What Did Ireland Do in World War 2? | History of Ireland 1939 - 1945 

The vast majority of WW1 volunteers from Ireland went because they trusted John Redmond and believed Home Rule would be the result. (This is apart from the Unionist minority in the Northeast who believed the opposite.) Both beliefs were encouraged by the British government, but the Unionists were the ones whom, in practice, they always favoured. It’s highly doubtful that so many non-Unionists from Ireland would have joined up if Home Rule had not been made law (but “deferred” to the end of the war). To this day the Royal British Legion steal the credit and sacrifice of the Home Rule Dead every year in WW1 commemorations in Ireland despite those men standing for the absolute opposite of everything about the British Legion.

@@cou1202 indeed. It's no wonder that a lot of those Irish Volunteers who went and survived France subsequently would enlist in the IRA or at the very least covertly assist them. My own grandfather went through all 4 years and then trained the IRA company in Laffansbridge, Co Tipperary. He's only became an official member of the IRA in the truce period, going by the national military archive records

@@cou1202 Utter nonsense. Not evey Irishman was or is a political zealot. Most Irishmen volunteered for the same reasons as those in the rest of the then United Kingdom i.e. adventure, bonds of friendship, and for economic reasons. A 17 year old Tom Barry (yes that Tom Barry) enlisted ‘for no other reason than that I wanted to see what war was like, to get a gun, to see new countries and to feel a grown man’ There seems to be a trend in Ireland of rewriting history along the lines of a nationalist over romanticised work of fiction. This extends to the 1916 Irish Rebellion which was met with nothing less than public apathy.

@@Kaiserbill99 even after independance and up to the present day, Irish citizens from the Republic serve in the British military.

@@cou1202 what a load of rubbish. Accept the fact that the majority of Irish people in 1914 were loyal to the British Empire and fought for the King.

Ooof

My grandfather fought, fought and fought.....and he still has to go.

Cool

Which side did he fight for? Or was he a communist and fought on both sides?

@@noelpucarua2843 That was the French wasn’t it? Depending on who was winning at the time dictated which side the French were on.

hi nepoleon big fan

You are not quite accurate sir; Shortly after Dunkirk, Churchill sent a minute to Lord Ismay, Head of the War Department's Military Wing, stating "Schemes should be prepared to enable two or three lightly-equipped brigades to move at short notice.....into Northern ireland." By January 1941 there were three divisions (not brigades) in the Province - 5th, 53rd and 61st - stationed in Omagh, Armagh and Enniskillen. In fact, at that time, there were more British troops in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in the UK! There were also up to 20 airfields in full operation, including the amphibious Sunderland and Catalina bases at Killadeas and Castle Archdale in Lough Erne (this being the base of operations via "The Secret Corridor" between Eire and NI) Many Allied pilots crashed or otherwise landed in the ROI and were interned there, although whether they were Allied or German, they had virtuallly total freedom to go about as they wished. The only "defensive" plans by the Eire Government, was the placing of large signs around the coastline, containing one word "Eire" to dissuade any attack on a neutral country. The signs also had a 2-digit number which only made sense to the Allied pilots, as they gave indication to the location for pilots seeking the "Corridor" and landing area in Lough Erne.

Yeah Churchill also threatened to invade Ireland at least on seven if I remember correctly this includes his victory speech on VE DAY where he said it would’ve been very easy. This really didn’t go down well in Ireland. In the response the Irish p.m. noted that Britain war only alone for 3 years Against a violent aggressor well Ireland’s do it for 700 years against its own violent aggressor. Also a brigade is a pretty small amount to send. I’m curious to know what is this all that they could spare or were they legitimately worried that Churchill would say something that would make the Irish thing that they were going to the invaded. Sidenote Churchill is a really hated in Ireland to this day for the black and tans and the creation of the B specials.

@@reggriffiths5769 Emergency status was declared and Irish military was substantially boosted. aka ''the emergency''. UK had a secret RAF airbase agreed with Irelands govt, for the case of UK being invaded. See "Cranbourne report".

@@tedcrilly46 Why are you directing your comment to me? I made no reference to Eire's "Emergency," or it's military, and if you read my comments properly, you'll note that I made special mention of the "Secret Corridor" and the two named bases in Lough Erne. Why are you also directing me to the Cranbourne Report?

My dad was in the Irish army and he knew a guy that was kidnapped in Africa by neutral tribesmen that had no idea what the UN even was. They just saw white men with guns stomping around and kidnapped them. My details may be fuzzy or wrong, but the very high stress situation of having no idea if they'd be killed and the language barrier meant that he developed OCD about locking doors etc. My dad said the men used to take bets as to how many times he would check if he'd locked a door, often close to 8 times

@Black Lesbian Poet I'm sorry what? What does that have to do with anything?

