I have two major events this weekend in my diary.
The first was yesterday afternoon, when I was a guest speaker in Trafalgar Square (following a mass in Westminster cathedral) for the 90th anniversary of Polish independence. This was an amazing experience, as I have never given a speech before in Trafalgar Square, and I doubt if I have ever had a larger audience, as more than 5,000 Poles braved the cold and wet to be there with Cardinal Glemp and others.
The second event for me is laying a wreath at the Fulham war memorial later this morning for Remembrance Sunday. The service in Fulham is always moving, but probably typical of thousands all over Britain.
Seemingly, these two events have nothing in common. Except this - they both commemorate a date in 1918, the 11th November. For us, it is a date to bring forward sorrow and remorse over the slaughter of the First World War, as it is the day that the war ended. For the Poles, on the other hand, it is a day which brings national celebration, as it is the day which marks their liberation after more than 130 years of foreign occupation, and the re-establishment of the Polish state.
Nobody in Britain really celebrates the 11th November. Historic memory is such, that the First World War is now commonly remembered for its relentless, even "senseless" slaughter, for the huge waste of human life and for the appalling conditions. All of this would be quite correct, of course, but various controversies live on, some of which have a political slant, and show us how political historical memory can become.
The common perception is that the slaughter was mainly of working class soldiers, whilst middle and upper class officers relaxed in the rear. In other words, the "lions led by donkeys" historical narrative, encouraged by Leftists, and actually a gross distortion of the truth, as the biggest casualty rates were actually suffered by junior officers, especially lieutenants, who were mainly young men in their early twenties from better off families. A quick look at the war memorial just inside the St Stephen's entrance to Parliament shows an interesting fact, that dozens of serving members of the House of Lords (all heriditary, in those days) lost their lives in the conflict, as did a fair few MPs, and sons of MPs and peers. Millions of ordinary Britons and others died - but it wasn't exclusively a working class phenomenon.
There is also a perception that the First World War had a more dubious moral quality to it than the Second World War. The standard Leftist narrative on the Second is one of a broad anti-Fascist struggle against an evil far-Right ideology, and if ever a war was neccessary, it was this one. This is not an interpretation I would find cause to disagree with, but the same historians or commentators are less certain about the 1914 - 1918 conflict. Gas was used in the conflict, but there were no gas chambers to carry out genocide. Many have interpreted the conflict as being a clash between the Imperialist powers, an inevitable end to a period of capitalist competition. The popular memory is one of slaughter, but it seems that fewer people can remember why we went to war in the first place. Most know that in 1939, we stood up to Hitler and went to war to try to defend Poland. But how many people remember why we went to war in 1914?
The reality is that the First World War, although appallingly conducted, was for this country also a noble endeavour. We declared war on Germany, as she had invaded little Belgium, had trampled over international treaties, and we had guaranteed Belgian independence and neutrality. German war aims included the annexation of large parts of Belgium, and parts of other neighbours. Whilst not comparable with the sick ideology of the Nazis, Germany under the Kaiser was not a pleasant regime, and was worthy of its defeat in 1918.
So for me, and in so much as any war can be described as "good", World War One was a good war. We should honour those from our country who fought in it. They believed they were fighting for a just cause, and it would dishonour their memory (and the handful of survivors still alive today) to argue that they died in vain.
In fact, in many ways, we can be more proud of the way we recast the world after 1918 than that after 1945. Returning to Polish independence day, this is certainly the case in Central and Eastern Europe. Thanks largely to Woodrow Wilson (a man surely more worthy than FDR or JFK of the title the best ever Democratic President?), new or re-born countires like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Finland and the Baltic States won their freedom in 1918. In 1945, most of them were sacrificed in the name of Realpolitik. 1918 saw democracy break out across Europe. 1945 saw it trampled over.
So, today, when I lay my wreath, I will be feeling remorseful for the slaughter, but also that we should be proud of what Britain achieved in the First World War, winning freedom and democracy for hundreds of millions of people across the Continent.
