Atonement in Context

7/16/2013

Wednesday morning we have an hour in the computer lab. During this time, I'd like you to find information related to the story using the Virtual Library databases or the internet. Topics to search could be:

-prison life in 1930's

-child evacuees during WW2

-WW2 nursing

-WW2 combat

-The Dunkirk Retreat

-Scepticemia

-The Balham Street Station Bombing

-The Blitzkreig

Post your findings (in your own words - no cutting and pasting!) here. Reference your sources informall

23 Comments

Eshan Mankotia

7/16/2013 10:44:12 pm

Blitzkrieg;
Blitzkrieg was first introduced by the Germans in WWII, and literally means "lightning war".
Using a combination of air, land amour, and infantry, they attacked quickly and surprised the opposition, giving them a major advantage.

This is used in part two of the book when Robbie and his two sqaudmates are resting in a village and it is suddenly attacked using airplanes and infantry in such quick succession that there was no way to retaliate.

Source;
http://web.ebscohost.com/hrc/detail?sid=4beb2864-45f4-4e7d-8806-8273c51c8f0d%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=22&bdata=JnNpdGU9aHJjLWxpdmU%3d#db=khh&AN=25262444

Aditya Subramanian

7/16/2013 10:56:20 pm

American Nurses WW2:
They have served in the army since the American revolution, though they were not considered to be a part of the actual army. At first nurses were in low demand and were not considered to be a deciding factor, but by the end of World War 2 about 77000 nurses had served in the American Military.

Source:
https://sites.google.com/site/americanmilitarynursesinwwii/

Aditya Subramanian

7/16/2013 11:02:39 pm

World War 2 Canadian Nursing:
3,649 women had served in the RCAMC (Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps) by the end of World War 2. Women in the armed forces were not allowed to marry anyone during their time serving their country. A lot of stress was placed on physical fitness, even for nurses. Out of the 466 nurses that resigned from serving, about 300 of them had marriage as a reason to leave.

Source:
http://www.nurses.ab.ca/Carna/index.aspx?WebStructureID=70

Adrian Gheju

7/16/2013 11:04:45 pm

The Dunkirk Evacuation:

The Dunkirk Evacuation is more commonly reffered to the Dunkirk Miracle. Its purpose was to evacuate allied troops off the beaches and harbours of Dunkirk. With the help of both military and civilian efforts approximately 338, 226 soldiers were rescued and live to fight another day.

The Evacuation of Dunkirk is seen in part two of the book. Robbie who is injured, is rescued and brought home to recover.

Adrian Gheju

7/16/2013 11:05:56 pm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation

Rebecca Errey

7/16/2013 11:07:01 pm

During World War 2 the government decided that to be on the safe side they were going to ‘empty the cities’. What they mean by this is that they wanted to evacuate as many children and mothers as they possibly can. They wanted to do this because they were expecting to be bombed and they didn’t want to put these children in danger. They successfully evacuated 800 000 children. But shortly after they left they returned, defeating the purpose.

When these children left their homes they went to live with a ‘host family’. Their new home was called a billet. They did have officers to help these children get to the right place but things didn’t always go as planned and some children did end up lost.

Most often the children got to these new homes by first walking to school. Then they were shipped off to where ever they were to go. Every child received their own gas mask and a bag with food in it for their long journey. The food likely would consist of sandwiches, apples, and chocolate. Then once they were all on the bus, train, or boat they would say goodbye to their loved ones.

All the children that were considered to be an evacuee stuck together and did things together. For example school, get-togethers, etc. Many children struggled with the new atmosphere.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/evacuation/

Sara Canini

7/16/2013 11:07:27 pm

The Retreat of Dunkirk:
An evacuation mission for the British army from the coast of Dunkirk, France. As Germans approached, the army retreated to the beaches where many ships, yatchs and fishing boats were used to get 338, 000 soldiers to safety. The British army, including the Royal airforce held up the German forces from May 26 to June 4. Extreme heroism and courage was shown, and even after losing much of their equipment, the army came back strong with their allies, and eventually overpowered the Nazis.

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA213307703&v=2.1&u=ko_k12hs_d68&it=r&p=PPMI&sw=w

Aditya Subramanian

7/16/2013 11:08:44 pm

This can relate to the book as Cecilia later went to serve as a nurse in World War 2 soon after the release of Robbie from his prison sentence.

Zamil Hirani

7/16/2013 11:11:16 pm

Prison Life in 1930’s
In the 1930’s prison life was much harsher than it is today. Though rehabilitation programs were created for those in need of it, the conditions were tough. The convicts lived in a vile environment with just the bare essentials. A city’s worst slum was thought to be nicer. In addition, there was a division between classes inside the prison. It was as if they had their own subcultures and were living by their own convict code.

