Were you born after 1940?

You may not know how nasty and brutal War is. Once, they were fought on the battlefields of Flodden and Waterloo between armies with cavalry, cannon and muskets. No longer. Know also why they are fought when all else fails, especially appeasement.

I lived through the Blitz. I had a siren suit and wore it in our concrete air-raid shelter. Sunderland was a target for the Luftwaffe. Sunderland helped to provide the Liberty ships that the USA made in great numbers by welding instead of with rivets. Without them, the War in the Atlantic would have been lost, and no D-day. My home was on the receiving end of a near miss—an unexploded bomb. We had to move until it was defused. I recall the night sky red with the incendiaries that destroyed the Binns Departmental store. The Victoria Hall, where Edward Elgar once conducted the Halle Orchestra, was destroyed by a parachute bomb. It wasn’t just the shipyards.

Meanwhile, on the BBC, 1,000 bomber raids on the Ruhr and on Berlin itself, the Dam Busters - that we are not allowed to forget - yes, many must have drowned as a result. Dresden, and burned - that we are encouraged to forget! These raids were not measured for size. They were not proportionate. They were necessary.

Today, there can be no exemption for civilians and children.

Please stop using the word “proportionate”. Yes, poison gas is a crime against humanity. But the actual crime against humanity lies with those who provoke wars in the first place. When they have no interest in peace. Wars are fought because they are necessary for survival,  and countries do what is needed to win them.

Naivete, I am afraid if you think otherwise. Please stop using the word “proportionate”.

One other thing history can tell you. If you are very fortunate and win the War, you can win the peace. After World War II and the Nazis unconditionally surrendered, there was true peace in Europe after centuries of conflict, and old enemies became friends in European Union with Germany at its heart.

Meanwhile, the Germans had to learn the hard way their mistake in electing Adolph Hitler.