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The British strategic bombing campaign against Germany between May 1940 and April 1945 has featured prominently in the British psyche since the end of World War II. There is rarely a month that passes when a new book is not published or a documentary features on television, which eulogises or criticises Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command operations. However, what has yet to be fully explored is how the British people felt about the bombing of Germany during the war itself. The aim of this thesis is to identify the views of the British public between 1940 and 1945 towards the bombing of Germany and to attempt to understand why such views were held. The thesis takes a chronological approach, with each chapter focusing on a different period. Within each chapter, a number of themes are considered. Firstly, the role of the Publicity Department at the Air Ministry and developments in policies and practices regarding the dissemination of information to the media. Secondly, the operational activities of Bomber Command. Thirdly, an investigation into how media outlets in Britain portrayed the campaigns, most notably the national press and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Finally, and most significantly, the public’s response. This fourth theme calls upon a vast array of social investigation material, most notably Mass-Observation diary submissions and surveys, in order to analyse the views of the public. It can be determined that throughout the conflict, despite continual media coverage, the bombing of Germany never featured as one of the most popular topics of interest amongst the public. Thus, despite a number of small spikes in interest, caused by major raids or events, it can be concluded that the public were, for the most part, unenthusiastic about the actions of Bomber Command between 1939 and 1945. |
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