The Second World War and indeed the First – capital letters are an inadequate acknowledgement to the lives lost – are wars in which some of the combatants are known to me and probably you as family and friends. As a Pandemic Plus I’ve gained an incomplete insight into WW II.
I have read an abridged Downing Street Diaries, King’s Councillor, Home Front, Alan Brooke’s diaries and Alex’s biography. I’m not dropping a hint but three were presents from friends that I would not have bought but have relished. (Thank you, banker and baroness!) They show a certainty of victory, an insight into divisions among the Allies, compromises made by Roosevelt and Churchill, especially regarding Stalin, and how unpopular Monty (product of minor public school) was – but like Alex he won battles.
Yesterday (Sunday) evening Bertie and I walked through the cemetery and, because of the time change, it was rather dark. Bertie had plenty of sniffing to do because, if he has a brain, it’s in his nose. I mused about how Churchill won the war by being brave after Dunkirk and getting the United States to join the war. Hitler thought he was home and hosed in 1940 but he didn’t press his advantage. Why not? Germany could have become a West European Empire. How would the English have defended themselves? Many posh, ghastly folk were in favour of an SS UK. Some Brits were dead keen on the Nazis. It’s time to look at WW II through German eyes.
