The History Place - World War II in Europe

London during the Blitz

A view of Big Ben through barbed wire entanglement.

At a London railway station, arriving troops pass by children who are being evacuated to the countryside.

An aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London with Saint Paul's Cathedral in the background.

The first mass air raid on London, September 7 , 1940, showing the scene in London's dock area as Tower Bridge stands out against a background of smoke and fires.

Firefighters at work in a bomb damaged street after a Saturday night raid in 1941.

The London Necropolis Railway Station, a privately owned station in Westminster Bridge Road, after London's biggest night raid of the war.

Daily life in a damaged residential neighborhood.

Three children who have been left homeless by the random bombs of German night raiders, sit outside the wreckage of their home.

A crowded scene in a West End air raid shelter reveals people making the best of the situation including two young men playing the harmonica.

Snuggled together, trying to get a good night's sleep in a Southeast air raid shelter.

A double-decker tram silhouetted against the fire storm.

A stately old building completely wrecked after fire bombs and high explosives rained on the capital for many hours. April, 1941.

(Photo credits: U.S. National Archives)

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