Figure 1.-- The great horror at the time this movie was made was the specter of another devestating world war and the aerial bombardment of cities.

The great horror at the time this movie was made was the specter of another devestating world war and the aerial bombardment of cities. The British in 1936 were disturbed by the rise of Hitler in Germany. The saw the NAZI book burnings and Jew baiting. Hitler's frenzied speeches were show in clips as part of the news reels. Few British leaders were yet aware of the danger. And many Britains still thought war was the great danger and that war could be prevented by opposing military spending. At the same time, Hitler and the NAZIs were undertaking one of the most massive rearmament program in hidtory. n nOthers like Chamberlain saw military spending as wasteful. Churchill was still out of Government and looked on by many, imcluding Chamberlain, as an irresponsible crank from an earlier generation. This is much as many Americans in 2009 viewed Vice President Chaney. The great irony is that the amti-war movement not only help bring on thevmost destructive war in history, but nearly caused the defeeat of Britain and the onset as Churchill pur it--"a new dark age". Fear of war helped guaranrtee Franco's victory in Spain when the NAzIs and the Fascists aided him. It also was the central reason that the British and French deserted their Czech ally at Munich. And the pacifist sentiment played a role in France's collapse when the NAZIs invaded. Pacifist sentiment also played a major role in Britain's failure to rearm in time. And accrocc the Atlantic where this mpvie proved popular as well, the same dymamic was at play. The hatred of war was a central them played by the isolationists which almost prevented President Roosevelt from using American resources to help save beleagered Britain.

Created: 9:10 AM 1/14/2010
Last updated: 9:10 AM 1/14/2010