I don’t know about you, but I am not in the mood for waving flags at the moment. Or putting up bunting.
Certainly not when tens of thousands of people in the UK have died of Covid-19, thousands more will die in the months to come, and our doctors, nurses and carers still don’t have the protective equipment they need to do their jobs. All our lives have been changed beyond recognition by coronavirus and we have no idea when, or if, they will ever return to normal.
This is a time for sober reflection. And serious consideration of how, as individuals and a society, we will recover from the psychological, social and economic effects of this crisis.
And yet Boris Johnson wants to focus on bunting, street parties and how “great” Britain is as we mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday. Not even a brush with death and stay in intensive care, it seems, can cure the Prime Minister of crass attempts to distract us from how poorly he and his Government has handled things.
But what really galls me about Mr Johnson’s jingoism is how it overshadows and insults valuable lessons from the end of the Second World War, not least around how to rebuild shattered lives and countries following unimaginable loss and trauma. That is, after all, what the war generation largely succeeded in doing across western Europe after Germany was finally liberated from the tyranny of Nazism in May 1945.
With few members of this extraordinary generation left – and the virus having a devastating impact on those that remain – opportunities to listen to their thoughts and experiences firsthand are running out. It is particularly cruel that so many of those still with us are currently having to be shielded away from families and friends. I trust technology will help us hear their voices this week.
The timing of this anniversary, in the midst of a global pandemic, gives people of every age a unique opportunity to reconnect with the war generation at a deeper level. From 1939 to 1945 lives were changed and lost abruptly, hopes and dreams shattered. Unexpected opportunities arose and different paths had to be taken. People, communities and entire spheres of life were forced to re-evaluate what mattered. Certainties, priorities and value systems changed. We are going through some of these things now, albeit in a different way. But I don’t doubt the experiences of 75 years ago can give us strength and solace in the difficult months and years to come.
Though all my grandparents have been dead for many years, I am lucky enough to have treasured wartime photographs, letters, medals and memorabilia. On May 8 I will be thinking particularly of my two grandmothers, one a young mother whose wounded RAF gunner husband had just returned home after six years away, the other a munitions worker in a strange city celebrating her 23rd birthday alone. Both struggled in the aftermath of war to find connection and fulfilment, but succeeded in raising loving families. Both were and remain much-loved.
I will also be thinking of the Scottish soldiers still fighting their way across Europe until the very end of the war, as well as those who stayed on to build the peace. I will think, too, of the Germans, freed on May 8 from Nazism but destined to be divided until 1989. My American husband’s relatives, who in May 1945 were still fighting in Asia – and would continue to do so well into the next generation – will also be on my mind.
As the poignant footage of VE Day shows, the end of war was celebrated with tears of joy and relief, passionate kisses, warm embraces and dancing in fountains. But, as my own family recounted to me firsthand, it was also tinged with loss, sadness, trauma and fear for the future. Some did meet again, many, of course, did not.
This extraordinary generation rebuilt the country in the aftermath, creating many of the institutions we value most today, not least the NHS. And, as 100-year-old Captain Tom Moore’s astonishing fundraising efforts highlight, they keep contributing in the most inspiring ways.
We don’t need bunting or a commemorative coin to celebrate VE Day, Winston Churchill’s victory speech on the telly or Joan Collins wrapped in a union flag (all are apparently part of the proceedings). And we certainly don’t need Boris Johnson insulting our intelligence with a jingoistic reframing of the past when he should be concentrating on the present.
If we choose to look beyond flag-waving, history, as ever, has much to teach us. I for one am willing to learn.
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