Description
When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over Europe in the early days of WW II, London became a refuge for the European leaders of several occupied nations, who escaped there to continue the fight. As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known as "Last Hope Island." In her books Last Hope Island and Citizens of London, Lynne Olson argues that England did not stand completely alone: the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians have recognized, and the Americans in London who worked tirelessly for US involvement, played a significant role in raising American awareness and sustaining British morale.
Churchill has portrayed World War II as an unalloyed American-British-Soviet triumph, with the Americans and British playing the starring role. Throughout the conflict, he promoted the idea that plucky little England and its united empire maintained the struggle "single-handed" until joined by the Soviet Union and the United States. This has remained the standard narrative.
In this SDG, we will encounter a different, fuller narrative that highlights the vital role played by the Norwegian, Dutch, Belgium, and French people, not to mention the Polish Air Force, in ensuring British survival through their “darkest hour.” We will see the struggle between Churchill, Roosevelt, and the US Congress to provide American aid to Britain. Once the Americans joined the Allies, we will see how Allied victory depended on participation of the people in the occupied countries including the partisans fighting in the east. However, intentionally not involving any of them in strategy and war planning, American and British personnel refused to include de Gaulle in planning for D-Day, while also excluding Belgium, Dutch, and Norwegian governments, even though their citizens in occupied countries were essential for Allied success. The exclusion of Poles, Czechs, and Yugoslavs culminated in what many see as Roosevelt’s and Churchill’s final betrayal at Yalta.
Both core books are well written, and a delight to read. We expect this to be a s SDG full of lively discussion.
Weekly Topics
(1) The debacle across Europe.
(2) The European exodus to Britain and wartime London.
(3) Sparks of resistance, British intelligence and the BBC.
(4) The Battle of Britain: on the brink of disaster.
(5) Americans in London: the arrival of Winant, Harriman. Harry Hopkins and Lend-Lease.
(6) July - December 1941: Britain no longer “alone.” Stalin’s war and the threat to British Eastern Europeans allies; Roosevelt and Churchill take over the show.
(7) 1942-1943: preparation and planning for D-Day. SOE's missteps, European resistance movements and rescuing Allied airmen.
(8) American GI’s and the British.
(9) D-Day.
(10) Liberation Begins across Europe; Warsaw and Paris uprisings.
(11) The war in Europe draws to and end; the hunger winter; the West turns it back on Poland and Czechoslovakia.
(12) The aftermath of the European war: destruction, displaced persons, dealing with collaborators. Conclusions.
Bibliography
Core Books:
Last Hope Island - Britain, Occupied Europe & the Brotherhood that Helped Turn the Tide by Lynne Olsen, 2017.
Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olsen, 2010.
Recommended:
Participants may find it useful to have a general history of WWII for reference. Examples of such books are Inferno by Max Hastings (2011), The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts (2012), and The Second World War by Anthony Beevor (2013).
