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History at Key Stage 2 Unit 9
What was it like for children in the Second World
War?
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What was the Second World War? When and where did
it take place? It began in 1939 and ended in
1945. It was fought between two groups of
countries called the Allies and the Axis. The
leading countries on each side were
The Allies
The Axis
The U.K.
Germany
France
Italy
The Soviet Union
Japan
The U.S.A.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What was the Second World War? When and where did
it take place?
2000
1900
1800
1700
1600
1950
1850
1750
1650
1550
1450
1500
1850s Florence Nightingale
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
How did the Second World War begin? The Second
World War began in 1939 when Germany invaded
Poland. Britain and France had an agreement with
Poland to help in case of war, so Britain and
France both declared war on Germany. Other
countries joined the war on both sides, and the
fighting took place all over the world, in
Europe, Africa and Asia, and in the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. Both sides used soldiers,
aircraft, boats and submarines. Many soldiers
and civilians were killed, more people than had
ever been killed in a war before.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
Who were the leaders of the Allies and the
Axis? Britain Winston Churchill America Frankl
in D. Roosevelt U.S.S.R. Joseph
Stalin Germany Adolf Hitler Italy Benito
Mussolini Japan Hideki Tojo (died in 1944)
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
How did the Second World War end? The war went
on for six years, with neither side able to
win. Finally in 1945, the British, American and
Russian soldiers managed to invade Germany and
capture Berlin, which was the capital city. When
Hitler realised that he was going to be captured,
he went to an underground hiding place and shot
himself. After this, Germany surrendered to the
Allies. This was known as V.E. Day, which means
Victory in Europe Japan continued the war in
Asia until 1946 when they too surrendered after
atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by the
American airforce.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What was the Blitz? The Blitz is the name given
to the bombing of London and other cities by the
German airforce during the Second World War. The
name Blitz comes from the German word
Blitzkrieg which means lightning war.
Many buildings and homes were destroyed or set on
fire by the bombs. The British airforce also
bombed German cities, causing similar damages to
buildings and killing or injuring people who
lived there.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
How did people protect themselves from the bombs?
To keep themselves safe during the Blitz, many
families built Anderson shelters in their
gardens. When an attack started, the family could
go into the shelter. They would be safe from any
bombs dropped nearby. People in London often
used the Tube stations as shelter during bombing
raids. Hundreds of people would gather in the
stations and often stay there all night.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
Why were children evacuated?
Because of the bombings, many cities were very
dangerous places to stay. To protect children,
the Government evacuated them to the
countryside. They were put with families who
could look after them until it was safe to go
back home. The Government arranged special
trains to take all the children to safe places.
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
Look at these posters about evacuation.
What group of people do you think each one is
aimed at? What is the purpose of each of these
posters?
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What was it like being an evacuee?
Children were safer in the country
Disadvantages
Advantages
They were often split up from their families
There was more good food available in the country
Many children got very homesick
Some children were made to do chores and hard work
Many children had never had a chance to go to the
country before
Some children never wanted to go home
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What did people eat during the war? The war
meant that foods which would normally come to
Britain by ship were in short supply. Rationing
was introduced so that people could only buy
small amounts of certain foods each week. Ration
books were used to keep a count of how much food
you were allowed to buy. People were encouraged
to grow extra fruit and vegetables in their
gardens or allotments.
Ration books
Grow your own food poster
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
Here are some of the foods that were rationed
during the war. Click on the picture to find out
the amount of each food that you could buy each
week.
Cheese 50g
Meat 1 shilling sixpence worth
Bacon or ham 100g
Butter 50g
Jam 450g every 2 months
Milk 1.8 litres
Margarine 100g
Sweets 350g a month
Dried egg One packet a month
Tea 50g
Sugar 225g
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
In what other ways might the war have affected
people? Look at the pictures below. What do they
tell us about the effects of the war on different
peoples lives?
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Unit 9 What was it like for children in the
Second World War?
What has been done since to prevent another world
war?
The United Nations is an organisation which was
set up after World War II. Leaders of most of
the worlds countries meet there to discuss ways
of solving their problems without going to
war. The United Nations has representatives
which it sends to countries who are at war to try
and help them to settle their problems peacefully
Do you think the world is now a more peaceful
place than it was in the 1940s?
The U.N. flag
Inside the U.N.
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