The Blackout
During World War 2, many bombs were dropped over Britain – mainly over large towns, cities and ports. This often happened at night because the German airforce didn’t want to be spotted as they flew above and also because Hitler wanted to cause the British people to be as scared as possible when they were going to bed! The government knew that night air raids would happen, even before war started, so they decided to have Blackout regulations.
On 1 September 1939 the government made a rule that when it got dark, everyone had to hide any lights. All windows and doors had to be covered with a thick material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent any glimmer of light showing that might help enemy aircraft.
Britain from Above
This is a picture of Britain from above at night. You can see how the lights show where the big towns and cities are. The German pilots would use the lights to show them where to drop their bombs.
Germany Invades Poland
Hitler had promised to make Germany great again and quickly began to rebuild the German armed forces and seize land from other countries.
Just before 5am on Friday 1st September 1939, German forces invaded Poland. They used tanks and other vehicles to race into the country over ground, supported by Stuka dive bomber planes overhead, dropping bombs. Around 1.25 million German soldiers swept into Poland.
World War 2 is Declared
World War Two in Europe officially began on 3rd September 1939. The British Prime Minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain, had tried to contact Hitler to tell him to pull his armies out of Germany. Hitler did not respond and continued with his invasion, so Britain declared war on Germany.
Neville Chamberlain announced the beginning of the war on the Wireless (radio)
