The French On 'Dunkirk:' Nous Sommes Furieux!

[PoliticalChic]

1. My, oh, my!
The French are incensed!
The blockbuster new film, "Dunkirk," seems to have shortchanged the famous warriors!

"The film Dunkirk is under attack in France for glorifying British prowess while neglecting French troops whose sacrifice made the epic evacuation possible."
French furious at being written out of Dunkirk film epic


2. Of course, most folks know that the French have never been successful in military affairs unless led by a foreigner or a woman.....

But....the film...which I haven't seen...is flawed in other ways as well:
"Historians and critics have voiced annoyance over what they see as Christopher Nolan’s rewriting of the defeat of Allied forces in which 30,000 French troops held off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940 to protect Operation Dynamo in the Channel."
Ibid.

No...."30,000 French troops" did not hold off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940....not according to real historians.
The facts are very different, a warning to those who get their history from Oliver Stone or government schooling.

a. Can you imagine, the French claiming to hold off the Wehrmacht????
The French, who rounded up Jews even before the Nazis asked them to....the French who planted trees along the Avenue des Champs Elysees, so the Germans could march in the shade.....




3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.


And, it seemed ....awkward...to Adolph Hitler.
Now....battling the French and Brits......how could Hitler have turned the Brits into an ally?


Dunkirk is how.
Back to Dunkirk in a moment.

 

[Cellblock2429]

1. My, oh, my!
The French are incensed!
The blockbuster new film, "Dunkirk," seems to have shortchanged the famous warriors!

"The film Dunkirk is under attack in France for glorifying British prowess while neglecting French troops whose sacrifice made the epic evacuation possible."
French furious at being written out of Dunkirk film epic


2. Of course, most folks know that the French have never been successful in military affairs unless led by a foreigner or a woman.....

But....the film...which I haven't seen...is flawed in other ways as well:
"Historians and critics have voiced annoyance over what they see as Christopher Nolan’s rewriting of the defeat of Allied forces in which 30,000 French troops held off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940 to protect Operation Dynamo in the Channel."
Ibid.

No...."30,000 French troops" did not hold off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940....not according to real historians.
The facts are very different, a warning to those who get their history from Oliver Stone or government schooling.

a. Can you imagine, the French claiming to hold off the Wehrmacht????
The French, who rounded up Jews even before the Nazis asked them to....the French who planted trees along the Avenue des Champs Elysees, so the Germans could march in the shade.....




3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.


And, it seemed ....awkward...to Adolph Hitler.
Now....battling the French and Brits......how could Hitler have turned the Brits into an ally?


Dunkirk is how.
Back to Dunkirk in a moment.

/----/ It's just a movie and I'll watch it anyway. I enjoy war movies if well produced and no too far off the Historical mark. Here is some interesting historical inaccuracies in the movie Pearl Harbor
The Endless Historical Errors Made in the Pearl Harbor Movie - Page 2 of 2

 

[PoliticalChic]

1. My, oh, my!
The French are incensed!
The blockbuster new film, "Dunkirk," seems to have shortchanged the famous warriors!

"The film Dunkirk is under attack in France for glorifying British prowess while neglecting French troops whose sacrifice made the epic evacuation possible."
French furious at being written out of Dunkirk film epic


2. Of course, most folks know that the French have never been successful in military affairs unless led by a foreigner or a woman.....

But....the film...which I haven't seen...is flawed in other ways as well:
"Historians and critics have voiced annoyance over what they see as Christopher Nolan’s rewriting of the defeat of Allied forces in which 30,000 French troops held off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940 to protect Operation Dynamo in the Channel."
Ibid.

No...."30,000 French troops" did not hold off Nazi divisions near Lille in the late spring of 1940....not according to real historians.
The facts are very different, a warning to those who get their history from Oliver Stone or government schooling.

a. Can you imagine, the French claiming to hold off the Wehrmacht????
The French, who rounded up Jews even before the Nazis asked them to....the French who planted trees along the Avenue des Champs Elysees, so the Germans could march in the shade.....




