The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and came from the term Blitzkrieg, the German word for ’lightning war'.
43,000 civilians died during the blitz.
The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940.
By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets (Luftflotten) were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation.
From 7 September 1940, London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Most notable was a large daylight attack against London on 15 September.
Written for younger readers
The Blitz, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: World War II
The Blitz is the name given to the bombing of Britain by Germany. The Blitz started on 7 September 1940 with the bombing of London, which went on for 57 nights in a row. By the time The Blitz ended in May 1941 more than 43,000 people had been killed. In London more than one million homes had been damaged or completely destroyed. Fortunately, some famous buildings like St Paul’s Cathedral and even Buckingham Palace were not destroyed so they remained as symbols of Britain’s ability to continue fighting.
Hitler thought that bombing Britain’s cities would make Britain give up fighting. It didn’t come close to working. The bombing brought people closer together.
The ordinary people of London worked hard to protect their city. Those who couldn’t join the army because they were ill or too old could still help. Some joined the Home Guard, others joined the Air Raid Precautions or Auxiliary Fire Service or many of the other groups that were organised. Even Boy Scouts had a role, showing fire engines where the worst fires were.
Children, old people and the ill were evacuated from London to safer parts of the country. In the end nearly a quarter of London’s people had left. But nobody was forced to leave and, despite the terrible bombing, many chose to stay.
For those who stayed in London, they needed to keep safe during air raids. Some people had special air raid shelters - a hole in the ground with a roof - to provide some protection from bombs. Many others sheltered in Tube stations.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “The Blitz” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
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