|
Background information
1 Describe two key features of letters and diaries from soldiers in the First World War. The first key feature of letters and diaries is that they are private personal accounts, which provide detailed insight into specific experiences of individuals. The second key feature is that they also provide insight into the attitudes and perceptions of individuals, although in the context of War, with official and self-censorship, with letters, this is more limited than usual, for the source type. |
2a How useful are diaries and letters for an enquiry into the injuries, illness and treatment on the Western Front?
Diaries and letters provide detailed insight into specific experiences of individuals. They also provide insight into the attitudes and perceptions of individuals. Letters are generally reliable sources as they were written for the purpose of writing to family and friends. Therefore, there isn’t any exaggeration for commercial gain.
Letters would normally be taken as a fairly accurate true depiction of the views and feelings of the author.
However, in the context of WW1with official and self-censorship, this is more limited than usual, for the source type. Men writing to their family would not be allowed to provide certain information, in case it got into the hands of the enemy. They were also censored as they were intercepted by the British army to ensure that it didn’t give away various secret things such as their whereabouts, in the case that the letter ended up in the wrong hands. Furthermore, they might well limit the most shocking and upsetting details of their experiences, to protect their family from this knowledge and limit their worry.
Diaries are private sources, normally produced by the author, for themselves, and, therefore, are most likely to enable the reader to gain access to the mind of the author. However, in times of war, there might be the notion that family members or even people more widely might be interesting in reading it, and a consciousness of this possibility could colour what the author records in it. One issue of using a diary or letter as a source is that they wouldn't often record statistics due to being from a single person's point of view. Another issue is a diary entry or letter is written in a snapshot timeframe, limiting a sense of overview, although a diary in its entirety provides an overview of time, which a letter does not.
How useful are Memoirs in comparison to Letters and diaries?
Some of the strengths of memoirs are that they can contain a lot of information about their first-hand experience in the war, they may provide a bigger overview than diaries as they include more than diaries. This is because diaries were only written when was convenient whereas memoirs were a combination of all their experiences across the war. As the memoirs is to be published it may be more refined and easier to understand.
However, in contrast to letters and diaries, Memoirs were written after the war this will mean that they were written of memory unlike diaries. This means that the information isn't as valid as a diary. Furthermore, content and depictions within memoirs could be exaggerated, as they are produced to be published, and more dramatic narratives would attract people to buy the memoir.