A Report on the Evacuation at Dunkirk

Source B5 is the front page of the “daily express”. A British newspaper at the time, published May 31st 1940. The source tells me that all three armed forces came together in “one of the most magnificent operations in history”. Most content comes from information give out by the government at the time. This source tells me that Dunkirk was triumph not only because of its clear reference to Germany’s failure: “shattering losses”. But also it’s clear message of how many soldiers were home by then “tens of thousands safely home already”, a triumph to Britain and its people. This source can be useful in in terms of what the British people knew at the time but also what information the government was giving away in order not to crush British morale. It cannot be fully relied upon as it’s extremely biased, propaganda, as well as that there are no eyewitness accounts, no primary evidence only secondary evidence given out by the government.

Curtin stood up to Churchill and demanded in the politest possible way to have our troops returned in order to defend Australia (23rd February 1942) and the English Prime Minister eventually conceded but it was too late. Our faith in the British had been shattered.

The author of the book, John Hersey, had a good purpose in telling so many individual anecdotes about the life before the bomb. He focused on expressing the stories of these survivors in a way in which the reader could see it from their point of view. His aim was to demonstrate that each individual was a real human being with real feelings just like us. The author seeks to make sure that readers understand that the bombings happened to people who had a daily life and were astonished by what had happened. Hersey demonstrates that the bombing impacted people who had previously been undergoing a lot in life.

The year was 1940; the world’s second great World War was in full swing, with Britain and Germany at the forefront. The fall of Britain’s closest ally, France, stunned the British Empire and threw it into disarray. Through the chaos, Winston Churchill emerged. Churchill would be an inspiring leader who was able to rally the entire nation in times of hardship. Through his leadership, the “British Bulldog” would face the Axis powers and come out victorious, as well as become a public hero for the British people. Yet, immediately after the war, Churchill did not return to the prime minister seat because of a shocking defeat in his re-election, despite his immense reputation he gained from the war. Though lauded by the British population for his prowess as a wartime leader, Churchill’s conservative politics were out of touch with a population ready for post-war relief and led to his defeat in the 1945 election.

After their defeat at Calais, in May 1940, the British army were ordered to retreat from the area and get to the coastal area of Dunkirk no matter what. There they would be rescued by the British naval forces. However, the Brits were left waiting until the 27th of May. Whilst the German Luftwaffe was bombing them from above and the land army was shelling them from below, the Allied troops waited and took the best cover possible. All they could do was wait.

The Jews that survived all of this were evacuated out of the camps by train or by ship. As winter approached, the Allies reached the border of Germany, and the Germans thought they ruled all of Germany because of the Allies reaching the border. The SS were still evacuating prisoners from the camps from the East and the West by foot. The search for the family always ended in tragedy. For the parents, it was to find their child dead or missing. For the hidden children, it was to find their family members dead and no one to claim them. For months and years, the Jewish parents searched for their children that the Nazis had sent into hiding. Parents would look in newspapers, tracing services, and survivor registries in hopes of finding their children. Although they would often find their children with the original rescuers, sometimes the rescuers would refuse to give the children back.

and left Britain alone in the time of war, and primed the British people for what was to come. "When we see the originality of malice, the ingenuity of aggression, which our enemy displays, we may certainly prepare ourselves for every kind of novel stratagem and every kind of brutal and treacherous maneuver," (Churchill). Churchill gave his enemy lots of credit. They were, after all, very good at the art of war, deception,

So, what exactly happened at the Battle of Dunkirk? Why did Churchill have to deliver a speech about it? The Battle of Dunkirk was a skirmish between the Allies and the Nazi Germans, ending in a defeat for the Allied forces. The overall attack of the German forces was too overwhelming for the Allies to bear, and the mistakes they made weren’t helping. The outcome was inevitable, “...when the force of and scope of the German penetration was realized...”

How do explain something that is completely in the wrong as ok? Why can people, organizations and even governments make irrational decision over and over again? The United States prides itself on it’s ability to be a free country and support freedom of religion and freedom of speech but throughout history their are numerous accounts of the United States going against it’s own beliefs and treating it’s people in terrible ways. One example of the United States going against it’s pride in equality and rhetoric of democracy and acting in ways of exclusion and inequality is during World War II when the United States forced evacuation of the Japanese to internment camps. The memoir, “Looking

The bodies were all over the place. 30,000 U.S. marines landed on the shore the first day. The

“The evacuation of children in World War Two was a great success.” How far do the sources you have used support this interpretation of evacuation in World War Two? (25 marks)

Why Britain Won the Battle of Britain After taking France in addition to his list of captured countries on mainland Europe, Adolf Hitler set his sights on Britain. After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was by herself. However, before Hitler could contemplate undertaking an invasion he was advised by his generals that Germany had to destroy the Fighter Command of the Royal Air Force in order to gain superiority in the air. This would in turn enable him to gain control of the English Channel in order to transfer the 160,000 German troops on the 2000 invasion barges, which had been assembled in German, French and Belgian harbors, over the

Source 2 is a valid source as it is a textbook extract with accurate statistics from a reliable source. The Source tells of the many positive aspects of the Battle of Dunkirk; including, the number of troops, heavy guns and vehicles successfully evacuated. As well as the effects of the Battle on affairs such as politics and the British public’s view of the armed forces. The source is taken from a school history textbook called Essential Modern World History published in 2003; and written by Ben Walsh. The purpose of this source is to educate students so the information will be accurate. A negative aspect of this source is that it is written from a British perspective and does not highlight the heavy and costly losses suffered during the battle.

European land was annihilated and the European countries were all in dispute. Men from all around stepped up and fought for their country, risking and generally losing their lives to save their loved ones. This fatal war was known as World War 2, the deadliest war in history. The war took a devastating toll on many people worldwide, while they watched a majority of their loved ones pass; many felt defeated, until one man stepped up, Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill pronounced his “We Shall Never Surrender” speech on June 4, 1940 at the House of Commons, in the United Kingdom. He delivered his speech in the aftermath of a successful evacuation of the British forces at Dunkirk, following the German Army attack. Churchill’s uplifting words gave the nation hope and a sense of pride, which had been lost during the brutal war. Through imagery and repetition, Winston Churchill delivered his theme in his speech, “We Shall Never Surrender”, that no matter the hardships and defeats that a nation might experience, to not lose hope and to unite together in order to gain strength.

But, by early June some 366 000 of the trapped troops had managed to escape. They had been evacuated back to England by a fleet of small vessels and naval ships. Although the evacuation was a success, Prime Minister Churchill was quick to dampen the celebration, and told the British people, ‘ We must be careful not to assign to this the deliverance the attributes of victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.’