Fact and fable
'What is history but a fable agreed upon' is a well-known dictum attributed to Napoleon but one which Alan Shatter, Professor Roberts of UCC, and others seem determined to uphold in their critique of Ireland's failure to join the 'fight for freedom' alongside the 'anti-fascist Allied coalition' in 1939.
Majority opinion in Ireland and elsewhere saw Britain's declaration of war on Germany as a continuation of World War One, ie yet another clash of empires in an attempt to redress the 'balance of power' in Europe. Ideological opposition to fascist dictatorship had little, or nothing, to do with it.
Fascism was, and remains, part of the spectrum of conservative politics and, therefore, found many admirers in the Tory government.
In the years immediately preceding World War Two, when the fledgling democratic government of Spain came under attack from its own fascist forces, in addition to those of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Britain moved fast to prevent arms shipments and manpower reaching the poorly-armed, democratically elected government, thus ensuring its defeat. Britain exerted relentless pressure on France to maintain its blockade throughout. So much for the 'anti-fascist' coalition!
By his assertion that "in the context of the Holocaust, Irish neutrality was a principle of moral bankruptcy", the minister appears to suggest that the Irish people and government were fully aware of the Holocaust during the course of the war and that the war was somehow being waged to prevent the Holocaust.
In the context of wartime restrictions, the extent of popular knowledge of the death camps is a moot point. On the other hand, there seems little doubt that Allied intelligence would have been fully aware of the nature and extent of the camps. Thus, awkward questions continue to be asked as to why Allied Command didn't bomb the roads and railways to these camps.
One is forced to conclude that they had other priorities. After all, 'saving the Jews' did not even feature in the lexicon of the British establishment and its generals. And so, the extermination of Jews, Roma, communists and other undesirables not alone continued but apparently increased, in intensity and reach, right up to the capture of Berlin by the Soviet army.
In his efforts to make light of deserting soldiers, the Minister for Defence seems to be strangely unaware, or heedless, of the fact Ireland was in a state of emergency in the years before and during the war. The enemy was not just at the gate but already inside, in the form of Ireland's own fascist movement -- the Blueshirts -- spawned by the minister's very own conservative party.
The minister should take a lesson in history while he reconsiders his position. In the meantime, God save us from the musings of crusading ministers, acquiescent historians and other fabulists!
Billy Fitzpatrick
Terenure, Dublin
Irish Independent
