Civilian Morale On The Home Front example essay topic

What factors influenced civilian morale on the home fronts? During World War Two, the moral of all countries involved remained intact. There were numerous factors that influenced the morale of civilians on the various home fronts. The intensity and importance of each nation's struggle with morale was strongly influenced by the regime they were subject to. The subsequent policies and actions of the governments had significant impacts on their nation's morale. Propaganda, threats and terror all contributed to the disillusionment of civilians or succeeded in fostering their drive and dedication to their nation's war effort.

Bombing of civilian's was intended to cause chaos and loss of will on the home front. However, by doing this, they brought war to a nation's doorstep, and the civilian population rallied together in their time of suffering. The bombing was a major contributor in fostering their determination to win the war. For those countries more directly involved in the conflict, there was immense suffering through hefty restrictions and limited supplies. The imposition of restrictions through rationing and government control failed to lower morale in Britain, the United States and initially in Germany. The home fronts were a hive of activity during the war as there was mass mobilisation of industry and work for the war effort.

This influenced moral as the population and importantly women were effectively contributing to the war effort. In this way, everyone had the opportunity to be involved in their nation's fight. Civilian morale was strongly influenced by the regime or democracy the people were subject to. In particular, leaders during the Second World War had a strong impact on influencing civilian morale. After Germany's success in Blitzkrieg, Britain was the only remaining democracy left in Europe, therefore the only free country in Europe. Leaders during the war had to be inspiring, be justifiable in their actions, encouraging in the war effort and arouse nationalism in their nation's fight for victory.

British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill inspired a nation to mobilise for total war and break class barriers as the nation united in its fight for justice against the Germans. Churchill was a great communicator and speaker who aroused the population to be enthusiastic and united in their countries war effort. As with many cases in Germany, it is hard to examine just how high or low morale was, simply because under the dictatorship of Hitler, discontent did not have a voice. Initially, Hitler enjoyed huge support from the civilian population.

Hitler's system of mass propaganda and early conquests throughout Europe ensured that morale was high. However, weaknesses in Hitler's leadership evolved and news to the cruel side of Hitler spread to the German population. German's then began question their faith in their 'great' leader and his ideology. Subsequently, German's began questioning themselves and the country they were supporting. In Europe, not all totalitarian regimes functioned in the same manner the. While Hitler initially had the luxury of being more careful and conscious of pampering his people, Stalin did not have that kind of leeway.

The Russians were under the totalitarian dictatorship of Stalin, who became the symbol of popular feelings during the war. In the struggle for survival the Russians worked as unified people, largely because they were forced to under Stalin's regime. Stalin's broadcast to the Soviet people on 3 July 1941 'raised the morale of a whole country' as the dictator addressed the civilians as his 'brothers and sisters' and his 'comrades and citizens'. The Russians were very patriotic and had passion in their own soil and pride to defend it at all costs. Meanwhile, even in a democracy, there was civilian suffering inflicted through the implementation of government policies that affected morale. The civilians who suffered the most in America throughout the war were the 127 000 Japanese Americans who were forced to live in concentration camps.

The ever popular US President, Franklin Roosevelt led the American people into war against Germany and Japan. Roosevelt's presence, speeches and reasoning during the war ensured he had the support of the American people. He had an aura about him that made the American people feel they were a part of a noble and essential cause during the war effort. Propaganda and the system of terror was a major factor that influenced civilian morale. Headed by the fanatical Joseph Goebbels, propaganda in Germany found a way into every part of the civilian's lives through radio, newspapers and countless mass Nazi demonstrations involving public appearances of Hitler.

Morale was maintained through this propaganda because it showcased Nazi supremacy, Nazi films and music. It allowed the people to feel normal by being able to watch films, etc, even if it was all tightly Nazi controlled. Terror was a prominent part of the Nazi regime as they forced silence on all opposition with the use of the Gestapo and SS. Morale in Germany was weak when one sees that people lived in fear of voicing any opinion or protest. The Soviet people suffered under Stalin's harsh dictatorship, however, during war, the Soviet people accepted their position in life and adjusted to it.

