RE: How Catholic was Hitler?
August 30, 2017 at 3:05 pm
(This post was last modified: August 30, 2017 at 3:09 pm by GUBU.)
(August 30, 2017 at 12:10 pm)Tizheruk Wrote:(August 30, 2017 at 11:53 am)CatholicDefender Wrote: Isn't it true that Catholic Ireland was something of an Axis Power, sort of similar to Spain?
Nope like Spain Ireland was neutral . Thou the IRA were very sympathetic to Axis . And Irishmen fought on both sides . And both the Axis And Allies planned an invasion of Ireland . And Ireland had many sympathizers in Germany as it held significance to both the Christian and minority pagan elements .
There was no Allied plan to invade Ireland. There was however a plan to evacuate the British government and the RAF to Ireland (with the government going on to Canada after) if the planned invasion of Britain was successful, with Ireland declaring war at that point on Germany. This was a plan made up by both governments in tandem, with the Irish state even going so far as to build airfields sufficient to hold a number of fighter wings in the interior of the island.
Interestingly enough more people from the "disloyal" Free State fought against the Axis in WW2 than from the "loyal" North. Churchill was actually all for trying to force Ireland, as a dominion, to declare war on Germany, but was stopped by a combination of the other Dominions not liking the curtailing of their freedoms under the Statute of Westminster, and British generals who knew they'd get no more Irish soldiers from the Oglaigh na hÉireann (Irish army), but would get them at a much lower equipment level and organisation level than just taking them as volunteers.
(August 30, 2017 at 2:54 pm)Anomalocaris Wrote:(August 30, 2017 at 2:41 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: No, Ireland was neutral.
But Ireland made sure to send an official telegram of condolence to the Reich Chancellory after Hitler killed himself, even though Germany was only a few days from unconditional surrender and the magnitude of the crimes at auschwitz and other death camps were already universally known around the world.
Even Switzerland didn't bother.
That was de Valera asserting his independence after an unusually vitriolic attack on him and on Ireland by Churchill. Now it was totally the wrong thing to do, but Ireland probably did more for the Allied war effort in terms of both Irish men fighting, Irish women going to the UK and working and intelligence work (the best intelligence on German u-boats until 1943 was gotten by the UK from Irish state agents on lookout around Irish shores) than quite a few countries who declared on Germany during the war, you can understand deV wanting to put one in the eye of Churchill when he shat all over the help Ireland gave the UK.
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