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Witness History: Britain's World War Two crime wave

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Britain's World War Two crime wave

22/05/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Britain's World War Two crime wave

How criminals from looters to con artists thrived in London during the Blitz.

During times of crisis in the UK, World War Two is often remembered as a period when the country rallied together to fight a common enemy. British politicians still refer to the so-called "Blitz Spirit" when calling for national unity. But as Simon Watts has been finding out from the BBC archives, there was a crime wave during the war years, with a massive increase in looting and black marketeering.

PHOTO: A government poster from World War Two (Getty Images)

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