A Tale of Chivalry: British Morale on the Home Front During World War II

Abstract

The blitzkrieg devastated the British Isle, both structurally and mentally, yet the government and its people never let morale collapse. Survival, unity, honor and tradition ensured that the British would not surrender to the Germans based on Hitler's terror bombings. This paper analyzes several diaries of Blitz victims as well as government documents regarding homefront morale in an attempt to explain how Great Britain maintained public opinion during the Blitzkrieg. This document looks to the many issues during the bombings such as homelessness, lack of food, familial separation, and severe damages to the city, to further explain how morale was most affected. By examining these issues and the major events of the war, the reader can understand why morale dipped up and down, yet remained unbroken.