3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.


And, it seemed ....awkward...to Adolph Hitler.
Now....battling the French and Brits......how could Hitler have turned the Brits into an ally?


Dunkirk is how.
Back to Dunkirk in a moment.

/----/ It's just a movie and I'll watch it anyway. I enjoy war movies if well produced and no too far off the Historical mark. Here is some interesting historical inaccuracies in the movie Pearl Harbor
The Endless Historical Errors Made in the Pearl Harbor Movie - Page 2 of 2

Cellblock....you're not a Liberal.....for Liberals, who are (in)famous for never reading books, the movie is their text....another one of their 'factchecks.'

It is for our Liberal pals that this thread is posited as a cautionary tale.


The moron who put the 'funny' emoticon above was irked that the OP interrupted her lapping FDR's boots.

 

[PoliticalChic]

4. Getting back to the Battle of Dunkirk.....known popularly as the miraculous evacuation of almost all of Britain's troops from possible obliteration.

The victory by Hitler over the Allies was monumental. Not simply fast,...the ratio of casualties was 27,000 German dead to 135,000 Allies.
So....why did the German armored stop short of annihilating the British who were there?



Wikipedia says this:

"In one of the most widely debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as the "Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate, to avoid an Allied breakout.

Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation, with Britain even discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued."
Battle of Dunkirk - Wikipedia


Wikipedia is wrong....as is this film.



I'll explain.

 

[Damaged Eagle]

Rewriting history allows the powers that be the ability to change the direction they wish to lead the masses.

*****SMILE*****

 

[PoliticalChic]

5.Sooooo.....was Dunkirk either a brilliant escape by the British.....or an unforced error by the Germans????

Neither.

Dunkirk: A gambit....not a mistake by the Germans.
Hitler's military analysis was that a one front war (he was about to attack his ally to the East....Russia) rather than a two-front war, fighting England and American at the same time.

Hitler imagined that he could convince England, and ultimately the United Stated to join him in a battle with this erstwhile ally, Bolshevik Russia.

The halt of German armor that allowed the retreat of the Allies at Dunkirk was Hitler's 'good faith' offer to Churchill.

It remained unrequited.

 

[Moonglow]

2. Of course, most folks know that the French have never been successful in military affairs unless led by a foreigner or a woman.....

Completely untrue, if one looks at history, it was the Normans from Northern France which conquered England, or did you forget that in your rush to show your ignorance?
There are several more instances in which the French were victorious in military matters through history, do you think France became the nation it did by being inept at military prowess?

 

[Moonglow]

5.Sooooo.....was Dunkirk either a brilliant escape by the British.....or an unforced error by the Germans????

Neither.

Dunkirk: A gambit....not a mistake by the Germans.
Hitler's military analysis was that a one front war (he was about to attack his ally to the East....Russia) rather than a two-front war, fighting England and American at the same time.

Hitler imagined that he could convince England, and ultimately the United Stated to join him in a battle with this erstwhile ally, Bolshevik Russia.

The halt of German armor that allowed the retreat of the Allies at Dunkirk was Hitler's 'good faith' offer to Churchill.

It remained unrequited.

The pause was so Hitler and his army could consolidate their gains. Being that you have no idea of Blitzkrieg warfare I am not surprised that you think that an army, even a mechanized one can fight without pause, it simply can't. Humans and machines have limitations..

 

[PoliticalChic]

6. The UK Times continues with the fable:


"As Dunkirk opened in France on Wednesday, Dominique Lormier, a Second World War historian, said: “Anglo-Saxon history has an unfortunate habit of playing up the armed feats of the British and passing those of the French army in silence.”
French furious at being written out of Dunkirk film epic


Amusing to those who know the real history:
a. the French were incapable of stopping the running of the bulls at Pamplona, much less the German army.

b. a massive retreat by the British....allowed by the Nazis!....is claimed to be an heroic accomplishment.



