I passed by the war memorial
On an autumn afternoon
And, hearing children, thought of Sassoon
The sun soon sets.
On the war dead.
In school war poets are read.
Owen and Sassoon are learned.
And memorials are built still.
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K Morris - Poet 
But the horrors aren’t remembered. Just the names of those who endured them.
And the poetry is just an exercise to pass an exam.
If it were otherwise , wars would no longer be being fought.
You make some good points, Vivienne. I think some students (and readers more generally) do really engage with the war poets and don’t just see them as a means to gaining good exam grades. However, this does not prevent wars.
More’s the pity.
The majority of people, in my opinion, don’t want wars. If it were left to a referendum as to whether a war is fought or not, I think it would come out ‘no’.
Wars always end in talks, so why not begin there?
Whilst I hate war, I do believe that there is such a thing as a just war. The war against Nazi Germany is, I think the best example of a just war. Had we not given into Hitler over Czechoslovakia in 1938 it is, I guess just possible we could have avoided the outbreak of war in September 1939. However, given the ideology of Nazism waw would, I believe have been inevitable somewhere down the line given the warnings Hitler himself included in Mein Kampf. I also think that had the President of Ukraine called a referendum following the invasion of his country by Russia that the overwhelming majority of Ukraine’s citizens would have voted to take up arms in the defence of their country.
You are right, of course. It’s difficult to see how Nazi-ism could have been defeated otherwise.
” Now, Herr Hitler. Killing all those Jews is a really wicked thing. You must stop immediately.”
And Hitler replied, “You are right, of course. I’m sorry I started along that path. Of course the Jews are just people and have a right to live, like the rest of us. They are no more responsible for our problems than anyone else.”
But many can be avoided, like going into another country and taking it over. (UK, are you listening? British Empire and all that.)
History is always complex. And the British Empire did do some good in the countries they occupied.
Of course, the idea of British superiority wasn’t good, and the way the native populations were treated as lesser beings was shocking. They were servants in their own countries.
The words you put into Hitler’s mouth are amusing in a black comedy sort of way. As you intimate Hitler would never have said the words you put into his mouth. I agree the British Empire (as with all empires) has black spots on it’s reputation. However, I believe the legacy of Britain’s imperial past is complex and we need to look at their complexity. For example Britain can, I believe take pride in it’s eforts to surpress slavery. A great deal of money was spent in patrolling the seas and freeing slaves once Britain had itself abolished slavery.
A kind of lifestyle. ;-/ xx Michael