 election.

The message of the source

is

about peace after war.

[EVIDENCE]

Evidence from the source to support this is “AND NOW – WIN THE PEACE”[EXPLAIN] This shows the message is that a Labour government would ensure ‘peace’ after years of constant warfare because from my own knowledge I know that many people were worried about whether Churchill, as head of a tory government, would be a suitable and effective peace time leader.[POINT] The purpose of the source is to persuade the public to vote for the Labour Party in the election.[EVIDENCE] Evidence from the source to support this is “VOTE LABOUR”.[EXPLAIN] The source deliberately focuses/highlights the letter ‘V’ over a city.The reason for this is because ‘V’ stood for ‘Victory’ during the Second World War, but could also stand for ‘Vote’ during the new election campaigns. This again makes a link between the election and that wartime has now ended and it is a time for change.Slide12

“The government was committed to implementing the Beveridge report after WW2”. How far do the sources A-E (pages 66-67) agree with this statement? Use detail from the sources and you own knowledge.

Question 5 writing

frame

[POINT]

Source A,

C

, and E

support

the statement

that the government was committed to implementing the Beveridge report after WW2.

[EVIDENCE]

Evidence to support this is

source A is from Beveridge who was commissioned by the Labour Party to do the report. Source C says ‘I represent a promise I must not break’, this was to give a good living to the people after the war. Source E says it is the responsibility of the government to give ‘food, work and homes for all’. [RELIABILTY] These sources provide strong evidence because of their Origin, as they are written by Beveridge, an MP and Winston Churchill, at the time that the Beveridge Report was released. [LINK + OWN KNOWLEDGE] Therefore they agree to a large extent because from my own knowledge, I know that the government was very aware of the sacrifices and effort the people had put in to winning the war and that the government had to look after the people after the war and not repeat the mistakes they made after WW1.POINT] On the other hand, sources B and D do not support the statement because they both show that the government was not committed to implementing the Beveridge report. [EVIDENCE] Evidence to support this is in source B it says ‘make no promises’. In source D we can see the PM Churchill looking sceptically as the people cheer Beveridge who is about to destroy the Five Giants. [RELIABILTY] Source B is strong evidence as it is from a Cabinet meeting which shows the opinions of the government. Source D is less reliable as it is from a cartoon. [LINK + OWN KNOWLEDGE] Therefore they disagree with the statement as they show the government’s concerns over implementing the report. [CONCLUSION] In conclusion the sources support the statement that the government was committed to implementing the Beveridge report however they also show that the government had some reservations. In particular I know that the Conservative Party was very opposed to the report. It was the Labour Party that ensured its implementation!Slide13

Fighting giantsSlide14

NHSSlide15

Women had greater job opportunities after WWII than before it?

Sources D and E support the statement to some extent as they both suggest that there were new job opportunities for women after WWII.

Evidence to support this is in source D it states that ‘by 1951 there were two other types of employment in which women were in the majority – clerks (60%) and shop workers (52%)’. In source E it also shows a woman working in an aircraft factory after the war in 1951.

Whilst to some extent they both suggest that women worked in jobs that they had not worked in previously, however source D states that these were only jobs that were low paid and not a threat to

mens

jobs suggesting they were the priority. In source D it also only shows one woman, so it is difficult to tell if she is representative of the workforce – especially as the other two workers in the background are men.

These sources are reliable as source D is a balanced account that uses statistics to make a judgement, and is from a history book which suggests that it is well researched and has access to a wide range of sources to base its judgement on. Source E is also reliable as it is a photo from the time, however it could be staged or focus heavily on one woman worker rather than showing what most of the workers were like.

Sources A, B and C however all suggest that very little changed for women in the workplace once the war was over.

Evidence to support this is that source A shows a photograph of an aircraft factory where all the workers are men, suggesting that before the war all of the workers were men and as source C further confirms, women were told they were ‘no longer needed’ once the war was over as the jobs were ‘for the men coming out of the forces’. Source B also suggests that there was no increase in women in the workforce between 1931 and 1951 as only 33% of all women were in work in 1951 compared to 34% in 1931, suggesting that there were not more opportunities for them.

These sources strongly disagree with the statement as sources B and C suggest that women did not keep jobs they did during the war, and source A whilst it doesn’t explicitly show post –war opportunities for women it does illustrate the situation that most factories went back to once the war was over – which had originally been jobs occupied by men.

Source B is particularly reliable as it is from an official census collected from all people across the UK, and would not have been collected to either prove or disprove any particular point, but as a general record of what the country was like at this time. Source C provides exact information about one persons’ experience but it may not be typical of what all factories across the UK did to women workers at the end of WWII. Source A is reliable as it shows an actual factory in 1930, but isn’t reliable as evidence of what the workforce looked like after WWII as it is not from this time.

In conclusion the sources disagree with the statement, as most sources suggest little changed for women in the workplace once men returned to the jobs women had filled in for during WWII. The examples of greater opportunities seem to suggest that some jobs were more likely to be held by women, but it doesn’t suggest that more opportunities were available overall and only in circumstances when men didn’t want to or

weren’t available to do the job anyway.