Clearly, history is written by the winners.


I'll provided the truth from a real historian, shortly.

 

[Moonglow]

6. The UK Times continues with the fable:


"As Dunkirk opened in France on Wednesday, Dominique Lormier, a Second World War historian, said: “Anglo-Saxon history has an unfortunate habit of playing up the armed feats of the British and passing those of the French army in silence.”
French furious at being written out of Dunkirk film epic


Amusing to those who know the real history:
a. the French were incapable of stopping the running of the bulls at Pamplona, much less the German army.

b. a massive retreat by the British....allowed by the Nazis!....is claimed to be an heroic accomplishment.



Clearly, history is written by the winners.


I'll provided the truth from a real historian, shortly.

Maybe they felt obligated since England gave the Nazi's Chamberlain..And central Europe..

 

[rightwinger]

What is the best way to tell if a soldier is French?

Sunburned Armpits

 

[PoliticalChic]

7. Let's get to the testimony of a true historian, Paul Johnson:

"Paul Johnson has published over 40 books including A History of Christianity (1979), A History of the English People (1987), Intellectuals (1988), The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815—1830 (1991), Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000 (1999), A History of the American People (2000), A History of the Jews (2001) and Art: A New History (2003) as well as biographies of Elizabeth I (1974), Napoleon (2002), George Washington (2005) and Pope John Paul II (1982)."
Paul Johnson


BTW....."Modern Times" was cited in the National Review as one of the top ten books that changed America and is described as a book that has "influenced intellectual thinking on a profound level"



Johnson:
"Perhaps Hitler's biggest single misjudgment was his failure to appreciate the depth of hostility he had aroused in Britain. The main object of his Blitzkrieg in France was not to destroy the French army, which he felt he could do at any time he wished, but to shock Britain into making terms.

On 21 May, ....he said he wanted to sound out England on dividing the world.

His [Hitler's] decision to halt his armor outside Dunkirk at the end of the month, which allowed the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force to be evacuated from the beaches,...may have been prompted by the desire to open a line of discussion with London."
Paul Johnson, "Modern Times," p. 366-367


"...[Hitler] spoke on 30 June of the need to give Britain one more demonstration of our military power before she gives up and leaves us free in the rear for the East." Johnson, Op. Cit.



I believe Johnson's analysis is correct.....Hitler allowed the retreat from Dunkirk.
It was his gesture to Churchill, in the hopes of turning him into an ally.
Churchill recognized the danger that communism posed.
Bet you won't find that in the film.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Perhaps we should dedicate a moment to the decision that Franklin Roosevelt had make after two of his ....associates.....had a falling out.

Leftwingers all, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and Roosevelt, ....what a merry band were they!

1. FDR co-opted Mussolini's entire economic program and imposed it on America....the New Deal corporatism.

2. When FDR wrote 'Looking Forward,' this was the comment in the German press: “[Roosevelt], too demands that collective good be put before individual self-interest. Many passages in his book ‘Looking Forward’ could have been written by a National Socialist [read: Nazi]….one can assume that he feels considerable affinity with the National Socialist [Nazi] philosophy.”

The paper also refers to “…the fictional appearance of democracy.”

3. Hitler and Stalin were hard and fast allies until June 21, 1941. Until then, they both attacked Poland, Stalin provided the resources for Hitler's Blitzkrieg, and the Communists taught the Gestapo how to build concentration camps.....and, it seems, taught FDR as well.

4. Soooo...when Uncle Joe was forced to defend against Adolf....what was Franklin to do???
True, Adolph had reason to believe that Franklin would back him....after all more Americans were of German ancestry than any other background....



5. But.....FDR chose Stalin, and saw to it that communism survived the war. That was the most important thing for Roosevelt!

