INF3-160 Fighting Fit in the Factory. British poster by A. R. Thomson
The term "home front" covers the activities of the civilians in a nation at war. World War II was a total war; homeland military production became vital to both the Allied and Axis powers. Life on the home front during World War II was a significant part of the war effort for all participants and had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Governments became involved with new issues such as rationing, manpower allocation, home defense, evacuation in the face of air raids, and response to occupation by an enemy power. The morale and psychology of the people responded to leadership and propaganda. Typically women were mobilized to an unprecedented degree.
All of the powers used lessons from their experiences on the home front during World War I. Their success in mobilizing economic output was a major factor in supporting combat operations. Among morale-boosting activities that also benefited combat efforts, the home front engaged in a variety of scrap drives for materials crucial to the war effort such as metal, rubber, and rags. Such drives helped strengthen civilian morale and support for the war effort. Each country tried to suppress negative or defeatist rumors.
Salvage – Help put the lid on Hitler by saving your old metal and paper
The major powers devoted 50–61 percent of their total GDP to munitions production. The Allies produced about three times as much in munitions as the Axis powers.
Munitions Production in World War II (Expenditures in billions of dollars, US 1944 munitions prices)
Country/Alliance
Year
Average 1935-39
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
Total 1939–44
U.S.A.
0.3
1.5
4.5
20.0
38.0
42.0
106.3
Britain
0.5
3.5
6.5
9.0
11.0
11.0
41.5
U.S.S.R.
1.6
5.0
8.5
11.5
14.0
16.0
56.6
Allies Total
2.4
10.0
20.0
41.5
64.5
70.5
204.4
Germany
2.4
6.0
6.0
8.5
13.5
17.0
53.4
Japan
0.4
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.5
6.0
16.9
Axis Total
2.8
7.0
8.0
11.5
18.0
23.0
70.3
Source: Goldsmith data in Harrison (1988) p. 172
Real Value Consumer Spending
Country
Year
1937
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Japan
100
107
109
111
108
99
93
78
Germany
100
108
117
108
105
95
94
85
U.S.A.
100
96
103
108
116
115
118
122
Source: Jerome B Cohen, Japan's Economy in War and Reconstruction (1949) p 354
and 30 Related for: Home front during World War II information
the homefrontduringWorldWarII was a significant part of the war effort for all participants and had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Governments...
The United States homefrontduringWorldWarII supported the war effort in many ways, including a wide range of volunteer efforts and submitting to government-managed...
Kingdom homefrontduringWorldWarII covering Britain 1939–45. For a narrative history and bibliography of the homefront see United Kingdom homefront during...
HomefrontduringWorldWarII Japanese occupation of Guam Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies United States homefrontduringWorldWarII Williamson...
During American involvement in WorldWarII (1941–45), propaganda was used to increase support for the war and commitment to an Allied victory. Using a...
WorldWar I Ministry of Information for the duration of WorldWarII to generate propaganda to influence the population towards support for the war effort...
park preserves and interprets the legacy of the United States homefrontduringWorldWarII, including the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, the Victory ship SS...
DuringWorldWarII, the entertainment industry changed to help the war effort. Often the industry became more closely controlled by national governments...
timeline of declarations of warduringWorldWarII. A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration...
election United States homefrontduringWorldWarII German prisoners of war in the United States HomefrontduringWorldWar I, covering all major countries...
Germany (German: Zwangsarbeit) and throughout German-occupied Europe duringWorldWarII took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the...
The Soviet HomeFrontDuringWorldWarII (Oxford University Press, 2021). online review Goldman, Wendy Z., and Donald Filtzer. Hunger and War: Food Provisioning...
occupation as part of the Western Front in WorldWarII. The Western Front was a military theatre of WorldWarII encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg...
The military history of the United States duringWorldWarII covers the nation's role as one of the major Allies in their victory over the Axis Powers...
This is a list of war crimes committed duringWorldWarII. The Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan) were some of the most systematic...
The evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second WorldWar was designed to defend individuals, especially children, from the risks associated...
participated in WorldWarII in different ways: United States homefrontduringWorldWarII Military history of the United States duringWorldWarII United States...
maintained its Constitutional Republic government structure throughout WorldWarII. Certain expediencies were taken within the existing structure of the...
the Recent Past Dege, Wilhelm (2004). War North of 80: The Last German Arctic Weather Station of WorldWarII. Dege & Barr (2004), p. xxx Tilley, p 18...
Global Information
U.S.A.
Britain
U.S.S.R.
Germany
Japan