@Black Lesbian Poet Erm, last time I checked, it is, and I can make free choices with it.

@Black Lesbian Poet ?! Ok, I don't know what brand of paint thinner you've been sniffing, but it must be something real strong ... or you could just be a troll who knows.

@Black Lesbian Poet No I haven't But whatever you say bud, I'm gonna travel back to reality now to save my sanity.

Actually i make it 23 years - easter rising was 1916 and this could be said to be "actively fighting" against the British which is what the narration said

@@DJLtravelvids irish war of independence ended in late 1921

Mathematics is in question..but otherwise ok

@@DJLtravelvids 18 years. Easter rising wasn’t the last open conflict

Never Trust a Tory.

@@solidus784 yes, but more importantly the Unionists in Northern Ireland would have fought against it, regardless of the wishes of the British government.

@@Coillcara Ulidians will always fight to stop the Irish from taking them over, even if England betrays them.

@@Bemix666NUCLAR That pack of Scots

Yes, Churchill didn’t even ask or inform the northern Irish govt because he knew they’d never agree

Montgomery was an interesting choice to plan an invasion of Cork. I believe he had served under Percival in the notorious Essex Regiment in Bandon, County Cork, in 1919-21.

No, Montgomery was equal rank to Percival. Tom Barry fought against both them. He respected Montgomery but hated Percival. He, also, considered Montgomery the more dangerous foe, because he was organised and methodical in way that Percival was not.

@@k3D4rsi554maq Interesting and I didn't know that little nugget, which is probably evidenced by the performance of both in WWII. Monty used incredible organisational skills to eject Rommel from North Africa. Percival was looking the wrong way twice when the Japanese took Singapore. First he was looking out to sea in compliance with conventional "wisdom" that any assault would come from that direction. Second, he had two months from the time the Japanese landed in Northern Malaya in December 1941 before they appeared across the Johore Strait in early February. His poor planning, siting of defences, ignorance of his opponents deficiencies, inability to react to events, and complete refusal to listen to sound advice from subordinates led to what Churchill described as the "worst disaster in British military history". Karma's a bitch, huh!

@@paulhouston670 His sister lived in Dublin all her life.

Lets not forget the roll if the Irish Met Service during WW2. The Met station at Valentia,Kerry regularly sent weather forecast to British military. Thus,the original Normandy landings were postponed due to adverse weather forecasts. If it has gone ahead,the Allies would have been defeated.

Just like all neutral countries during WW2.

Also Salazar was playing the British and Germans off each other

The Anglo-Portugese Alliance came into play.

@@geoffpoole483 Yes as Salazar managed to maintain good relations with Britian even though Portugal was Neutral

no

I read an account about the channel Islands where civilians from the islands were deported as forced labour by the Germans to mainland Europe. Their houses were taken over by collaborators and people more compliant to German rule. On their return some people had a hard time getting back possession of their houses from the illegal occupiers, causing enmities and hostilities between erstwhile neighbours which exist to this day. By some accounts some families could not bring themselves to reoccupy their rightful homes and moved elsewhere on the islands when they could. The Channel Islands were not liberated from the Germans until May 1945 the entire population, both garrisoned Germans and Islanders, suffering great hunger and privations in that time. This was similar to parts of Holland and Denmark which were also not liberated until the very end of the war in Europe.

Great comment, pity the governments north and south couldn’t have cooperated as well for covid as the governments at the time. And the gulf was certainly greater then moreso than now. Still really dislike De Valera for the condolences was so unnecessary and petty in my opinion.

@@beaglaoich4418 No one particularly liked Dev but we had shot Collins so someone had to do the job.

@Black Lesbian Poet We're not taking over anything, even if they do decide to join willingly and it is an if they will be a massive financial burden in order to accommodate everyone. It's not workable in any way if the loyalists decide to rile up the rest of the unionist community into insurrection. Stop shitstirring

@Black Lesbian Poet .......are you lost? Like mentally?

@Black Lesbian Poet Jesus...my sis is a doc if you need some Valium or Xanax?

That's Interesting. Did they ever tell you any war stories?

may be a relative of mine. I have ancestros from County Mayo

My grandmother left County Limerick to join the nursing effort in the UK.

Really takes some balls to join a war you aren't pressured into joining. A Britsh man would be seen as a cowered if he didn't join up but for an Irish person to join without those social pressures, really shows courage.

@@leebush4053 Really? Well you know your grandmother? She was a heroine. Britain owed her a debt I suspect was never fully paid. I hope she lived a happy and fulfilling after the war. God bless her.

So he was a traitor to his homeland great 🤔

@@jasondoherty4773 him and all the others to fought against tyranny.

