When will VE Day celebrations stop? UK acting like Old Firm fans – Helen Martin

HOW did we all feel about VE Day on Friday? In some way I should have celebrated it.

My sister was born during World War II and my father – in a “special” unit – was shot by Germans and lost a lung, he was left behind at Dunkirk, had been taken prisoner and escaped back to the UK, being awarded with a Distinguished Conduct Medal.

I wasn’t born until eight years after the war, but now that I’m 67 I’d probably be judged as someone who would have been emotionally touched by the 75th anniversary of victory.

Well, no-one will forget two world wars and they must be remembered. But a national day based on victory against Germany and other forces back in 1945 is no longer appropriate, outside a history book.

After the war in 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a speech in Zurich urging Europeans to turn their backs on the horrors of the past and turn to a peaceful future, concluding: “We must build a United States of Europe.”

For the first few decades, it’s understandable that VE Day was still celebrated, but it should have stopped once his goal was achieved and we had, and were in, a European Union.

In fact, even by the Second World War some poets had become more “human” to their “enemy” German soldiers, even with both ordered to kill each other. My favourite was Keith Douglas with his short, heart-rending poem Vergissmeinnicht, based on his vision of a young, dead, German soldier in an area both had fought. The boy’s stomach was burst, flies crawled his corpse, and Keith found a photograph of the boy’s girlfriend Steffi, which she had signed with “Vergissmeinnicht” . . . forget me not. Douglas died in 1944 during the invasion of Normandy.

It might have been more acceptable if marking the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII was something to do with peace in Europe rather than victory. If we had EU flags along with Union Jacks or Saltires and European residents sharing Polish, German, French . . . and any other flags . . . I would have been up for it.

Of course, I wish Brexit had never been voted for, by a majority in England – not Scotland. Not only is it going to be even more impoverishing following Covid, but we should all remember the EU (in which Germany plays a big role) had still offered to include the UK in acquiring PPE and equipment. They still believed in peace and unity, regardless of Brexit. The UK did not and insisted on badly and inadequately trying to provide its own gear. Now we turn out to be the worst Covid-19 country in Europe, and only the second worst globally to the US with which our Westminster Government is already working on trade deals which certainly don’t meet EU standards.

While some Scottish stories of WWII featured, the majority of coverage, celebration, promotion and “firing up” of British victory came from England. The focus was on Union flags, not all British country flags representing all the troops. When it comes to world war victory, I could understand Israel and Jewish people may have permanent cause for celebration with a Thank God ending to the horrific Holocaust. But the man who led us to win the war, quickly called for union in Europe, peace and working together. Then came the extreme right-wing, pro-tax-haven, aggressive Boris and Co government.

Now Britain is behaving like Celtic fans beating Rangers or Rangers beating Celtic. International respect, diplomacy, thankfulness for peace and gratitude for geographical and close neighbours offering help, has disappeared. Celebrating war victory remains.

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