" Fascism did not acquire an evil name in Washington until Hitler became a menace to•the Soviet Union."
Manly, "The Twenty Year Revolution," p. 48

 

[whitehall]

Who says you can't change history? One of the outtakes from the movie has a Brit soldier asking where the Brit air-force is. You could also ask yourself how the Brit Army could have ended up in defeated mob on a French beach. The German air superiority could have wiped out the entire Brit force and the rescue fleet. I wonder why the Germans let the defeated British mob escape.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Who says you can't change history? One of the outtakes from the movie has a Brit soldier asking where the Brit air-force is. You could also ask yourself how the Brit Army could have ended up in defeated mob on a French beach. The German air superiority could have wiped out the entire Brit force and the rescue fleet. I wonder why the Germans let the defeated British mob escape.

1. "Who says you can't change history?"
No one.
It's the main reason that the government controls the schools.

2. "You could also ask yourself how the Brit Army could have ended up in defeated mob on a French beach."
The question was answered earlier:
The victory by Hitler over the Allies was monumental. Not simply fast,...the ratio of casualties was 27,000 German dead to 135,000 Allies.

3. And, you've answered it, as well:
"The German air superiority could have wiped out the entire Brit force and the rescue fleet."
100% correct!


4. "I wonder why the Germans let the defeated British mob escape."
Answered by the insightful historian, Paul Johnson:

"Perhaps Hitler's biggest single misjudgment was his failure to appreciate the depth of hostility he had aroused in Britain. The main object of his Blitzkrieg in France was not to destroy the French army, which he felt he could do at any time he wished, but to shock Britain into making terms.

On 21 May, ....he said he wanted to sound out England on dividing the world.

His [Hitler's] decision to halt his armor outside Dunkirk at the end of the month, which allowed the bulk of the British Expeditionary Force to be evacuated from the beaches,...may have been prompted by the desire to open a line of discussion with London."
Paul Johnson, "Modern Times," p. 366-367


"...[Hitler] spoke on 30 June of the need to give Britain one more demonstration of our military power before she gives up and leaves us free in the rear for the East." Johnson, Op. Cit.



I believe Johnson's analysis is correct.....Hitler allowed the retreat from Dunkirk.
It was his gesture to Churchill, in the hopes of turning him into an ally: his hope was to, at the least, neutralize the British, and, ultimately the Americans, to give him a free hand at destroying his cousins, the Bolsheviks.
Churchill recognized the danger that communism posed....but the hatred of the Nazis could not be put aside.

a. Let's remember that FDR was a pal of both Hitler and Stalin...and had to make a choice.
b. If you've read Patton's statements, he was for re-arming Germany against the Russians.
Patton saw the inevitability of a conflict with the Russians. Of course, he was totally correct.
More important, Stalin knew he was correct....and so did Franklin Roosevelt, whose raison d'être was to make certain that Soviet communism survived and ended up ruling Europe after the war.



"It is a conflict that Patton believes will be fought soon. The Russians are moving to forcibly spread communism throughout the world, and Patton knows it. "They are a scurvy race and simply savages," he writes of the Russians in his journal. "We could beat the hell out of them."
"Patton," By Martin Blumenson, Kevin M. Hymel, p. 84

 

[PoliticalChic]

3-Day Weekend Box Office Estimates - Source: comScore
WEEKEND CUME THEATERS WEEK
1. Dunkirk $50.5M $50.5M 3,720 1


Looks like an awful lot of folks learned their 'history' while eating popcorn this week.

 

[whitehall]

Wow, the theory is that Hitler was such a shrewd and benevolent statesman that he decided not to annihilate the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk so he could offer peace terms to England? O.K. if the experts say so but I don't buy it. I think that early in the war the young and inexperienced German army was reluctant to shoot sitting ducks on the beach and the German lines of communications were so garbled that the Brits managed to escape before the Gestapo took over.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Wow, the theory is that Hitler was such a shrewd and benevolent statesman that he decided not to annihilate the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk so he could offer peace terms to England? O.K. if the experts say so but I don't buy it. I think that early in the war the young and inexperienced German army was reluctant to shoot sitting ducks on the beach and the German lines of communications were so garbled that the Brits managed to escape before the Gestapo took over.