Stalin enforced Total war and all work and resources were poured into the war effort through exhaustive working conditions and fear of punishment. Patriotism, political conviction, kinship, determination to liberate their native region, hatred for the enemy, desire for revenge and to survive united the Russians and kept morale high. Bombing of cities was intended to break morale, however, at no stage during the war was civilian morale destroyed by bombing campaigns. The Battle of Britain which involved German bombing of Britain, and in particular London, was intended to break the British people's morale and establish the base for a German invasion. Class barriers were reduced and people were united by the destruction and suffering that the bombing inflicted. The Blitz and subsequent evacuations were a severe test of morale, however the mixing of classes ultimately brought the Brits closer together and effectively morale was strengthened by the bombing, not broken.

The Battle of Britain was to affect Brits at the highest level. During the course of the bombing, over 1.4 million people were left homeless. Meanwhile it failed to stop the functioning of daily routine and work in production factories. Regulatory meant familiarity and this routine would continue to operate before and after every raid. The bombing was so intense that there was rarely a twenty-four hour period in which there was no air raid in Britain. Bombing of cities strengthened people's determination, established a sense of togetherness and through being directly involved in the conflict, aroused a stronger nationalism and justification in their war effort.

The British bombing of Germany was a constant reminder to the German's that Britain was still very much in the war, and that the US were growing closer to forming an alliance against Germany. Bombing raids were directed at the civilian population in Germany from Britain, the USSR and later the US. The British 'area bombing' of German cities was intended to destroy German morale and create widespread destruction and devastation. This was achieved in 1943 during three days of raids on Hamburg that killed over 40 000 civilians, largely through fires from the bombs. There were 3.6 million homes destroyed, 7.5 million were made homeless, over 300 000 people killed during the course of allied bombing of the German home front. Restrictions and rationing during the war strongly influenced the home fronts morale.

Naturally, during periods of war, simple luxuries were limited and in many cases eliminated from daily life as nation's focused their spending and effort into war production. World War Two in Britain has become famously known as "the People's War". Initially, there was the fear that during the course of the war, Brits would be deeply deprived of food and essential items, especially the poor. However, the Government introduced rationing in 1940 which was fair as it ensured everyone received the same amount of food. Morale boosters were often made available in the form of luxury items while entertainment, shows, films, etc were still available to provide a sense of normality and maintain morale. The Government continued to ensure all was fair in Britain as it controlled rationing, wages, prices, etc.

In fact, the general standard of health improved in Britain. There were, of course, fluctuations in morale. Hardships and absence of what were previously considered essentials were a part of everyday life. Shortages on pre-war essentials are exemplified by the fact that each person was rationed to only one new shirt every twenty months. Socially, divorce and crime rates rose, illegitimacy rose ten fold and there was still the presence of strikes and class resentment.

The conscription of civilians to work on the railways, in mines and other areas of essential employment also caused anger and frustration. Rationing was introduced in the US in 1942, including sufficient food for the population. It was frustrating for Americans in the sense that they had sufficient money and money to purchase items, however consumer items were not so readily available. Americans were encouraged to conserve all items, including dripping (fat), sheet metal, any materials, etc. In many cases, people would speak of a sense of 'togetherness' and work as a unified nation for a great cause. Hitler hoped to establish and maintain high morale in Germany through maintaining pre war living standards throughout the country.

Rationing was minimised, as was mobilisation and conscription of workers into the war effort. A sense of normality was achieved throughout Germany for a period of time as morale remained high throughout a series of German conquests in Europe. However, the Nazi's ability to maintain normality on the home front lasted only a short time as domestic shortages became the norm. In the latter years of the war, the food situation was so bad that people would be found scrounging around forests looking for food. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 began to put pressure on the home front as stepped-up production of armaments increased, the desire for a short war had faded into a dream. The Russians suffered severely, living in a country that was one third under Soviet control.

