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 we won.
We stood alone against most of the world to defeat Germany.
A massive point of national Pride.
Something we remain grateful for

Uneducated bollox.
The USSR had a HUGE role in liberating Europe.
Pretty much all of the countries of the Empire (as well as some independent former colonies) fought with the UK. As did France, Belgium and other European countries who were hindered by being occupied but ran resistance movements etc.
UK was protected somewhat by being an island, and I am not diminishing the role of the armed forces, but we were not alone by any stretch of the imagination.

Because , as you can tell from many posts , they need it.

It's shockingly ignorant to suggest that Britain stood alone in the fight against fascism at any point during the war. And it's really fucking stupid to say that it's just your opinion, because the facts simply do not support you.

Personally, I think it's incredibly important that we remember the events of WW2, and I have no issue with the idea of commemorating VE day. It's an important part of our history. However, I would prefer to see people using this opportunity to actively engage with the history, rather than just eating a few scones and joining in with the mawkish sentimentality. Gaining a deeper, more nuanced understanding of exactly what happened, why it happened and how it was allowed to happen, in order to prevent similar situations from arising again, would be a much better way of honouring the dead, in my view, than singing old songs and putting up Union Jack bunting.

If the Battle of Britain had been lost,

By the Airforce?, well we still had the British navy at that time, the biggest around. I expect they'd have made it difficult to get any landing craft on any beach!

Anyone see the Red Arrows over London today? best display team ever:)

"No we never have contributed to the advancement of industry, science, medicine, technology, literature, scholarly, art" what?

"it would have been very different if we had been invaded and then liberated." well we were bombed a lot you know and rather a lot of us died liberating other countries

I agree OP. Remember, reflect and learn. It’s quite sobering to me. Not really an event to get the bunting out for imo

@Kljnmw3459 I find that nostalgia quite weird too. I mean 1940s styles suit me but I have heard people say that they wished they had lived in the 1940s because it would have been perfect for them (generally based on the clothes, make up and general look) and I can't help thinking that they might not have enjoyed the bombing, conscription, rationing etc...

we, as in in the island of Britain during the summer of 1940 was the only bulwark between Hitler and his chance of world domination.

No, sorry, this is propaganda.

And if you look to other countries, they had the same propaganda, too.

In every war.

No one wants to say 'hey, my country is expendable, doesn't really matter whether we win or lose'. Nor does anyone want to admit 'well, if we lose, someone else will be provoked to fight'.

But it's the case.

I think it is fair to say we respect that people at the time needed to believe that propaganda, and if it comforted anyone who'd lost someone, it was worth it. All I know is, many people did not want to glamorise war and only wanted to forget and move on.

I find it distasteful that remembrance days have been hijacked by flag waving far right groups. (poppy wearing shaming etc etc).

Apart from that, I have no issues with people "celebrating" in whatever way they see fit

I thought there was a period when Britain was alone though. In 1940, the USA hadn't entered the war and the Soviet Union had a pact with Germany so they were at that point allies.

and I can't help thinking that they might not have enjoyed the bombing, conscription, rationing etc..

Well my dad was 22 when he was called up and he did talk about what did happen long and loud and if you'd have heard him you could be forgiven for thinking then he and Bill McEarnie, and jon miller and a few others did win it by themselves!

He was in the battle of Britian keeping the Spits and Hurris armed and ready to fly, and later in North Africa where he and monty sorted the jerries out at El Almeain and the number of women in the brothels of Cairao and misc matters!!

YANBU. It's weird. There are plenty of other things that the country has achieved in the years since the war - great scientic advances, events like the London Olympics. Seems strange to be so proud of a war that barely anyone alive can remember. One of the few people that wasn't out on the street today was my neighbour in her 90s who is the only one who was actually alive during the war. She remembers it as a difficult and scary time.

I'm all for learning from history, but that's not what most people are doing. Learning from the war would mean valuing the huge effort that has gone on between European nations to find ways to avoid such a conflict happening again.