3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.



More connections:

George III (great-grandson of George I) was the third of the Hanoverian Kings and the first to be born in Britain and to speak English as his first language, indeed he never even went to Hanover. The monarchs after him were called Hanover but were definitely more British than German, culminating in the last Hanoverian monarch, Queen Victoria. Victoria, as a woman, could not inherit the throne of Hanover, so the connection between Hanover and the UK was severed here.

Victoria may not have been German but her husband Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gothawas (remember what I said about European royalty marrying each other all the time?) so the British royal family got another injection of Germanness, and a change of name.

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had two British Kings, Edward VII and George V, before it was considered prudent to change the name because of anti-German sentiment among the public in WW1. So in the UK they became the House of Windsor.

George V, who was King during WW1, had no particular sympathies with the Germans, even though Kaiser Wilhelm II was his cousin. The fact he had some German ancestry would have made little difference to his dealings with Germany during the war.

Edward VIII actually served in the British army during WW1, and saw the front-line first hand, although obviously as heir to the throne he was kept out of immediate harm. He was only King for a matter of months before his abdication in 1936, but in 1937 he visited Germany, meeting with Hitler, giving Nazi salutes and generally being quite friendly to the Nazis. When WW2 started this was somewhat unhelpful, so he was made Governor of the Bahamas, in order to make sure he was a long way from Europe.

George VI, who became King when his brother Edward abdicated, did not share Edward's Nazi sympathies, and neither was he particularly German. His mother was a princess of Teck, which is in Germany, but she was born and raised in England."
https://www.quora.com/How-did-Germa...mily-take-over-and-become-the-British-Monarch



There was a basis for Hitler to hope.

 

[whitehall]

Wow, the theory is that Hitler was such a shrewd and benevolent statesman that he decided not to annihilate the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk so he could offer peace terms to England? O.K. if the experts say so but I don't buy it. I think that early in the war the young and inexperienced German army was reluctant to shoot sitting ducks on the beach and the German lines of communications were so garbled that the Brits managed to escape before the Gestapo took over.

3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.



More connections:

George III (great-grandson of George I) was the third of the Hanoverian Kings and the first to be born in Britain and to speak English as his first language, indeed he never even went to Hanover. The monarchs after him were called Hanover but were definitely more British than German, culminating in the last Hanoverian monarch, Queen Victoria. Victoria, as a woman, could not inherit the throne of Hanover, so the connection between Hanover and the UK was severed here.

Victoria may not have been German but her husband Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gothawas (remember what I said about European royalty marrying each other all the time?) so the British royal family got another injection of Germanness, and a change of name.

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had two British Kings, Edward VII and George V, before it was considered prudent to change the name because of anti-German sentiment among the public in WW1. So in the UK they became the House of Windsor.

George V, who was King during WW1, had no particular sympathies with the Germans, even though Kaiser Wilhelm II was his cousin. The fact he had some German ancestry would have made little difference to his dealings with Germany during the war.

Edward VIII actually served in the British army during WW1, and saw the front-line first hand, although obviously as heir to the throne he was kept out of immediate harm. He was only King for a matter of months before his abdication in 1936, but in 1937 he visited Germany, meeting with Hitler, giving Nazi salutes and generally being quite friendly to the Nazis. When WW2 started this was somewhat unhelpful, so he was made Governor of the Bahamas, in order to make sure he was a long way from Europe.

George VI, who became King when his brother Edward abdicated, did not share Edward's Nazi sympathies, and neither was he particularly German. His mother was a princess of Teck, which is in Germany, but she was born and raised in England."
https://www.quora.com/How-did-Germa...mily-take-over-and-become-the-British-Monarch



There was a basis for Hitler to hope.

