Event title:
Culture Cafe Heritage & History Series Talk 2 - ‘Trauma and utopianism in Second World War Hull’.
Event details
Event details
- Date:
- Saturday, 15th October 2016
- Time:
- 11:00 - 13:00
- Location:
- Wilberforce LT2
- Campus:
- Hull Campus
- Categories:
- Culture Cafe Heritage Series
Event description
Event description
By most estimates, Hull was the second most blitzed British city of the war, with around 1200 people killed and many more left homeless. This devastation led the British Government to fear that Hull was approaching ‘civilian collapse’, and a scientific survey was launched to identify the point at which civilian morale would break. Clear evidence of trauma was found, but civilian collapse was discounted and the city was left to carry on beneath the bombs. Yet the findings of the Hull survey had significant repercussions. The Hull data informed subsequent British bombing strategy in Germany, and, closer to home, the city council commissioned the ‘Abercrombie plan’ to re-build the city using modern, rational, utopian planning to restore the city’s pride, rebuild its communities, and help to generate better lives for post-war generations. This presentation will connect these events and embed Hull’s wartime experience, and various responses, within these broader historical and geographical frames.