Source:http://law.jrank.org/pages/1782/Prisons-History-Modern-prisons.html

Maha Rizvi

7/16/2013 11:12:15 pm

WW2 nursing - Nursing has played a very crucial and essential role in WW2. All the nurses during the war have been very strong and brave to have been able to do what they did. They had to be mentally strong to enable themselves to survive through all what they witnessed; the different sorts of wounds, scars, stories of the soldiers, their pain, their suffering, their mental instability because of what they observed and saw during a battle, and unfortunately, so many deaths. It takes a lot of strength and courage to witness such tragedies, hide the shocks inside of you, and also comfort the soldiers with positive and encouraging words. There also have been many casualties of the nurses during the war due bombings, injuries, and other diseases and attacks which hardly anyone survived. Nurses in World War 2 were so devoted towards their patients that they did not leave them alone to die in their beds, rather, they would hold their hands and would keep reassuring soldiers until their last breath. We see this example in Atonement in part 3, when Briony goes to talk to an eighteen year old soldier named Luc Cornet who is in bad condition and Briony know that he is about to die, but she gives him reassurance that he will be fine soon and holds his hands until he dies.

http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/lives.html

Natalie Kozlowski

7/16/2013 11:14:11 pm

Life in Prison in the 1930's:
When in prison, the men were expected to work (labour) usually in vegetable gardens or olive groves. This was necessary because the oil produced would be sold to the public. The females usually had sewing jobs that would be used as bedding sheets.
Prisoners who behaved well were allowed to read at the prison library. According to the prisoners, the library was highly appreciated because people would learn how to read and use their time wisely.
When Robbie was sent to prison because Briony framed him for raping Lola, we can assume that Robbie enjoyed reading many books that were available to him since he studied English at university. We can also believe that Robbie was very tired since he was forced to work outside for many hours in the day.

Natalie Kozlowski

7/16/2013 11:14:47 pm

Source:
http://www.adelaidegaol.org.au/Adelaide_Gaol_Life.htm

Ahmed Owity

7/16/2013 11:15:36 pm

Relation to Scepticemia:

Scepticemia is life threatening serious condition, which spreads out throughtout the body rapidly. It begins with infections throughout various parts of the body, such as lungs, abdomen, and urinary tract.

This relates to Atonement, because Robbie suffers a serious case of Scepticemia after WWII.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/schizophrenia.html

Victoria Guderian

7/16/2013 11:23:18 pm

Wanting to keep the next generation safe, the government evacuated them from the big cities on August 31st 1939. Nearly 2 million children were evacuated from their homes and were transferred to a different place of stay. War World II was hard on the children living in Europe, they were separated from their home, friends, parents and in many cases their siblings as well. They would move into different houses that were distance from urbanization, sometimes with other evacuated child, but many times with strangers. More than 60% of children went home September 1940 when the bombing threats weren’t as threatening anymore. However some children stayed until the 1941 in the strange homes until England started to become safe again.

Sources
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/children_and_world_war_two.htm

Esra Aborig

7/16/2013 11:25:00 pm

On October 14 1940, about 66 people passed away at the London Balham Underground Station during a night of intense air raids at the time of the Blitz. A 1400kg armoured bomb penetrated a deep 32ft underground and exploded. The tunnel, where there were some 500 civilians taking shelter from the bombings, was filled with debris and eventually flooded because of the sewage and water pipes being punctured. A no.88 double decker bus became trapped after plunging into the crater created by the explosion on ground. No one was directly killed by the bomb itself but all 64 casualties were caused by drowning in the flooded tunnels, suffocating because of the gas leaks or being trampled trying to escape the tunnel. The recovery of the bodies took until Christmas that year and the station damage was repaired and reopened January 8th the following year.

Source 1: http://ww2today.com/14th-october-1940-disaster-at-balham-tube-station

Source 2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/49/a6439449.shtml

Donna Voll

7/16/2013 11:27:27 pm

The Forgotten Victims of WWII: Child Evacuees

Children were immensely affected by WWII. At the beginning of World War Two, almost two million children were evacuated from their homes. Children had to tolerate rationing; they learned how to use gas masks; and the children lived with strangers for their own safety. In 1940 to 1941, adolescents accounted for one in ten of the deaths during the Blitz of London.

The impact of evacuation on children was dependent on the social class of their family. Parents who had money made their own preparations for their children. Children at private schools in the cities found a ‘safe haven’ at near-by manor houses in the countryside. In early September, 1.9 million children collected at train stations unaware of where they would go and if they would be separated from their siblings. The children were fearful for their lives. They seemed to be lost and forgotten without their loved ones.

