Chapter 17

AUG 1940 BRITAIN BLOCKADED AND LONDON BOMBED

“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

(Winston Churchill’s Speech “The Finest Hour”)

At the beginning of the Second World War, millions of civilians in Britain had to adapt to the threat of constant bombing by the German Luftwaffe and the likelihood of invasion by the German Wehrmacht without warning. The miracle of Dunkirk due in large part to the bravery of unarmed civilians was still fresh on their minds and the fact that Britain was the last country in Europe to remain out of Nazi hands helped bolster their morale far more than empty words by most politicians with the exception of Winston Churchill. Prime Minister Churchill was revered for his plain talk and his faithful attention to duty in keeping promises and never lying when asked a question about the status of the war. Even in their darkest hour, the British leader was tireless in devising new ways to defend the homeland and he set an example of leading from in front that inspired the British people to sacrifice everything for God and their country.

I was listening to the historical events from my tiny hotel room in Marseilles, Vichy France and wondered if I had made a mistake in choosing that location during these formative years of the war. It would have been exciting to be in London at this time frame but I knew the randomness of bombing was such that the danger was too great to risk. Above all, I wanted to see the entire war and return to my own time period in one piece having gained marvelous insight into the substance and feel of World War Two.

I could sense that the French around me in Vichy Marseilles were certain that Britain would soon be defeated and that their surrender would be accomplished in a matter of weeks.

I didn’t believe that the mostly pro-Nazi French authorities were thinking long range at that time as they were more concerned with the rounding up of the Jewish population and sending them off to concentration camps in accordance with specific orders from the SS representative and the Gestapo in civilian clothes infiltrated into all walks of life.

All throughout Vichy France, the actual German-born members of the Gestapo were imbedded in French systems and they had a veritable “army” of informers that gave them stacks of “leads” in tracking down Jews and any French citizen with the hint of Resistance in their speech or actions.

This was a time when Hitler was supposedly allied to the Stalinist government and the only possible chance of salvation was far away across the sea in the still sleeping giant called the United States of America. Most of the Americans hoped and prayed that the war in Europe would not touch their lives and to most of the public, the threat from Imperial Japan was considered all talk and no action because the American Navy were in full command of the entire Asian region from their large bases in the Hawaiian Islands and the country of the Philippines. The true story of Hitler’s treatment of the Jews and other treachery managed to stay off the front pages of most newspapers and American media giants treated the European war as “none of our business” because of strong “peace” lobbies in Washington, D.C. and other large urban centers.

The Nazi “Blitzkrieg” and the “Miracle of Dunkirk” did make it to the front pages of the New York Times and Hitler’s swift takeovers of his neighbors were documented but it was mostly factual information and very little emotional “op-ed” content to warn the American public that war was lurking just around the corner.

That was one of the reasons that the debacle at Pearl Harbor was so shocking on a quiet Sunday morning in December 1941 when most folks were thinking about the fact that Christmas would be soon upon them.

On the other hand, The British civilians were in a quandary about the probable German invasion into their homeland. It seemed most likely as they were the last country in Europe not under control of the Third Reich or forced into a status of neutrality until a later date. Of course this dark hour was in the pre-NATO era and there was no binding agreement to pull the United States into war against the expanding Axis influence.