The Second World War.

 The Second World War.

On this day 84 years ago the world woke up only to discover that the entire globe was at war. Suddenly the lights went out over London and the rest of the world, the thunderous thud of global conflict blasting out across the tired streets, roads and avenues which would be battered mercilessly and remorselessly by a sound that would provide the most grotesque acoustic ever to be heard anywhere. In retrospect we know it could have been avoided quite easily and yet we were once under the tyrannical rule of a mad and possessed man who became obsessed with death and destruction.

The Second World War was one of the most bloodthirsty and barbaric event of the 20th century. It was instigated by Adolf Hitler and his evil, pernicious machinations. From this day in 1939 the world came to a grinding halt, stunned by the grotesque savagery of war and hardly believing how much irreparable damage it would bring to a helpless world, convinced that it was some minor skirmish that would be over by that Christmas.

And yet we seriously underestimated the power and influence that Hitler could wield over humanity, the cold, calculating nature of the man, the heartless brutality of a man who sent shock waves over the human race and then there were the killing machines he employed without any discrimination whatsoever. Even now the horror stories are still multitudinous, the deafening bombing raids which murdered huge populations of every city, town and village throughout the land, still vivid in our minds. But then we bow our heads and wonder why and how it was allowed to happen without anybody knowing how long it would last for.

When Neville Chamberlain made that sombre, grave radio announcement about the beginning of the Second World War Britain shivered in its beds, trembling with fear and dreading the bleakest of futures. In hindsight those baby boomers who would come to represent the next couple of decades are merely bewildered commentators on today's world and can barely grasp the disgraceful magnitude of both war and the Holocaust.

For those of us who were grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, the gas chambers and concentration camps that provided such a dark backdrop for six continuous years of suffering still leaves us dumbfounded. We will never be able to imagine the tortured bodies, the tormented souls who were totally stripped of their dignity and those who just wept and cried, pleading for salvation and then discovering that by now the damage had been done and nobody could help them. It is undoubtedly one of the most criminal of all acts, mankind and humanity at its worst and an episode from history some of us would prefer to forget but know that we couldn't possibly wipe from our minds because it may still hurt.

On September the third 1939 the first air raid sirens sounded gruesomely across Britain, families across the world now confined to their living room indefinitely and acutely aware of  their fragility and vulnerability. By the time Hitler, Goebbels and Eichmann had woven together their callous conspiracies, dreadful plans and murderous intentions, most of the world knew what was about to happen. So it was that the world would now go into self preservation mode, sleeping in Tube train stations, Anderson shelters and underground bunkers that gave us security.

Then there were the terrifying and heart breaking goodbyes and the mass evacuation of closely knit families to the countryside. Both adults and children were being driven out of their homes because the Nazis had arrived in town and world domination would be theirs in no time at all. With identity lanyards around their necks and coats securely buttoned up, the people were led into a land of anonymity, complete detachment from the outside world and into the fiery pit of hell. 

Even now we look back at these life changing, seismic moments of our lives and can only hang our heads in shame despite being born 17 years after the event. The Second World War scarred then destroyed everything in its wake. It left those who experienced it permanently traumatised, speechless with astonishment and then broken by its severe repercussions. They who witnessed it all can only wonder how grossly disfigured the world would become, how disgusted we would become by something so completely beyond our understanding.

Across the villages and pubs, the lush green meadows and fields of England's green and pleasant land, there is now a pleasant hush, a splendid tranquillity, sanity, peace, normality, reason and common sense. No longer do we have to hide under the bed covers, kitchen tables and those pieces of furniture which would offer relief, comfort and sanctuary from the falling bombs. From the perspective of today we shudder with terror at the senseless futility of the Second World War or any war for that matter. It is just morally unacceptable and for some of us beyond forgiveness.

But we bring up our families in the 21st century and try to mend the shattered pieces in our heart because that generation has more or less vanished. We can only hope that nothing like it will ever visit our shores ever again. No war will ever darken our corridors again because what happened 84 years ago should never ever happen again. The suffering and tragedy of war is still alive in our consciousness. It still leaves its poisonous aura wherever it goes. It reduces the lovely people of Ukraine to a sobbing wreck, a country torn and ravaged by the blistering sound of gunfire and exploding bombs.

Its ghastly legacy may always haunt us. But the Second World War will always give eminent historians and documentary makers enough material to last a lifetime. We must hope that any modern version of Neville Chamberlain's speech will never ever tell us that owing to Nazi intransigence this country is subsequently at war with Germany. We will face today and the future with love in our hearts and lasting optimism for decades and centuries to come. The late and much loved John Lennon certainly knew what he was talking about. Peace should always be prevalent and relevant wherever we go. May it always be with us.