We need to remember it (and other conflict) as we move forward so we don't ever return to those times. We also remember those who fought, and those who stayed at home and made sacrifices. Do you really think it should be a case of "oh well, it was years ago, no need to think about it anymore?" I do agree that it shouldn't be glorified at all, but we do need to commemorate it. I don't live in the UK, but it is wonderful to see how young people and children in my country have taken to learning about both WWs and thinking about what others of a different age went through. There is a difference between celebrating and remembering with gratitude.

@BarbeDeMaman I went to visit the Graves in Normandy two years ago. I think everyone should go at least once then they may show more respect for those who fought in the War instead of complaining about people remembering it. Think of Captain Tom people!!!

I can't help thinking that they might not have enjoyed the bombing, conscription, rationing etc...

Not to mention your DS or your DH going off to war, not knowing if you'd ever see him again. Or your children being sent off alone to the middle of nowhere. No, let's put the bunting away and instead, resolve to challenge fascism whenever we encounter it.

Well said @AlexaShutUp

I think a lot comes from the 'boomer' generation; those who grew up just after the war and watched endless hero/villain films at the cinema.

I agree that the fiction of war as 'heroic' plays a part. But I also think there is more to it than this. My dad was born in 1950; he was almost indoctrinated to believe war was wrong, because his parents were so horrified by it. And it was part of his lived experience: his mother had a stillbirth in the 40s and cancer later on, and my grandfather understood both of those to be direct results of what happened in the war. Whether they were or not, the war obviously shaped their lives, and his life, to a huge degree.

There are people who grew up without mothers or fathers, people who grew up with parents who were traumatised and passed down legacies of abuse and pain. It's not simple to blame 'boomers'.

I'm with you.

Remembering both the fallen and survivors is important but it is strange that for many today was about getting pissed and having a party in the streets. If the people who were alive on that day then that would be one thing but there was little educating about the past judging by the thumping modern music from some parties earlier today. The OP who earlier said that Britain were the only ones fighting the Nazis at one point is certainly not the only one to think that.

The defeat of Fascism in Europe by the Allies is absolutely worth celebrating. We wouldn't be having this discussion otherwise.

Propaganda. It's one thing in history which paints us as morally good.

@EveryoneNoOne - there were lots of points during WWII when various countries 'stood alone' against others. In the early stages, Germany invaded several countries while others (Britain included) stood by doing nothing. I don't think we should judge the value of a person's sacrifice by how successful it was. There were people in many countries in Europe who died in huge numbers, in the hope of stopping Nazism or protecting the Jewish and other persecuted groups in their countries from being taken. I think it is wrong to elevate what happened in Britain over what happened elsewhere.

But nobody is saying we should forget about it.

It is more that we should do it in a more dignified manner that reflects the gravity and horror of the war.

Dressing up, drinking, singing, you do this for birthdays, not to remember the lost lives of millions of people. It is glorification, making out it was a great time full of cool fashion and homemade Victoria sponge cakes.

I also object to the 'we' factor. We have done nothing. We were not even alive when it happened, or for long after in most cases. It implies superiority by virtue of our nationality, which when you think about it, was one of the ideas that led the world into war to start with.

My grandmother remembers being evacuated and the physical and sexual abuse every one of her siblings was subjected to in different families. I think of my great uncle who was shot in the head on the front line. I think of my great aunt, a WAAf.

I am proud of their resilience. It was a horrible time. I give thanks that it is no longer happening.

"I've seen French, Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes all posting about the end of the war over the last 2 days."

The OP was about why the British are obsessed with it. Not the same thing as mentioning it.
OP is right, there is an obsession. So many TV programmes, films, references in current politics, etc. It's really not the same in other European countries.

A lot of Britain is totally obsessed with the wars, especially with WWII. There is too much focus on the British achievements and sacrifices, Blitz spirit, etc. and too little on the long and short term factors that led to the rise in fascism.