In 1918 many mistakes were made by the victors. Rather than turning their backs on the past, they sought to punish Germany and their allies for the cost of conflict. The subsequent impoverishment and humiliation of the German nation inspired the rise of German nationalism and fuelled the dangerous forces which allowed a deranged individual to implement his agenda. This is why, love him or hate him, Emmanuel Macron when talking about the rise of nationalism highlighted the most important lesson to take from our commemorations of the Armistice.
After the Second World War, lessons were truly learned. At the Act of Remembrance on Saturday night at the Royal Albert Hall, Simon Russel Beale read from King George VI’s speech following V-E Day:
“There is great comfort in the thought that the years of darkness and danger in which the children of our country have grown up are over and, please God, forever. We shall have failed, and the blood of our dearest will have flowed in vain, if the victory which they died to win does not lead to a lasting peace, founded on justice and established in good will. To that, then, let us turn our thoughts on this day of just triumph and proud sorrow; and then take up our work again, resolved as a people to do nothing unworthy of those who died for us and to make the world such a world as they would have desired, for their children and for ours.”
The post war world turned its back on nationalism, we found new ways of communicating that would prevent the rise of nationalism and enable states to work together for the greater good. From this the United Nations was born and what we now know as the European Union, for this reason it was entirely appropriate that our Act of Remembrance reminded us of the need to maintain the idealism that lead to the creation of these institutions determined not to lead the world back to narrow tribalism.
This theme was taken up by Macron who said:
“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. In saying ‘our interests first, whatever happens to the others,’ you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it live, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: its moral values. “Old demons are resurfacing. History sometimes threatens to take its tragic course again and compromise our hope of peace. Let us vow to prioritise peace over everything.”
The tragedy for me is that the current leadership of our nation is singing a different tune. “We want our nation back” is the battle cry of many, pulling us back to a way of thinking which led to the very wars we remember with heavy hearts. I was born in 1948 and have live through years of peace, seeing a decline in nationalism. That was until the Brexit campaign took off which duped many into believing that our long term interests our better protected by focusing on our domestic life.
I mourned the fact that we were isolated at this year’s commemoration where Macron and Merkel took centre stage and noted Trumps failure to participate. We are moving into uncertain times, but I know from running my own company that it is better to work together.