Churchill's Aunt in Dresden?

[NYC XYZ]

Hi, All:

Just read that a widely-circulated rumor at the time was that Dresden
wouldn't be bombed 'cause Churchill had an aunt there. I also saw the
"General Hospital" episode of "Black Adder Goes Forth" which turned on
the joke about British aristocrats having German relations.

So is there some kind of book that explores that? A kind of "all you
ever wanted to know" volume about "royal/noble affairs" during WWII
(or, actually, even WWI -- though WWII-era should be more interesting,
given how much less involved as heads of state many were by then). I
mean, yeah, I read in passing that many British upper-crustmen were
sympathetic to the Germans, if not outright pro-Nazi...is there a
history on these things?

And yes I know the Kaiser was in Holland when Hitler invaded and
telegrammed his congrats...but anything other than little casual notes
in passing? I can't seem to locate any book dealing specifically with
this matter. Then again, I never have any luck with search engines.


TIA!
--

[Andrew Clark]

Post by NYC XYZ
mean, yeah, I read in passing that
many British upper-crustmen were
sympathetic to the Germans, if not
outright pro-Nazi...is there a
history on these things?

There are lots of shock-horror books purporting to claim
that the British aristocracy was awash with traitors and
pro-Nazis, but AFAIK no serious academic history.

On that subject, lots of British people of all social
classes sympathised with Germany in the late 1920's and
early 30's, as France turned the screw on reparations etc
and conditions in Germany seemed to worsen. That sympathy
turned, for many, to admiration as Hitler seemed to turn
around the German economy and restore national pride at a
time when the British economy was faltering. Most of the
'pro-German aristocracy' claims actually date from this
period

But, and it is a big but, the German aggressions of the
middle to late 30's increasingly turned that sympathy and
admiration off, and by the outbreak of war the Mass
Observations surveys indicated that few had much liking for
Germany. Thus, outside the tiny Fascist movement, the
Security Services in the UK during WW2 had little problem
with pro-Nazi subversion among British citizens, and
certainly not among the aristocracy.


--

[Don Phillipson]

Post by NYC XYZ
Just read that a widely-circulated rumor at the time was that Dresden
wouldn't be bombed 'cause Churchill had an aunt there.

Rumours like this appear to be common in wartime --
so long as no one attempts to verify them, as would
have been easy in this case, because the pedigree
of both Churchill's parents (Randolph Churchill and
Jennie Jerome) was widely known: i.e. it would have
been easy to identify all uncles and aunts still living
and find out where they were. But people gossiping
in a bus queue do not do this.

Post by NYC XYZ
So is there some kind of book that explores that? A kind of "all you
ever wanted to know" volume about "royal/noble affairs" during WWII
(or, actually, even WWI -- though WWII-era should be more interesting,
given how much less involved as heads of state many were by then). I
mean, yeah, I read in passing that many British upper-crustmen were
sympathetic to the Germans, if not outright pro-Nazi...is there a
history on these things?

Many books describe the English aristocracy of the
1930s viz. both such public pro-German organizations
as The Link (led by an MP interned in 1939 as disloyal)
to the strictly personal (friendship of Hitler with sisters
Unity and Diana Mitford, daughters of a Lord: Unity shot
herself in the head in Munich in 1939 but survived and
was repatriated, Diana and her husband Oswald Mosley,
leader of the British Union of Fascists, were imprisoned
up to about 1943.) The most notorious case is supposed
to have been Edward VIII (whom the SS hoped in 1940
might become a puppet king.)

The missing link (no pun) is the connection of these feelings
with practical matters, e.g. deployment of troops. Rex
Warner's 1940 novel The Aerodrome described the RAF
as itself a Fascist conspiracy, oriented towards creating
a military dictatorship over Britain. We now know top
Bomber Command commanders made all sorts of
catastrophically bad decisions in 1939-1940 which killed
off a large proportion of trained aircrew -- but this
is not the same thing. No evidence suggests the top
tier of the RAF was in 1939 composed of secret
fascists with or without aristocratic friends. But we can
read plenty about individuals who were e.g. Moseley.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
--

[Rich Rostrom]

Rex Warner's 1940 novel The Aerodrome described the RAF
as itself a Fascist conspiracy, oriented towards creating
a military dictatorship over Britain.

Umm, I haven't read this book - but a review at brothersjudd.com
notes that Anthony Burgess listed among his "Top 99 Modern Novels";
unlikely if it alleged wild conspiracies in the real RAF.

Reviewer Orrin Judd was also impressed, and his
review indicates the book is an allegory, set in
"The Village" and "The Aerodrome", and having
nothing to do with the real RAF.