Traveling around London learning and being able to see the sites and history in person, you can really see how the British population embodied the “People’s War.” The locations included Bletchley Park and the Imperial War Museum really embraced this and I think these places did a good job of showing this not only to someone who loves history but to the people who do not have an extensive knowledge of history. In class, we learned a lot about British pride and resiliency. Not only did Bletchley Park and the Imperial War Museum embody this but the entire city of London.
Bletchley Park was where the German Enigma Code which happened to play a significant role in winning the war and it was all do to the everyday people working there and the secrets they kept for years after the war. Walking through the working community, I got a good understanding of how this park functioned. This organization grabbed people from all over England. They searched universities, looked for men and women, they were willing to take anyone who seemed qualified. Walking through the grounds, I saw where the women translators worked and where the code breakers worked day and night to break Enigma. In the basement of Block B, there was an exhibit dedicated to Alan Turing. I saw his childhood teddy bear, school notes and books. He was a university mathematician whom Bletchley Park recruited. Turing spent most of his time in Hut 8, which I walked through. I saw his workplace and how he spent his days. He worked nonstop with a group of other code breakers who, just like him, were everyday people. Turing’s contribution to the war was extremely significant because he cracked the German code which gave the Allies knowledge of German moves. The Allies prepared the troops and counterattack to eventually win the war based on this knowledge, and it was all because of the German translators and code breakers working at Bletchley Park. However, Turing wasn’t the only contribution to Bletchley Park, every single person contributed to the war which is why it played a role in the “People’s War.” Even after the war was over, each worker agreed to keep silent about the work that was being done with Ultra, the German Enigma and the code breaking. Each worker held the secrets of Bletchley Park for over 30 years. Most of the families and friends of these workers didn’t find out they worked at Bletchley Park until the ends of their life. One man in our tour group just recently found out that his mother worked at Bletchley Park. She never told her own son about the work that she did until very late in her life and even when she told him, she didn’t go into details. The man, standing with me, was there to pay his respects to his mother and all the other people who worked so hard for England. The people of Bletchley Park and the families and friends that they touched are all involved with helping the Allies win. The community of Bletchley Park, how they worked together and the secrets they kept are what made this operation successful.
On May 12th the class took a tour of the Imperial War Museum. The second floor was dedicated to World War II. On this floor, I saw how World War II was the “People’s War.” During the Blitz, the average person was the one going out to rescue and help those in need after the bombings. One of the artifacts that really caught my eye was an arm band used by a volunteer firefighter. It was the townspeople going out and helping those in need. They would go and rescue people from the rubble, help seek shelter and give aid with food, water and medical attention. The volunteers, men, women, old and young all pitched in and helped. Most of the men were away in the war and the actual firefighters, medical staff and police were doing what they could. But they couldn’t be everywhere and that’s where the local citizens came into play. There were pictures hung around the second floor of the citizens helping search through bombed buildings to look for missing family members, belongings or just anything that could help. It was really moving to see how everyone pitched in and did anything and everything they possible could to help. The nation’s high spirit and willingness to keep fighting the Allies’ morale up which ultimately lead to the defeat of Germany and a victory for the Allies.