During the Second World War, the ancient city of Bristol faced a bitter struggle for survival against German air raids. The bombing lasted from the night of June 19th 1940, when Luftwaffe aircraft first took off to attack the area, until the final 'all clear' sounded in the early hours of May 16th 1944. Between September 1940 and May 1941 Bristol was the fifth most heavily bombed city in England. It was never purposely subjected to indiscriminate terror bombing as a means of smashing civilian morale. However, the inaccuracy of the heavy attacks mounted against Bristol's vital harbour facilities and aircraft factories, caused widespread damage, death and destruction in a number of the city's most populous districts. By June 1944, 1,396 people in the Greater Bristol area had fallen prey to the bombing, and 89,000 properties in the city had been either damaged or destroyed. With the help of archive film and illustrations, together with visits to historic locations and interviews with those who lived through the Bristol Blitz, you will see how the city defended itself against Hitler's onslaught. This documentary also reveals the full impact of the conflict upon ordinary Bristolians, thrust overnight into the front line of the war against Germany's mighty Luftwaffe.
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