The Social Impact of WWI

By 1918, the state was far more involved in ALL aspects of life than it had been in 1914

Civilian life became more regimented and controlled 

It became thought that the working class should be rewarded for their sacrifices

The high rates of income tax, supertax, death duties were not much lowered after the war 

This helped to redistribute wealth because of the war 

This helped to improve welfare 

:) Improved: 

Women undertook new jobs that were previously done by men. This gave them more self-confidence and economic independence. It also widened their horizons as to what they were able to do; drink, smoke, go out without a chaperone. These young women were known as 'Flappers'. In 1918, women were given the right to vote in Parliamentary elections. 

:( Improvements overstated: 

They rarely did skilled work and they were always paid less than men. The war didn't really change men's opinions of the role of women - many still favoured them having traditional roles, usually at home doing domestic roles or as a mother. Women also probably would have been given the vote without the war and it wasn't all women who were given it in 1918 - only those over 30 who were homeowners. 

The war brought about a gender imbalance as many men died and so there were more women than men 

The war also brought the women left at home a lot of anxiety and grief as they worried about their husbands or after they found out they were killed 

Life at home pretty much continued as normal 

There was a growing 'Americanism' in society 

Civilians were not safe - total war: 

- Fishermen were often killed by German U-boats 

- Coastal towns would often be under threat of German naval attack 

- Zeppelins would bomb civilian towns/factories to try and stop the war effort 

- Many women died from TNT poisoning from working in munitions factories. 

Upper Class: 

Strong patriotism lead to many volunteers. The idea of serving your country was drilled into them at the public schools. Some of the landed families struggled economically if both the head of the household and the heir were killed in combat. This lead to those who had large amounts of land selling it - a large redistribution of land after the war. 

Middle Class: 

The middle-class men were more likely to end up in uniform than the working class and many of them received commissions. Middle-class families on fixed incomes struggled when there was inflation and they had to pay high taxes. 

Working Class: 

From 1916, skilled workers were exempt from conscription to contribute to the war effort at home. 1/3 of the urban poor were deemed unfit for service so not many working class people went to fight. Although they were hit hard by the rising prices, living standards were protected; war made unemployment disappear, wages eventually matched prices, workers usually did around 10 hours overtime so had savings, and the female workforce meant families had 2 incomes. 

Many felt that the 750,000 people that died in the war were a 'lost generation' 

Eugenicists --> worried that the healthy youth had been lost and were just left with the old unhealthy people. 

However, there was a 2.4% population increase from 1914 after the war. 

This was because of the 1920 baby boom and the lack of emigration

Street shrines and memorials were put up in dedication to the lost generation 

40,000 people made blind or partially blind 

In 1922, 50,000 people were given war pensions 

Shellshock was a new mental illness that hadn't been seen before. Hospital wings were set up to help deal with it. Symptoms included hysteria, limb paralysis, loss of speech. Now it is known as PTSD. 

Facial wounds reconstruction units were also created. E.g. skin grafting.