To wonder why the Brits are so obsessed with WW2?

[MrsSchadenfreude]

My Mum is 87. She was 12 when the war ended and went through it in London. She remembers being terrified and hungry and getting grief because her grandmother was German. Other elderly relatives don’t have lovely memories either, apart from relief when it was all over. So why do we glorify it all, at every opportunity? Why do we always look back instead of forward?

Because it was the catalyst for a new society in Britain that we have all benefitted from; the Education Act, the National Health, the welfare state

And the EU

scuttles off

However- we arguably have several far right groups and political parties

Name a far right political party in the UK with any serious support?

I always think whwn people.thing remembrance etc is glorifying war they've missed the point

People have not said that remembrance is glorifying war. Because it certainly isn't.

I think it's how you remember and what you do to remember.

Just because it is usually marked differently doesn't mean I have to be comfortable with how it was marked this year.

Yes that was my initial response, and the gist of my first posts on this thread. I am just a bit suspicious that this year’s iteration has been leapt on, encouraged, condemned, politicised and held up as evidence for discontinuing the whole event. It’s become a political football very quickly and OP’s view is just the opposite extreme from the hard right, racist response.

Tied in with collective memory, it is also interesting to remind ourselves that how past events are marked and depicted in literature, art, culture is not fixed. It changes and often tells us more about society at that moment in time than the historical event itself. You can see this for example in different depictions of Robin Hood over the years or in memorialisation of events like the battle of Bannockburn. So it is always worth asking what our memorialisation and depiction of historical events says about us a society.

I could discuss this all day, so I won’t start here. It is fascinating.

The way our political system is structured is wrong in many ways, but one good thing about first past the post that it prevents most of the nutter parties (or any party other than the main ones) getting seats. Doesn't mean people aren't voting for them.

You can't name a far right party in the UK with any serious political support because there isn't one. There are right wing parties in France, Germany, Austria and Sweden with significant political support. All of them have an explicitly anti immigration theme. Strange that some posters can't even acknowledge that as a positive.

Is anyone disputing this

I don't think that as a world, we have really learnt from what happened.

We still turn a blind eye to what's going on and try not to get involved.
Look at the human right abuses going on right now in the world.

Look at China and the Uighur Muslim camps there.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-50511063

I don't believe anti immigration policies are a positive at all.

I don't believe anti immigration policies are a positive at all

Have you deliberately misinterpreted my post? I mean it is curious that posters are unable to acknowledge as a positive that there is no far right party in the UK with anything like the political support of the AfD, the Front National, the Sweden Democrats, the Freedom Party.

Look at China and the Uighur Muslim camps there. I agree it's disgusting.
Also Myanmar's treatment of Muslims
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41566561

At no point in WW2 did the UK "Stand Alone."

After the fall of France, the only fully-equipped troops in Britian were Canadian. The entire Commonwealth and Empire stood with Britain. Over two million Indian volunteers fought for Britain. The Tswana in Bechuanaland donated eough money to buy a Spitfire. They sent 10,000 men to fight in North Africa and Italy. Just one tribe. Plenty more.

There were exceptions. Bose and his pro-Japanese Indian National Army. Vorster and his Afrikaaner Nazi-loving pals. And mention has been made of De Valera who sent condolences on the death of Hitler but not for FDR. Southern Irish volunteers more than made up for him.

We are by no means superior to others. In fact, in many ways, we are behind some countries

I am not in the UK. I think many things about the UK are profoundly dysfunctional. But I think it's amusing that the constant hairshirt flagellation faction have such a lack of perspective.

Actually Brits. are mostly just obsessed by the weather.

I don’t think they are any more than anywhere else. In places I’ve been where it’s, day hit and sunny most of the time people moan about ‘when will it rain?’ or ‘the flowers need rain’.

When you live somewhere where you can get four seasons in one day it’s much more interesting.

Our street had a party last night. Bunting and balloons and tea parties and Vera Lynn blasting out on speakers from 6pm until midnight, neighbours in and out of each others houses. Someone got so pissed they fell in the street and an ambulance had to be called. People who didnt get involved (our house being one) were 'named and shamed' on the street Facebook page. What a brilliant celebration of the end of a brutal conflict, during a global pandemic.

Have you seen the videos on Amazon (free) The Man in the High Castle about parallel universe where Nazis won the war?

Because they think they single-handedly won the war, forgetting all the other countries and the citizens of the Empire which helped them. They like to forget about the Empire because it doesn't make them look good. Churchill was no hero, he won the war by making millions of Indians starve.

@ArriettyJones I could discuss this all day, so I won’t start here. smile It is fascinating.

Me too! I find it one of the most interesting parts of history/society's interaction with history.

@tara66

Yes I have?

I completely agree OP, we didn't join in with any of the celebrations yesterday, it felt uncomfortable to have that kind of party when it was a fricking war.

And in the middle of a pandemic, there were people outside playing music and drinking till 10pm. We don't know which of our neighbours may be grieving. It seemed insensitive. 😢

Our current government have been deporting citizens. I'd call that pretty right wing and anti immigration.

@woodhill Thank you. I haven't heard of that one before and have just bought it on Audible

Agree OP. There is a very singular focus on military loss of life, overlooking millions of civilian lives lost. And yes a distasteful glorification of war generally. It should be regarded more seriously, and as part of a wider consideration of ongoing war and conflict around the world. European friends wonder why our telly is full of programmes about the Nazis. I agree it suits us to ignore the wrongs of colonialism, and our involvement in some very dubious wars and arming other nations, by focussing on this rather relentlessly.

Agree OP. Most remembrance does glorify the military, arms, parades etc. Distasteful and rather ignores the reality.

It is important to remember.

I have family members who are only recently deceased who fought in WWII. So it's recent history in that respect. It affected their lives and their subsequent family's lives.

I don't think it is glorifying war at all. Nor do I think Brits are obsessed.