I get the history of tribal warfare in Europe and I even understand the terrible restrictions put on Germany after WW1 that brought Hitler and the Nationalists Socialists into power. It doesn't explain why the Luftwaffe would spare the defeated Brit army from annihilation at Dunkirk. Hitler still could have negotiated with England from a position of strength after capturing the invasion army.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Wow, the theory is that Hitler was such a shrewd and benevolent statesman that he decided not to annihilate the British expeditionary force at Dunkirk so he could offer peace terms to England? O.K. if the experts say so but I don't buy it. I think that early in the war the young and inexperienced German army was reluctant to shoot sitting ducks on the beach and the German lines of communications were so garbled that the Brits managed to escape before the Gestapo took over.

3. Here is the hidden, but hermeneutic key, to understanding Dunkirk: Hitler has reason to believe that he could convince Britain....and the United States....to join him in his war against his sibling, Joseph Stalin.


Did Germany have a reason to expect influence in England and America?
Fact is, Germans make up the largest ethnic background, or ancestry group, in America. Suggests a certain kinship between the nations.
The Largest Ancestry Groups In The United States

But, this is about the Teutonic and the American...or rather the German and the English, world.
Understanding this helps explain Dunkirk.

The languages themselves, are derivative. English is, in fact, a Teutonic tongue....not a Romance language.

"TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES,' a comprehensive term for a number of languages most of which are still spoken at the present time, namely English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, German (both High and Low) and the various Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the Norwegian dialects)."
Teutonic (Germanic) Languages - Encyclopedia - Theodora


So....to some degree, it might seem strange to find World War II, with the English allied with France, and fighting their language-cousins, the Germans.

a. The iconic American President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had excellent relations with dictators. Adolph Hitler was one. Well, not as good relations as he had with the man on whom he based his economic policies, Benito Mussolini.
And not nearly as good relationship as with his preference among dictators, Joseph 'Koba' Stalin.



More connections:

George III (great-grandson of George I) was the third of the Hanoverian Kings and the first to be born in Britain and to speak English as his first language, indeed he never even went to Hanover. The monarchs after him were called Hanover but were definitely more British than German, culminating in the last Hanoverian monarch, Queen Victoria. Victoria, as a woman, could not inherit the throne of Hanover, so the connection between Hanover and the UK was severed here.

Victoria may not have been German but her husband Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gothawas (remember what I said about European royalty marrying each other all the time?) so the British royal family got another injection of Germanness, and a change of name.

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had two British Kings, Edward VII and George V, before it was considered prudent to change the name because of anti-German sentiment among the public in WW1. So in the UK they became the House of Windsor.

George V, who was King during WW1, had no particular sympathies with the Germans, even though Kaiser Wilhelm II was his cousin. The fact he had some German ancestry would have made little difference to his dealings with Germany during the war.

Edward VIII actually served in the British army during WW1, and saw the front-line first hand, although obviously as heir to the throne he was kept out of immediate harm. He was only King for a matter of months before his abdication in 1936, but in 1937 he visited Germany, meeting with Hitler, giving Nazi salutes and generally being quite friendly to the Nazis. When WW2 started this was somewhat unhelpful, so he was made Governor of the Bahamas, in order to make sure he was a long way from Europe.

George VI, who became King when his brother Edward abdicated, did not share Edward's Nazi sympathies, and neither was he particularly German. His mother was a princess of Teck, which is in Germany, but she was born and raised in England."
https://www.quora.com/How-did-Germa...mily-take-over-and-become-the-British-Monarch



There was a basis for Hitler to hope.

I get the history of tribal warfare in Europe and I even understand the terrible restrictions put on Germany after WW1 that brought Hitler and the Nationalists Socialists into power. It doesn't explain why the Luftwaffe would spare the defeated Brit army from annihilation at Dunkirk. Hitler still could have negotiated with England from a position of strength after capturing the invasion army.

I believe that was answered: it was Hitler's gesture, or hope, to open communications with Churchill to give him a free hand to attack his one-time benefactor and ally, Stalin.

The premise of the film, that somehow the French were able to hold back the Germans and allow the retreat at Dunkirk, is clearly nonsense.