Editing World War II Home Front (section)

== Civilian Life ==

Civilians experienced the war through rationing, bond drives, and the constant awareness that family members and neighbors were in combat. Rationing affected basic necessities: sugar, coffee, meat, butter, and gasoline were all limited. Ration books and stamps became part of daily life, and black markets inevitably emerged. Victory gardens—small vegetable plots in backyards and vacant lots—supplemented rationed food. Scrap drives collected metal, rubber, and other materials for war production. War bond drives, like those during [[World War I Impact|World War I]], raised money while building civilian commitment to the war effort. Philadelphia consistently exceeded its bond quotas.<ref name="kennedy"/>

The anxiety of families with loved ones in service was constant. Gold star mothers—those who lost sons in combat—earned public recognition and sympathy. News from the front came through newspapers, newsreels, and letters that were censored to remove military information. Casualty lists brought dread to neighborhoods where everyone knew someone in service. The war's end in August 1945 brought celebration but also the challenge of readjusting to peacetime—reintegrating millions of returning veterans, converting factories back to civilian production, and rebuilding lives disrupted by years of war.<ref name="weigley"/>