Why Remembrance Sunday

11 hours ago

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Updated: 30 minutes ago

On September 3rd 1939, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gave this speech following the invasion of Poland by , German forces.

Summary

“This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final Note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us.

I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany

Now may God bless you all. May he defend the right. It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against. Brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution. And against them I am certain that the right will prevail”.

Why does this matter today ?

Aside from the fact that the speech still stops me in my tracks and brings tears to my eyes.

History tells us a story

As its important to remember that the Second World War did not begin suddenly in September 1939. It was the result of more than twenty years of political instability, economic hardship, nationalism, military expansion and failed diplomacy following the First World War. And although Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 triggered war in Europe, the foundations of the conflict had been laid much earlier.

Namely

1918- The First World War ends
1919- The Treaty of Versailles
1929- The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression
1931- Japan invades Manchuria
1933- Adolf Hitler becomes German Chancellor
1935- Germany rearms; Italy invades Ethiopia
1936- German troops enter the Rhineland
1937- Japan launches full-scale war against China
1938- Austria and the Sudetenland

March 1939- Germany occupies the Czech lands
August 1939- Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a pact

1 Sept 1939- Germany invades Poland

What’s so important

These preceding events tell us how and what creates the environment for global conflict and war. And although the material of events change. The underlying reasons do not.

For example

Financial Hardship and global depression : Racism : Intolerance and hatred : Political Inaction : Ignorance : Greed : Oppression. Misinformation :

All of which took place in the preceding years before World War 2. And taken individually they are terrible enough. But together the alarm bells should be deafening. As we are seeing the same pattern again in Europe and the Middle East 100 years later.

Conclusion

I will leave it up to how you match history to present day events . But there are some very worrying similarities in Europe as we move ever closer to deepening conflict .

So let’s make remembrance day not just about the past but about our future . Otherwise the fallen would have fallen for nothing and their immense sacrifice wasted.

Let’s not make the same mistake again

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