Nineteen Eighty-Four 1948 Info Sheet

Blitz Survivors
• Second World War ended in 1945
• Cities bore the scars of bombing
• Large-scale rebuilding required

Rationing
• War-time deprivation continued until 1954
• Sugar, eggs, butter, meat and clothing were among the items rationed
• Ration books and coupons were intended to ensure fairness
• Scarcity created a ‘black market’ for goods

NHS
• National Health Service founded on 5 July 1948
• Established the principle of free healthcare for all, regardless of wealth
• Part of a wider rise in the welfare state – the socialist value of looking out for one another
reached its zenith in the post-war years
• Aneurin Bevan, Labour Minister of Health and former coalminer, typically credited as founder

Atomic Bomb
• Dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to effectively end Second World War
• Instantly killed in excess of 100,000 civilians
• Many more died slow deaths from radiation poisoning
• Remains the only instance of atomic bombs being used in warfare but the threat of nuclear
power continues to hang over our planet and seemed very real during the Cold War (1947-
1991)

Futurism
• Advancing technologies, coupled with the necessity to rebuild, pointed towards a radically
different future
• More affordable modes of travel impacted upon the natural rhythm of life
• Since the turn of the century, science fiction had been fostering dazzling images of a Brave
New World

Leisure
• Colour seeped onto the big screen but household TVs (for the lucky few who had them)
remained small and monochrome
• Radio was the dominant form of information and entertainment
• Women who had worked during the war largely returned to the domestic sphere
• Sunday was a day of rest and worship

The year 1948 is significant to Nineteen Eighty-Four because _____________________________________