“The forgotten victims of World War Two were the children.”
Juliet Gardiner

Source: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/children_and_world_war_two.htm

Erij Elkamel

7/16/2013 11:31:44 pm

The Dunkirk evacuation took place between May 26 and June 4, 1940. It was the evacuation of soldiers from the harbors and beaches in Dunkirk, France because French, Belgian, and British troops were cut off by the Germans during the Dunkirk Battle in World War II. On May 26, the troops were ordered to evacuate, although evacuating without being captured or dying seemed merely impossible at the time. On the first day, only about 7000 men evacuated successfully. German troops were blocking any further evacuation. On the 29th, there was a major aerial attack by the Luftwaffe, but 47000 British troops managed to be rescued. Following the attack, thousands of soldiers successfully evacuated the premises, until an attack on June 2 prohibited any further safe escape route. By June 2, the rest of the troops evacuated safely, before the operation was finally ended. Two French divisions remained in order to supervise the evacuation, but they were soon destroyed by the Germans. On June 4, 1940, Major General Harold Alexander ensured that no further troops were on the shores of Dunkirk before they all boarded on the ship back to Britain. The operation was very successful, despite the loss of 30 000–40 000 French troops, and thousands of guns, motorcycles, vehicles, and ammunition abandoned on shore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation#Evacuation

Nick Suwalski

7/16/2013 11:45:51 pm

The Blitzkrieg
The Blitzkrieg is a new military tactic. Blitzkrieg tactics needed the offensive weapons like tanks, planes and artillery along a narrow front. The forces would bring in enemy defenses, allowing armored tank divisions to move rapidly and freely behind enemy lines, causing a surprise and getting messy among the enemy defenses German air power prevented the enemy from resupplying or redistributing forces and sending reinforcements to seal pants in the front. German forces could in turn the opposing force surrender.
Germans successfully used the Blitzkrieg tactic against Poland attacked in September 1939, Denmark in April 1940, Norway in April 1940, Belgium in May 1940, the Netherlands in May 1940, Luxembourg in May 1940, France in May 1940 and Yugoslavia in April 1941 and Greece in April 1941. Germany did not defeat Great Britain, which was defended from German ground attacked by the English Channel and the Royal Navy.
I used Wikipedia to get my information on “The Blitzkrieg”.

Alisha Szozda

7/17/2013 03:28:38 am

Life as a nurse was treacherous as nursing responsibilities expanded when air raids and military campaigns grew stronger. In some cases, due to the support of only around 200 beds in a hospital, it was necessary to remove hospital patients from their beds in order make space for raid victims in the war. There were over 59,000 nurses served in the Royal Army Nurse Corps, and they worked as close as the front line to help the injured and wounded. In some situations, they helped under fire in field and evacuation hospitals, hospital trains and ships and even in medical transport planes. Their skill and dedication was crucial to save others lives.
Standards for admission were very high to achieve a job as a nurse in England. A woman must have been in the age range of 25-35 years old including taking a three-year training course in an approved hospital to be well educated. In some incidents woman would have to persuade the Nursing Board that they communicated a good social position to work with others. Mainly the nurses employed came from daughters of army officers, clergy, professional men, merchants and farmers.
Source:
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/72-14/72-14.HTM

Sarah Moslehi

7/17/2013 11:55:23 am

Blitzkrieg:
Second world war was the most destructive, deadly, and significant war in history. In the first phase of WW2 in Europe, Germans wanted to avoid a long war. Germany's plan of action and goal was to defeat its enemies in a series of short attacks, shooting everything at once. Germany very quickly invaded much of Europe and achieved power for more than two year relying on a new military tactic called Blitzkrieg meaning lightning war. It was first used by the Germans against Poland in 1939. This was a very appalling type of warfare which required the combination of offensive weapons, such as planes, artillery, and tanks. Nobody knew how to overcome this new military tactic for quite sometime, until Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States came together and planned to take action. The Blitzkrieg resulted in the nature of warfare to change forever. This relates to Atonement in part to of the novel, just as Robbie and two of his close military friends are abruptly fired upon. The new military tactic (using surprise and speed) at which the enemies approached gave no time for Robbie and his friends to strike back.

Sarah Moslehi

7/17/2013 11:57:15 am

Source:
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/blitzkrieg.htm

Katie Henderson

7/18/2013 09:10:03 am

The Balham Street Station Bombing:
On the night of October 14, 1940 around 500 British citizens were taking shelter from the war-torn country above them in the Balham Tube Underground Station. At around 8:00 pm, a 1400kg bomb was dropped which caused a bus to crash into a water and sewage main. The water burst out and flooded the underground station taking all of the un-expecting citizens by surprise.
Although around 400 people did escape from the disaster did escape, 68 people drowned in the underground station that day. A rescue attempt was sent, but it failed to get through and help people quick enough. News about this event was kept under wraps to the public until the station was re-opened early the next year.

http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=599

Katie Henderson

7/18/2013 09:12:48 am

Sorry, I made a mistake in my first entry. This one is corrected :)

The Balham Street Station Bombing:
On the night of October 14, 1940 around 500 British citizens were taking shelter from the war-torn country above them in the Balham Tube Underground Station. At around 8:00 pm, a 1400kg bomb was dropped which caused a bus to crash into a water and sewage main. The water burst out and flooded the underground station taking all of the un-expecting citizens by surprise.
Although around 400 people did escape from the disaster, 68 people drowned in the underground station that day. A rescue attempt was sent, but it failed to get through and help people quick enough to save any lives. News about this event was kept under wraps to the public until the station was re-opened early the next year.

http://www.information-britain.co.uk/famdates.php?id=599

Atonement in Context

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