Food was in short supply, with poor rationing that favoured the already deprived military while the rest of Russian civilians were even greater deprived. German invaders took most food supplies. The harsh Russian winters resulted in civilians falling prey to sickness and disease, the state subsequently provided over 250 million inoculations against fevers. Hunger, cold, malnutrition and disease were as great as the German threat to the survival of the USSR. Information detailing casualty numbers on the battle front had a significant influence on the civilian morale on the home front. Death on the battle front conveyed to civilians the devastation and destruction of human life during war.

Meanwhile, victories on the battlefield were a turning point in strengthening the nation's morale; as people were optimistic and that battles won would result in a war won. The arrival of casualties and with them the stories of the horrors of the war brought to civilians the reality of the suffering of war and cemented the losses and destruction involved. The worsening of the situation on the German home front in the later years of the war exemplifies the degree to which morale is affected by the thrust of defeat and war stories. As the war continued, those left on the home front were faced with the death of family members fighting on the two fronts. Death in families was an all too common occurrence on all home fronts.

The Nazi's tried to keep the civilians oblivious to the sufferings and poor treatment on the battlefront, particularly in and around Stalingrad. However, silence and lack of communication resulted in increased misconstrued information reaching the population. The major powers including Germany, Great Britain, the USSR and the US mobilised for Total war. This involved the mobilisation and conscription of not only soldiers, but of workers on the home front. Britain set new standards in the mass mobilisation of women into the workforce in roles that were previously not available to women. Women were involved in not only volunteer work, but work that was normally male dominated including tram driving, factory work with over ninety percent of munitions workers being women and 80 000 women in the Women's Land Army.

It was compulsory for all women between the ages of eighteen and sixty to register for work which was largely factory work at the many munitions factories. In 1941, women were even enlisted in the armed forces, the Women's Auxiliary Forces including 73 500 women in the Women's Royal Naval Service and 182 000 women in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Morale amongst British society increased as women were given the opportunity to effectively participate in the war effort. Hitler's desire to maintain consumer consumption and normality in civilian's lives resulted in very few women becoming mobilised.

In 1943, Germany was declared a state of Total War, therefore the people were pressed into war work, particularly women who had previously been directed away from any harsh or different work. Therefore morale during the initial mobilisation of Germany was significantly high. However, sudden changes during the latter years of war saw disruption and disorder. Civilians in America were affected dramatically differently from the Europeans as they were distant from the conflict.

While the European countries hit economic bottom, the US economy thrived during the war as the civilian economy expanded. Fifteen million people entered the armed forces and ten million extra were added to the labour force as unemployment was a scarcity. The workforce generally received higher wages. Although on a smaller scale to some of the European countries, women did enter the workforce in America on the largest scale the country had ever seen during the war years. The proportion of women in the workforce rose from 25 per cent to 36 per cent during the war. Black Americans continued to be discriminated against in the workforce and military, however, small advances were made in their position in society and the workforce.

Therefore through advancements and the lifting of some restrictions, high levels of civilian morale were evident in most areas of American society. From beginning to end, war in the USSR was Total war where the line of separation between soldiers and civilians virtually disappeared. The Soviets were conscripted into factory and munitions work, while all able-bodied men were conscripted into the armed forces. The German invasion of Russia left the country in a desperate situation. The German's inflicted harsh treatment toward the Soviets including Russian Jews being sent to extermination camps, used as slave labor, while captured soldiers were sent to prisoner of war camps to starvation and ill-treatment. Russians endured harsh conditions that involved mass suffering yet morale was always in tact to a significant degree.

Therefore it is clear that there were a range of factors that contributed to civilian morale during the Second World War. Policies and inspiration by each nations government was influential in contributing to the civilian population's morale. The destruction inflicted by area bombing of cities failed to achieve its goal of destroying morale. Restrictions and rationing affected civilian's attitude to the war both negatively and positively.

Mobilisation of civilians into war work fostered a sense of nationalism and therefore had an effect on morale. Clearly the above factors all influenced morale in the US, USSR, Britain and Germany. The extent as to which each of these factors affected civilian morale was dependant upon each countries circumstances.

Bibliography

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