Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

“Bomb Back, and Bomb Hard”: Debating Reprisals during the Blitz *

“Bomb Back, and Bomb Hard”: Debating Reprisals during the Blitz * In Britain, popular memory of the Blitz celebrates civilian resistance to the German bombing of London and other cities, emphasising positive values such as stoicism, humour and mutual aid. But the memory of such passive and defensive traits obscures the degree to which British civilian morale in 1940 depended on the belief that if Britain had to “take it”, then Germany was taking it as hard or harder. Contrary to the received historical account, opinion polls, Home Intelligence reports and newspaper letter columns show that a majority of the British supported the reprisal bombing of German civilians by Bomber Command. The wartime reprisals debate was the logical legacy of prewar assumptions about the overwhelming power of bombing; but it has been forgotten because it contradicts the myth of the Blitz. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian Journal of Politics and History Wiley

“Bomb Back, and Bomb Hard”: Debating Reprisals during the Blitz *

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wiley/bomb-back-and-bomb-hard-debating-reprisals-during-the-blitz-vAa0sVSlVH

References (19)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2012 The Author. Australian Journal of Politics and History © 2012 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics, School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
ISSN
0004-9522
eISSN
1467-8497
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-8497.2012.01643.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In Britain, popular memory of the Blitz celebrates civilian resistance to the German bombing of London and other cities, emphasising positive values such as stoicism, humour and mutual aid. But the memory of such passive and defensive traits obscures the degree to which British civilian morale in 1940 depended on the belief that if Britain had to “take it”, then Germany was taking it as hard or harder. Contrary to the received historical account, opinion polls, Home Intelligence reports and newspaper letter columns show that a majority of the British supported the reprisal bombing of German civilians by Bomber Command. The wartime reprisals debate was the logical legacy of prewar assumptions about the overwhelming power of bombing; but it has been forgotten because it contradicts the myth of the Blitz.

Journal

Australian Journal of Politics and HistoryWiley

Published: Sep 1, 2012

There are no references for this article.