NIGEL FARAGE, BREXIT AND THE DUNKIRK SPIRIT
DUNKIRK
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Perhaps I should start by saying that I have not yet seen recently released film Dunkirk, though the 1958 film on the same subject, starring John Mills, will take some beating. Whilst a BBC drama/documentary shown a few years back seemed a definitive enough exploration for me. I have also just begun reading the book by Hugh Seabag- Montefiore, also called Dunkirk. Indeed, it seems the mere mention of the small seaside town on the northern French coast is enough for British, I suspect especially English, readers to know what the film/book/dramatization is about.[1] Dieppe, for example, the scene of another British wartime disaster simply hasn't the same name recognition. So given the plethora of, often jingoistic, commentary about the evacuation let’s be clear from the outset, - the evacuation of British troops from mainland Europe was a disaster. It was a disaster for this country, a disaster, of course, for France, but a disaster for the whole of Europe. Not only prolonging the war but transforming the conflict into total war, a world war of cataclysmic proportions condemning millions to years of oppression, death and starvation, condemning millions of Jews to death across the continent. It guaranteed the bombing campaign, the destruction of industry, culture and civilised life. It was, even though at that stage they were supplying Germany with vital war materials, a disaster for the Soviet Union. It was even a disaster for Germany, cementing Hitler’s hold on power and silencing what little opposition there was still left.
Hitler triumphant was a disaster and Dunkirk represented the worst defeat of a British army on the continent in centuries. It seems to me important to keep repeating these historical truths since, first through wishful thinking, then as an instrument of wartime propaganda and finally, as a carefully cultivated myth, the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk in 1940 has taken on all the character of a miraculous victory. It is true that, through a mix of sheer courage from the rear-guard and Royal Navy, plus a little luck and German hesitation, the bulk of the British army managed, minus their equipment, to escape back to England and that this was almost certainly a key factor in Britain managing to hold out until the Americans entered the war. Popular opinion began to ascribe to this achievement British/English exceptionalism and believed that unhindered by quarrelsome allies, they could now go on to win the war. This belief was foolish, but without it, Churchill would not have enjoyed the popular support he received in 1940.
Nor, is it true that the country stood united to continue the fight, for a few very significant figures, primarily Halifax, would have come to terms with a Nazi dominated Europe had they held sway. I have written about this elsewhere. The best book on the Subject is ‘Five Days in May’ by John Lukas, Yale University Press.
'The current absurd and ghastly phenomenon of Brexit flag wavers and nationalist xenophobes, attempting to hijack history and an imagined history at that, is the sound of history emitting an enormously loud and smelly fart.'
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| I urge every youngster to go out and watch Dunkirk. Nigel Farage. |
Long ago and far away you may say, and I would be happy to leave the subject to more qualified historians, however, the problem with ‘Dunkirk’ is the uses to which it is now being put, as a sort of morality tale supporting the case for Brexit. Mr Nigel Farage has taken to Twitter in praise of the film which appears to have captured his imagination.
Now it is unfair to speculate how any one individual might or might not have acted during a past military or political crisis. I am not very brave, and faced with being conscripted and fighting, or coping with Nazi occupation, I might not have behaved well. Of course, I like to think otherwise. That said, I will throw this out. Churchill was for fighting on at any cost, to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny, and thus secure a future for democracy. He would sacrifice much in terms of wealth and Britain’s world power status to this end. Halifax believed the war lost and that we should abandon the continent, – from which after all we had always stood apart, - and look to our own affairs, especially the preservation of the Empire. To which of these two positions do you think Farage would be closer? Indeed, which is closer to the spirit of Brexit? ‘#Just asking,’ as they say on Twitter.
After Dunkirk Britain was not ‘alone’ as the myth contends, it had the resources of Empire and the moral and material support of the Commonwealth nations, the conscripted support of overseas colonies, and the tacit, if not always generous, support of the US. Those who fought and died in the air battle over Britain and in engagements from Iraq to El Alamein included Irish, Australian, Canadian, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians, Afro Caribbean’s and of course Poles, as well as those hailing from Britain itself. Even with this support, Britain’s survival in 1940 was precarious.[SM1] .[2]
There is much to be proud of in the history of that year, best captured in a film narrated by J B Priestly called ‘1940.’ It showed this country at its best coming to terms with a great defeat and refusing to be intimidated by a monstrous evil. That much of this confidence and determination was based on a serious misunderstanding of the prospect of Britain and her empire undoing the consequences of Dunkirk without external support does not detract from the inspirational courage of ordinary British citizens. Though it would take the vast resources of the USA and the extraordinary will of the Soviet people to reverse the disaster of French defeat and Dunkirk.
We do not live in heroic times and Britain, or more accurately, the British government is behaving with neither courage or dignity. The only similarities between Dunkirk and our present predicament are that Brexit is a disaster with dire consequences for the well-being of all citizens on these islands and that a similar misreading of Britain’s prospects is being propagandised. The current absurd and ghastly phenomenon of Brexit flag wavers and nationalist xenophobes, attempting to hijack history and an imagined history at that, is the sound of history emitting an enormously loud and smelly fart.
If there are lessons from the defeat of Dunkirk, then they are as far removed from those the jingoistic Brexiteers are attempting to imply, as the Brexiteers are from reality itself. Defeat at Dunkirk was not the consequence of too much engagement with the continent but of too little. The reluctance of Britain to stand up to Hitler and engage fully with allies to deter German aggression, until it was far too late, led directly to the wreckage strewn beaches.
Disengagement from a Europe in which our interests will always be intrinsically linked is the policy of plastic flag waving fools, xenophobes and cure all snake oil salesman like Farage. They shouldn’t have been given the time of day, -instead of which we have handed over our economic and foreign policy to them. Those whom the gods wish to destroy. ..
History can teach but usually, comes with far too much baggage for the real lessons to be grasped. This is particularly true of Britain in 1940. We should, therefore, bury our dead and move on. God only knows we will need to spend our energies on more pressing concerns than arguing over history.
[1] The sheer volume of books on the subject is staggering, as I found out doing a little research, with the word ‘miracle’ pretty liberally sprinkled amongst them.
[2] The Royal Navy has never had the recognition of the role it played in 1940 in deterring an attempted cross channel invasion. It was the existence of powerful naval forces far more than the RAF that persuaded the Germans against invasion. The attempt might have been made without full control of the skies, but not without control of the sea. [It is also worth noting that for all the Allied disasters of the Norway campaign it was a major setback for the Kriegsmarine]. Whilst it was the threat of defeat inflicted by U Boats cutting off vital supplies that came closest to preventing Britain fighting on. [Churchill said it was his greatest fear].
