We can’t escape the grip of the Second
World War, because the overall global
architecture was created in its wake.
Nor should we want to, because it was
a virtuous settlement – and the world
will bitterly regret the outcome when it
has been overthrown by a future genera-
tion careless of the sacrifices of 1939–45
and ignorant of the issues involved.
The extirpation of the most evil regime in human history,
at the cost of more than 20 million lives, was always going
to provide lessons that last for centuries, and in many ways
they are as powerful today as ever before. The need for strong
defences in the democratic western powers against aggressive
totalitarian forces is as important when facing modern China,
Russia and Iran as it was in the 1930s when dealing with Ger-
many, Japan and Italy. It is not because of its present econom-
ic power that China has a seat on the UN Security Council,
but because of the oft-forgotten 15 million Chinese who died
fighting forces allied with fascism, and President Franklin D
Roosevelt’s insistence that China should be represented there.
Our economically open, generally free-trading global
architecture was created by late-war conferences such as
Dumbarton Oaks and Bretton Woods, with institutions
such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund
and the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade being found-
ed as a direct response to the war and its causes and ravages.
It is impossible to appreciate the founding notions of these
vital international bodies unless one understands the conflict
that gave them birth. Similarly, the bodies that underpin
British national security were almost all born in the 1938–49
period dominated by the Second World War, including
Nato, GCHQ, the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing operation,
Anglo-American nuclear cooperation, and so on.
The Second World War rightly and thankfully shapes our
assumptions and the far happier world we live in today. It
was of the Boer War that Rudyard Kipling wrote: “We have
had no end of a lesson/ It will do us no end of good,” but it is
much more true of the Second World War.Andrew Roberts is a historian and author. His latest book is
Churchill: Walking with Destiny (Allen Lane, 2018)POSITIVE OUTCOMES“The extirpation of
the most evil regime in
history was always going
to provide lessons that
last for centuries”
Andrew RobertsHE
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In contrast with the First World War, the
1939–45 conflict has been perceived in
the UK as a ‘good’ war resulting in the
triumph of western democracies over evil
fascist regimes. It is therefore unsurprising
that memories of the ‘finest hour’ have
been frequently invoked in the British
media, particularly in times of stress and
uncertainty. The fascination with the
Battle of Britain continues, together with the mythology of
the Blitz and the now ubiquitous ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’
poster (which was never actually deployed during the war but
is now seen on mugs, tea towels and countless other products).
Television, in particular, has repeatedly returned to the
conflict. After 1945 Britain’s television service grew quickly
and began to create and co-produce epic documentaries such
as Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years (ABC/BBC, 1960–61).
The major 26-part BBC series The Great War (1964) attracted
more than eight million British viewers, while The World at
War (ITV, 1973–74), exploring the Second World War over
26 episodes through the testimony of key participants, was at
the time the most expensive British television series ever made.
From the late 1990s, broadcasters crossed established docu-
mentary modes with re-enactment, reconstruction and reality.
Viewers saw British family life in The 1940s House (Channel 4,
2001), and how pilots could be trained in Spitfire Ace (Channel
4, 2004) and Bomber Crew (Channel 4, 2004). The nostalgic
evocation of British society at war provided material for televi-
sion dramas such as Foyle’s War (ITV, 2002–15) and comedies
including Dad’s Army (BBC, 1968–77), It Ain’t Half Hot Mum
(BBC , 1974 – 81) a nd ’Allo ’Allo (BBC, 1982–92). In compari-
son, only one comedy series about 1914–18 has been made for
mainstream television: Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC, 1989).
The memor y of the ‘Great War’ is seen as sacred – a
national tragedy that resulted in the loss of a generation for
no apparent cause. The Second World War, despite its many
hardships and historians’ subsequent findings to the contrary,
is remembered as a time the nation put aside differences and
pulled together to fight for freedom. Since the end of that
conflict the media have continued to mine wartime stories
for political, social or simply commercial reasons.Emma Hanna is a lecturer in the School of History at the
University of KentMEDIA PORTRAYALS“The war is remembered
as a time Britain put aside
differences and pulled to-
gether to fight for freedom”
Emma Hanna