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Kids Playing in Gas Masks and Other Spooky Photos from World War II

Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London

Lasting for 267 days, the Blitz rendered 1.4 million people homeless and killed 9,000 civilians in London. Buildings were torn to shreds, walls crumbed, families were displaced. Because of the fear and threat of gas bombs (especially the deadly mustard gas), everyone in Britain was issued a gas mask to wear when the sirens blared.

This series, titled, simply, "Blitz," is part of a larger exhibit called Consequences at the Daniel Blau gallery in London. The series examines momentous historical events, and gives us an eerie and almost humorous look at daily life under the aerial siege. A baker delivers bread, children play and families go grocery shopping, all the while sporting sinister, goggle-eyed masks. 

Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Tear Gas Test at Richmond," May 31, 1941  
Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Kiddies Have "Gas Lessons," June 27, 1941 
Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Tear Gas Test at Richmond – A Family Out Shopping," May 31, 1941 
Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Baker Delivers the Goods," 1941 
Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Kiddies Wear Masks at Play," March 29, 1941 
Keystone Press Agency INC. NY. Courtesy: Daniel Blau Munich/London
"Schoolboys Walking Through a Cloud of Tear Gas," March 3, 1941