Moore, Stephen After the Blitz

The Luftwaffe Bombing of Britain, 1941-1943

From May 1941 until the end of the nightly air raids in 1943, German Luftwaffe bombers attacked provincial towns in England, Scotland and Wales. However, these air raids are not considered part of the Blitzkrieg at least not according to official British historiography. Official historiography claims that the Blitzkrieg against the United Kingdom ended when the aircraft were redeployed after the last major attack on London in May 1941 to support the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. In "After the Blitz. The Luftwaffe Bombing of Britain, 19411943," author Stephen Moore argues that official historiography downplays the impact of the bombing on cities such as Newcastle, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham because it uses the attacks on London as the chronological boundary of the Blitzkrieg. By evaluating British and German archives and comparing government documents with memoirs and secondary sources, Moore shows that Britain continued to suffer from Luftwaffe attacks long after the official end of the Blitzkrieg, and rescues the history of the post-Blitzkrieg bombings from oblivion. After the Blitz cements its place in historiography by challenging the official research that was fundamental to this field and confirming the traumatic experiences of people who lived outside London during this period.