Yes, it was on this day 80 years ago that Germany finally raised her white flag to end their WW2. The cowardly Hitler shot himself, and the horrendous concentration camps were liberated; sadly far too late for so many. They had already lost WW1, so why they started WW2 is a mystery.
Germany's unparalleled aggression caused deaths estimated at between 50 and 85 Million; and for what? What did Germany gain? The BAD people lost, because the world can never allow BAD people to win.
Some 'random country' did join in the scrap towards the end, but they were of little help overall (isn't that so Mr Vance?).
WW2 saw some of the most disgraceful wartime behaviour known to mankind from the Germans, almost on a par with the brutality of the Japanese.
Germany committed mass murder on an unprecedented scale killing over SIX MILLION JEWS, simply because of their religion. Something the world will NEVER forgive; or forget. So, I pay homage to all those soldiers who fought for freedom and decency, and managed to defeat the vile Hitler. Thank you.
It was said to be 'The War to end all Wars', but as we all know, more Hitlers have recently appeared in the form of Hamas and Hezbollah (and their supporters). And Putin, of course, is mirroring Hitler's invasion of Poland, with his attack on Ukraine.
Will we never learn? It seems not.
So finally, Alphonse is sitting in our front bay window, in memory of all those who lost their lives, and in gratitude to all those who returned.
p.s. I don't know if you saw the VE Day special edition of The Repair Shop last night on BBC1. A lady I know, and chat with occasionally, was on the show with her small broken Doll. She's a lovely lady, and it was really nice seeing her.
Actually, the foundations for WW2 were laid in the Treaty of Versailles, the exceptionally harsh conditions laid on Germany led to economic breakdown, hyperinflation and the rise of the National Socialist party (better known as Nazis, their socialist roots are frequently misconstrued or ignored when throwing 'tar right' insults) to power.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that in no way exempts them from responsibility for the ethnic cleansing that resulted in the murder of millions of Jews, setting an horrific benchmark against which subsequent atrocities would be measured.
I have always accepted that it was Germany's invasion of Poland that started WW2.
DeleteI salute the generation who went before me - my parents' generation. Not the politicians, nor the royals, millionaires and aristocrats who cowered in bunkers but the ordinary people who gave their lives for our tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteYes, they were the ones who got their hands dirty. We need the pen-pushers as well, but it's the people on the ground who deserve our thanks the most.
DeleteDropping atomic bombs on Japan was very cruel even though it ended ww2.
ReplyDeleteIt saved lives. About 150,000 people died but it stopped their war at once.
DeleteLong term peace seems not in our DNA.
ReplyDeleteAs you state, we still have not learned.
Will we ever? Just look at India and Pakistan!
DeleteGood message to Mr Vance. Fat chance he'll agree.
ReplyDeleteWhen you insult a whole nation, you should expect to be insulted in return!
DeleteHow do present day Germans feel about this not too distant conflict, I wonder?
ReplyDeleteThere has been a recent rise in support amongst the German young for extreme right parties.
DeleteWhen I was a teenager, my Dad introduced to the man who'd supervised his apprenticeship. Nice, quite, I'd guess you'd say humble. After we left, my Dad said "You've seen the movie Bridge over the River Kwai", now, you've met someone who survived building the Burma railway.
ReplyDeleteOur next door neighbour, back then, had survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Long and complicated story of why she was in Japan during the War but a lovely woman who built a lovely family. She died from Pancreatic Cancer that the doctors were convinced was due to the radiation exposure.
I married into a German family. Father in law served on the U boats.
You never know where life will take you.
I knew a lovely Dutch woman who had been in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. She never spoke about it. I later learned from her daughter about how she had suffered.
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