World War Two

Luftwaffle: The Trashing of the Last Good Story of Britain Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, 13 October 2021 The Second World War looms large in the life of Britain. Never a day passes without a politician, public figure or celebrity making some crass reference to the war, linking it to the present convulsions and challenges which the UK faces. Once upon a time World War Two references were few and far between, and chosen with care and humility. This was undoubtedly true for the immediate decades after the war of 1945-65 – a period which ended with the death of

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How we should and shouldn’t commemorate VE Day Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, May 6th 2020 This coming Friday May 8^th is an important moment in the history of all of us - the 75^th anniversary of the defeat of fascism and Nazism in Europe in World War Two. It is important to mark, commemorate and remember those who gave their lives in the defeat of fascism - and to learn from what happened. This means not allowing the anniversary to be taken over by unchallenged official accounts that feed into the endless British obsession with 1939-45. The rise and defeat

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The Empire Strikes Back: Being Prisoners of the Past in Britain Gerry Hassan Sunday National, May 3rd 2020 Next week sees another historical milestone with the commemoration of VE (Victory in Europe) Day on 8 May - the 75^th anniversary of the defeat of fascism and Nazism in Europe. Such totemic dates seem to come around more regularly and be marked in increasingly high-profile ways. Whether the 75^th anniversary of D-Day last year, marking the Battle of Britain, or numerous films about the Dunkirk debacle, the Second World War is always with us. And this without mentioning the Churchill industry

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The next Battle of Britain is going to about England’s future Gerry Hassan Scottish Review, February 6th 2019 Brexit certainly seems increasingly to be about England – or a certain version of England and a rather specific version of the past. Take last week for example. The previous Tuesday was another landmark day for Brexit. There were numerous big parliamentary votes and the House of Commons made clear again that it was unhappy with Theresa May’s deal with the EU. BBC News knew this was a big moment and the next day ended their flagship ‘Six O’Clock News’ announcing: ‘Theresa

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