One of the most successful examples of wartime spin was the
story surrounding the dambusters raid of May 16 –17 1943. RAF Wing Commander
Guy Gibson and his pilots of 617 Squadron were carefully selected to carry out
a daring and innovative bombing raid on five major dams in Western Germany, 'essential
to that country's defence capability'.
Using a special 'water skipping barrel bomb' two of the dams, the Moehne and
the Eder, were breached to their very foundations.
As the news broke Britain's joy was orgasmic. 'Floods Roar down the Ruhr
Valley,' screamed the Daily Express headlines. The Daily Mirror
not to be outdone glossed the story up. 'Hundreds of square miles of
devastation have spread through the Ruhr, Germany's most densely populated
industrial area, by the RAF's staggering attack on the Moehne and Eder dams.'
It was gleefully reported that 10,000 Germans had died.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson became an overnight hero and was awarded the
Victoria Cross. It was a welcome addition to his DSO and DFC, and he was
further rewarded with a tour of the United States.
A book on the raid, The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill became Britain's
biggest selling war book and is popular to this day. As with the equally
ludicrous movie The Great Escape millions have seen the recycled film of the
same title.
In 1972, after examining newly released Second World War documents, the author
and journalist Bruce Page wrote, "the truth about the raid was that it was a
conjuring trick, virtually devoid of any military significance, the 'skipping
bomb' just a gimmick. The real story of the raid was of sloppy planning,
narrow-minded enthusiasm, and misdirected courage.'
He added: "Apart from the aircrews, the only people to emerge from the story
with real credit are a handful of people in the Ministry of Economic Warfare
who tried to calculate in advance whether the raid would damage the German war
economy. They calculated accurately that it would not, but they were ignored."
The only dam whose damage would have potentially hit the war effort was the
Sorpe Dam. Yet only a token force had dealt with it and the damage was
minimal.
Certainly the breaching of the Moehne and Eder dams caused flooding but this
effected agricultural land, the one asset Germany had in abundance. After
World War 1 800,000 civilians had died of starvation during the 1919 Royal
Naval blockade of war ravaged Germany. The new German leader had seen to it
that his nation would be self-sufficient; in fact Germany was one of the few
nations in Europe capable of feeding itself.
Contrary to propaganda the raid did not effect hydro-electricity production
because the Moehne Dam had negligible electrical capacity and the Eder had
none.
The actual loss of life was 1,300. These were working class civilians and the
greatest loss of life was that of non-Germans; the displaced Ukrainian
civilians, mostly women and children who were housed in camps downstream of
the Moehne Dam.
50% of the RAF airmen never returned. 53 died; a number of them Canadians. Guy Gibson later died in action. The official who commented on the raid used the
term 'disappointing'. Own goal might have been a little more apt.
FALLING INTO GERMAN HANDS
Few conflicts in human history have attracted such a bad press as did the
German armed forces. But as so often in postwar propaganda this was mostly
fantasy. Even captured members of allied units concede that they had little to
complain about
American researcher Ralph Franklin Keeling who meticulously studied the
aftermath agrees: "It must be brought home to the American people that much of
what they have been led to believe was born of propaganda. That the Germany
Army, for example, actually behaved itself very correctly toward the people of
occupied territories whose governments were signatories to the Hague and
Geneva Conventions. The facts are now well known, and are beyond dispute,
despite the opposite picture painted in the Press as part of the horrendous
business of war."
William (Wily) Shirer, the Jewish compiler of the discredited tome 'Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich' reveals how in June 1940 French women had fled Paris
in fear of the Germans. 'It seems the Parisians actually believed the Germans
would rape the women and do worse to the men. The ones who stayed are all the
more amazed at the very correct behaviour of the troops".
Frederick C. Crawford, President of Thompson Products, on an inspection tour
organised by the U.S. War Department said: "The Germans tried to be careful in
their dealings with the people. We were told that if a citizen attended
strictly to business and took no political or underground action against the
occupying army, he was treated with correctness.
Pulp magazines and books have been condemned for painting lurid pictures of
the German occupation of the Channel Islands. Charles Cruickshank however, a
noted expert and author claim otherwise. "The German behaviour was correct;
that they were quite amiably received by most people; there was no real
sabotage and no real resistance movement. That as long as there was food, the
civilians had their fair share and the conditions for the islanders were a
good deal better than it was for the Wehrmacht in May, 1945."
Those who were occupied agreed. "The Germans were angels compared to the
Communists", says Zite Kaulius. "Persecuted Christians came out of hiding. My
father who had been arrested was released by the Germans. He came home with
his hands raw. The Communists had tortured him by plunging his hands into
boiling water until his skin came off like gloves."
THE ALLIED ARMED FORCES SALUTE HITLER'S GERMANY
The most notable defenders of German integrity came from the higher echelons
of the allied armed forces. "Very few German officers committed actions by
their own free will during World War 11 of such a nature that they, because of
such actions, could be regarded as war criminals," says Major General H.
Bratt, Royal Swedish Army.
French Army Chief of Staff Lionel-Max Chassin agreed. "The American admirals
were courageous. They defended their German counterparts and saved their
lives. Why didn't the generals of the ground armies do as much? They behaved
contemptibly because I don't think that the German ground armies committed any
crimes."
NO ATROCITY PROBLEM
He was referring to the almost universal agreement among highly placed U.S.
armed forces personnel who were unstinting in their praise of their former
foes. Major General Robert W. Grow, Commander 6th Armored Division in Europe
spoke for his counterparts when he said, "My service during World War 11 was
in command of an armored division throughout the European campaign, from
Normandy to Saxony.
My division lost quite a number of officers and men captured between July 1944
and April 1945. In no instance did I hear of personnel from our division
receiving treatment other than proper under the 'Rules of Land Warfare'. As
far as the 6th Armored Division was concerned in its 280 days of front line
contact, there was no 'atrocity problem'. Frankly, I was aghast, as were many
of my contemporaries, when we learned of the proposed 'war crimes' trials and
the fact that military commanders were among the accused.... I know of no
general officer who approved of them."
BETTER OFF THAN EVER BEFORE
Even foreign workers were treated well: "It is true that the Reich exacted
forced labour from foreign workers, but it is also true that, they were for
the most part paid and fed well," says Ralph F. Keeling, "I think some of the
persons found themselves better off than at any time in their lives before,"
added Dr.James K.Pollack. "What did the Germans do to get efficient production
from forced labour that we were not able to do with Germans working down the
mines? They fed their helpers and fed them well."
THE BARBED WIRE UNIVERSITIES
The realities of German POW camps and the level of inmate welfare were far
better than that depicted by the victors' post war propaganda. Allied
servicemen often described German POW camps as 'barbed wire universities'.
In them internees could learn new skills and develop old ones. Typical courses
might be astronomy, singing, literature, and naturally, learning the German
language. Many returned to Blighty armed not with their rifle but with a
degree from which their future lives and those of their families benefited.
The most high profile was Lord Mulley, M.P., Cabinet Member and former Defence
Secretary. The then lance-sergeant was captured at Dunkirk and spent the next
four years in German POW camps in Poland, East Prussia and Bavaria. He used
his time to good effect - by passing examinations in a number of subjects,
including economics and banking."