EFFECTS OF WW2 ON THE UK
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Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Vol XCIII, No. 311
INTRODUCTION
Main events of WW2 in Britain
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Winston Churchill was Prime Minister
- Government became much more involved in people's lives during the war --> taking an active interest in providing for the welfare of the British people
- Did not have enough farmland to sustain its increased population so it had to import food + introduce rationing measures
- 1940-1941 'Blitz'
- Children/Families evacuated from industrial cities to the countryside
- Lots of Wartime Propaganda used (Unity)
SOCIAL
- Introduction (WW2 info)
- Social
- Political
- Economic
- Military
- Bibliography
Aneurin Bevan
- Loss of 60 000 civilians in air raids/starvation/sickness etc.
- Disparity within UK Social Class Structure
The Beverage Report/Plan and setting up of a Welfare State
-> Family allowances
-> Comprehensive National Health Service
->Full employment
- Buildings blocks of welfare state put in place (1945-1948)
- National Health Service Hostility from BMA
"Britain had survived the war, but its wealth, prestige and authority had been severely reduced."
"It might be true to say that the economic and military impact of the war left Britain in the same situation as a defeated nation but with the illusions of victory."
MILITARY
ECONOMIC
POLITICAL
- Britain was put in massive debts.
- Rationing started to occur.
- Destruction by bombing created a need for massive building after the war.
- Destruction of factories/machines thereby loosing some of its productive capacity.
- High unemployment - women gave up jobs to men.
- 1941, U.S. - provided munitions through Lend lease that totaled $15.5 billion.
- Winter 1947 - lowest economic point of the century.
- Loss of 303 000 soldiers
- Military and colonial commitments were scaled down, leading to extensive de-colonisation
- 1947, the government decided to proceed with the development of Britain's nuclear weapons programme, primarily to enhance Britain's security and also its status as a superpower
- RAF supported Berlin Airlift in 1948-49
- Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin resigned on the 10th of May 1940 as a result of pressure and was replaced by Winston Churchill as Prime Minister.
- Chamberlin then served, under Churchill as the Lord President of the Council.
- British aircraft and munitions industries grew by a large amount to cope with the high demand.
- Britain can no longer afford it's Empire - by early 1960s it had granted independence to most colonies without threat of military action
Bibliography
- http://referaty.aktuality.sk/political-economic-and-social-impacts-after-ww1-and-ww2-in-great-britain/referat-4666
- http://www.johndclare.net/wwii1_economic_effects.htm
- http://audrat.edu.glogster.com/The-Effects-of-WWII/
- http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=Britains_Post-War_Decline_1945-50
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml
- http://www.worldology.com/Europe/world_war_2_effect.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Community
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postwar_Britain
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Royal_Air_Force#Strategic_bombing
- Britain 1929-98, Chris Rowe, 2004