The Blackout (Essay Sample)

The Blackout Student Name University Name Abstract Air raids were a real threat for the British citizens during 1939. Fear flooded the streets and the government mandated a complete blackout to deter any Nazi bombers. As darkness took over the country, death tolls rose, crime increased, and people were terrified. Everyone was to stay at home and drown out all light sources, or risk being severely punished during the wartime law. The Blackout During the World War II, in preparation for the unexpected, the citizens of Britain went into a complete blackout. It started on the first day of September, 1939 CITATION Cal69 \l 6154 (Calder, 1969). By the British Mandate, all civilians were to eliminate all light sources on ground level in order to avoid easy targets for any bombing runs carried out by the German Luftwaffe. Before the full outbreak of the war, the British Air Ministry predicted that the entire country would be exposed to a sudden bombing campaign by the Nazis. This would mean massive civilian casualties and mass destruction if people were not mobilized fast enough CITATION Goo09 \l 6154 (Goodall, 2009). Everyone was affected during this time period. Businesses, civilians, and anyone on the ground had to adhere to the strict regulations during the blackouts. However, when the night fell, accidents increased, burglaries took place, and many civilians lost their life due to the inability to see at night. The death toll was rising; examples of such accidents can be seen in an article from the Daily Sketch, "He Stepped from Train, Fell 80ft”CITATION Del22 \l 6154 (DelCampe.net, 2015). People were supposed to stay in their homes and cover all windows up with thick dark linens. They were also instructed to turn off any light source, which impeded visibility for everyone. Because of the increased accidents and elevated crime rates, people had to not only turn off their lights, but also sit at home all night to avoid getting burgled or hurt CITATION Cal69 \l 6154 (Calder, 1969). In summary, to avoid air raids people...