Children in War

Although national archives provide military accounts of World War I, the story of sacrifices on the home front have rarely been told. What was it like for civilians, especially children, during the Great War?

 And what of World War II? During the Blitz, thousands of British school children were sent from London to the countryside. How did such a mass evacuation impact them and their families?

Food and energy shortages characterized both wars. What was it like to regularly buy food with ration cards? How much fuel could one purchase under a gas-ration program? Did a black market develop? What types of penalties applied to those who avoided government-imposed restrictions?

Uncounted numbers of children had to quit school to help support their families. Abandoning individual plans and education, in favor of helping out, became a way of life.

In this story about children in war, step back in time to see what life was like during World War I and World War II. Hear what became a common sound for British children: the air-raid siren. Discover why “the degree of restriction over an individual’s freedom seems incredible to us today.”

Examine propaganda posters which governments commissioned to influence citizens. Watch videos of children leaving, en masse, from London’s train stations. Hear audio interviews with children, and their teachers, as they left the city with their class mates. See what it was like to live in the wake of the Blitz.

Learn how children helped in the war effort. See how they collected scraps and grew “victory gardens.” Examine ration books, from various countries, and read the personal accounts of people who endured the trauma of war.