The Phoney Victory: The World War II Delusion

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A new book, The Phoney Victory, written by Peter Hitchens, presents the idea that the decision of the British government to declare war against Germany in September 1939 was the wrong one, at least when it comes to its timing. Hitchens’ analysis is strengthened by the idea that the “victory” over Germany in 1945 left the country in a state of economic bankruptcy. Is he right? Hitchens’ Basic Idea Richard Evans is provost of Gresham College and former regius professor of history at Cambridge. His books include “The Pursuit of Power: Europe, 1815-1914” (Penguin) Peter Hitchens's book certainly is not one for those who wish to avoid painful truths or to cling to romanticized myths. Hitchens examines painful truths that are well known, but rarely publicised, such as the senseless bombing of German civilians, or the even lesser known ethnic cleansing of Germans in European territories after the War.

Peter Hitchensâ?Ts Eurosceptic take on the Second World War

Peter Hitchens examines what I have long suspected to be true, but perception was obscured by prevailing narratives. As an American this was a very interesting read. Peter has a quote that I like, "If you do not have an empire, you are living in somebody else's." I am very ready to admit that the American Empire is the large and dominant one right now, even if we do not view it as such. Much of Hitchens' ire towards the British government during the war is their kowtowing to American demands and the breakup of the British Empire due to American interference and demands. I think this has much to say about the current state of Anglo-American relations and what the future could hold for our two countries. However, I believe that the largest critique I have is "hindsight is 20/20." It may have been bad for the British to behave in certain ways during the war, especially towards the USA, but I am less confident than Hitchens is in the British government's knowledge of their choices and their affects at the time. Still worth a read as an American even though it is not aimed at us as much as the UK. Peter Hitchens does something unexpected and daring with his “The Phoney Victory” book: he tries his hand in the history field, and the result is intriguing. Full of reminiscences of his childhood, fastidious source criticism coupled with uncritical remarks verging from quirky to uninformed, this must-read book make contemporary reader long for the days of slowpoke steamers and toy soldiers (“My little plastic replica was an object of devotion, even idolatry, though nobody at my cathedral choir school would ever have thought to point it out”). Navy is the subject that is closest to Mr Hitchens's heart and the one about which he is most emotional and nostalgic, to the point of sounding slightly surreal at times; he writes about HMS "Prince of Wales": "Every intricate part of her was made according to traditional measurements of England, feet, inches, pounds and hundredweight" (p.167) - a bit like a loony CDs collector who believes that Japanese record pressings offer superior sound to their German editions.

In return for these decrepit vessels, the USA received land in the Bahamas, St Lucia, Trinidad, Antigua and British Guiana on 99 year leases rent free. " Similarly, he is flying in the face of many years of research by German historians when he claims that the German armed forces in the war were fighting for military objectives that would have been regarded as legitimate by the democratic governments of the Weimar Republic that pre-ceded Hitler’s rise to power: it is very doubtful indeed whether Weimar’s foreign minister, Gustav Stresemann, would have approved the invasion of France, Denmark, Norway or even Czechoslovakia, let alone the Soviet Union. Condition: New. KlappentextrnrnChallenges commonly-held assumptions on World War II, A provocative, but considered narrative style, Major new book by leading columnist Peter Hitchens. Peter Hitchens believes that in Britain, myths about World War II infest policy making and cause bad decisions. World War II is the “good war,” appeasement is bad, and Churchillian rhetoric beyond reproach. Britain stood “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the United States of America in a “special relationship.” Hitchens is, of course, a great writer. The thesis of this book was a little scattered though. It was strongest towards the end when discussing the bombing campaigns over Germany.

The Phoney Victory | Army Rumour Service The Phoney Victory | Army Rumour Service

Things did not have to turn out even this well for Britain. The United States might have let the Empire fall in much more Roman manner. First as to England and France waiting to confront Germany, I disagree. Time was not at their side. Germany's incredible improvement in military technology staggers the imagination. Jet warplanes, ballistic missiles, super tanks, infrared scopes, helicopters, submarines with advance air systems etc. etc. .. were just a few years away for Germany. The price of delay would have made a bad situation worse. Unless of course Germany, immediately after conquering Poland, invaded the Soviet Union without engaging the West. Churchill had sung the great hymn aboard the Prince of Wales off Newfoundland, the Hymn was ‘For those in Peril on the sea’ The sailors present there singing with him, were sent to their peril six months later together with the men aboard The Repulse. Hitchen mentions that the loss of Singapore lost us much respect in the Far East… Well we were not the only ones to lose, The Americans in the Philippines, the Dutch, the Portuguese and the Chinese and Vichy France lost their territories along with us.

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Hitchens has no sympathy for Nazi Germany, thinking that eventually war would have been necessary. He admires the courage of the warriors. I heard Peter Hitchens talk about this book on the radio and thought it sounded interesting. My parents are Czech and Austrian and it was always something hinted at home about the nefariousness of Churchill, being betrayed at Yalta and, of course, the fire bombing of German civilians in cities - many more than just Dresden. Hitchens then examines every one of those items in the Prince's speech. This was the myth of the Good War that the British had to believe.

The Phoney Victory by Peter Hitchens | Waterstones The Phoney Victory by Peter Hitchens | Waterstones

Britain knew from 1934 of the Nazi persecution of German Jews, indeed Britain took young Jewish children from Germany to the UK in ‘Kinder transports’ They were rail transports that left the parents on the platforms to be collected up and sent to the camps. I don’t know what Hitchens wanted to do further than this, but I can’t imagine the Germans allowing us to take away their adults? Perhaps it was a visa problem however Hitchens does not elaborate. Hitchens refers to the attitudes contained in the evolved narrative of war as a theology. As he says, “The theology of the ‘Good War’ demands a great deal of evasion, suppression and forgetfulness.” I think he is right to do so. There is a metaphysical component of this narrative which is obvious once stated. It pervades discussion in debates about NATO, the European Union, national boundaries and the motivations of national leaders. He writes: “In 1939, it was not the martyred hero nation, champion of freedom, justice and democracy, of propaganda myth.”Perhaps Hitchens is right in all he says, yet still the Nazis are gone and Queen Elizabeth reigns. This may not be victory, but if so, it is one of the better defeats in human history. American governments may say and do cynical things, but the American people were changed by World War II, even if some of what changed us was a Hollywood and Churhillian myth. Britain matters to us more than her size would demand.