The document discusses the effects of World War II on British society, focusing on who came to Britain during the war including American soldiers, Commonwealth troops, and prisoners of war. It provides details on how different groups such as African American soldiers, Polish workers, and German/Italian prisoners of war were treated in Britain. Sources suggest that while American soldiers were generally welcomed, social attitudes varied towards different ethnic groups.

2. Todays lesson Objectives:
1.
2.

4.  WWII had dramatic effects on British society which
we will begin to look at today.
 Looking to future lessons …..when the war was over
there was very large upheaval in manufacturing
industries
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ_ECwHg7_c&N
R=1&feature=endscreen
 The 1950s also saw the creation of the NHS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG9wCSrTbXs

5.  Our first investigation: Who came to Britain during
WWII?
 Use the sources available to discover:
 Who settled in Britain?
 How were they treated?
 What happened to them in Britain?

7.  They arrived from 1942 onwards
 Over 3 million were posted in
the UK throughout the war
 Most were very open and friendly
and got on well with locals
 Britain was divided strongly by class lines – working class
people were supposed to know their place. America was not
so divided and American GIs mixed freely with all classes.
 GIs were very popular with the girls – they were well paid so
could take the girls to the best clubs and restaurants
 80,000 British women became ‘GI Brides’ and emmigrated
to the USA

8.  130,000 African American soldiers came to Britain
 Americans weren't class conscious but they were race
conscious - in USA they suffered harsh discrimination in
schools, cinemas and restaurants.
 The US army in Britain was segregated
 A report by Neil Wynn on
Gloucester showed that AAs were
treated very well by Brits and Brits
often criticised the White Americans for their treatment of
AA.
 Walter White of the NAACP said
for AA in Britain provided ‘their first
experience in being treated as
normal human beings and friends by white people’

10.  Do these two sources
contradict each other?

11.  Before the American soldiers arrived, there was a large
influx of troops from the Commonwealth
 Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Indians
served in the British forces.
 Also people from the
Caribbean (West Indies) came
to Britain
 40,000 marriages between
Canadian soldier and British
women

12. What does this source tell us about Prisoners of War?
Are you surprised how British people treat them?
Do you think the Brits who treat them in this way are betraying the British Soldiers
at war?

13.  Most POWs were German
and Italian captured in
North Africa
 There were 157,000 Italians
and 402,000 Germans in Britain
at its highest figure.
 POWS were generally treated well, they were given the same food
rations as British Servicemen which was more than British
civilians
 They had access to medical care
 They were often paid small wages for the work they did - in
agriculture filling the gap left by those that had gone to war
 Were offered a range of educational classes run by other prisoners
– learned English
 25,000 German POWs stayed in Britain after the war.

14.  14,000 served in the RAF and
many more in other areas of the
armed forces.
 Many poles managed to escape
when they were invaded by Russia
and Germany in 1939
 120,000 settled in Britain permanently
 A Polish Resettlement Corps was set up to house
Poles and provide training and work for them - the
houses were often in ex-war camps/military camps
and were very basic
 By 1948 65,000 workers were employed under the
PRC – it finished in 1949 because almost all Poles had
found a job or worked for themselves

15.  Choose one of the sources from the sheet and create an
exam question similar to those that would appear on
your exam.
 Also
 Create a detailed mark scheme to go with your
question so someone would no how to answer it.
 Look at the example mark shcme provided to see how
it is done. (you need to provide example sentences for
each of the marks/levels)