@@jasondoherty4773 don't be so stupid - unless Ireland was allied with Germany how on earth could he have been a traitor?

@@aine1169 800 hundred years of British oppression says ur wrong..🇮🇪🇮🇪✌️✌️

@@tdolan500 tyranny coming from the butcher's apron (union jack) the irony..🧐

You got there before me! However, being a fan of Lord of the Rings I actually enjoy being called Eowyn from time to time lol

I think Hilbert gets respect for a decent go raibh maith agat 😏

It’s pronounced more like Owin, as opposed to having an ‘en’ sound at the end.

And "Fianna Fáil" is pronounced Fianna Failure

Then why aren't they spelled that way?

An astute observation And equally true today as it was then Perhaps even more so

"When quoting, using quotation marks helps. It's what they were invented for." By me, just now.

@@evanray8413 "never"

@@crossburns5753 "he's a mad man" -me

@@whitefox8376 "MAD I TELL YOU " - MEE

Also de Valera paid a courtesy call to Dr. Hempel, Head of the German ligation in Dublin. There has never been any evidence of a book of condolences existing.

If you want a place pronounced 'Cove' in English, then it should be spelt 'Cove' and not Cobh - otherwise the English pronunciation is similar to that of a small bun: c-o-b. We don't call the capital of France Paree - we call it Paris.

​@@reality-cheque This is one of the more ignorant things I've read in a YT comment section. In Irish, the bh sound is pronounced as a v. For example; the name Niamh is pronounced Neve. As Cobh is Cove. You don't get to tell the Irish how to spell their own names.

@@reality-cheque *

If any of our forefathers came back, they'd be disgusted by the line up in the Dail. Frank aiken and Dan breen wouldn't be long giving that half cast traitor a slug.

This RU-vidr is Dutch. (I was fooled, too, the first time I saw one of their videos.)

@@gulag8735 They wouldn't be long picking out a Cairo Gang list for them arseholes in the Dail

Isn't Hilbert Dutch?

@MsMissy *vikings invaded*

Was very interesting also. This was better. But I'm a biased Irishman :P

@Black Lesbian Poet I'm the racist? Look in the mirror.

Ireland took a lot of German refugees. Lots of kids whose parents had been killed in the War.

Anything to upset the Brits lol

@@tc2664 No f-that! By this stage the holocaust was official, verified camp after camp by the red cross, charities, and civilians. Shame on De Valera for this and for the nazi embassy remaining fully operational throughout the war.

De Valera said that....he did not say that on behalf of any Irish with an ounce of decency.

who signed queen victorias book of condolences. how many innocents did she genocide?

@@oisinmccool3019 how many people did thr British "civilize" what happened in Australia cx where millions of Irish and Scottish nationalists were sent to slave away and forced to kill natives of the colonies?

Cool! May I ask what part of Ireland you are from ?

@@keaneoldham7932 in the deepest, darkest part of West galway

The extent of the urban bombing campaigns was minimised and My parents, who emigrated to England just after the war in 1945, were appalled at the extent of the damage done to houses in their adopted new home of Manchester. Many Irish people just after the war found ready employment as builders and nurses at a time when jobs were few at home and money very tight. Two of my Aunts on my mothers side of the family married Englishmen just after the War, one Uncle served in Coastal Command, RAF in a technical role and the other Uncle was in the Merchant Navy, carrying supplies across the Atlantic but he was not old enough at the time of great danger in such roles in the Battle of the Atlantic, the worst of the U-boat attacks were over by the time he joined up. All my family were lucky in both wars, they were too young to be involved at the height of hostilities, same with my grandparents born in the 1880's and just too old to be enlisted in WW1. It is true that many west of Ireland people did not follow or did not know much about the cataclysmic events taking place in Europe at that time. Big news items was rationing and shortages of fuel and mechanical parts. Food was relatively plentiful as most people were farmers or had relatives who were farmers so could source supplies relatively easily. My father remembers seeing bananas and oranges for the first time just after the war and rationing did not stop in England until 1953.

@@magnus4752 I find that very hard to believe.

Yes but those countries had been colonized by British people and then kindly asked for a form of independence whilst retaining strong ties to Britain. Look at NZ and Australia's flags. Ireland is different in that it had been invaded by Britain, fought for centuries for independence, suffered greatly under British rule and eventually the country was controversially partitioned and its people divided so there would have been a lot of resistance to joining Britain in a war. Also Britain had left the country in an awful economic mess and Ireland was not in a financial position to support a war effort an it made complete sense to stay out of it.

I recommend reading about Jadotville as well as the movie. The Irish soldiers saw even more action after that siege and were very impressive.

I believe after Jadotville in the Congo The United Nations adopted a policy of all united Nations peace keeping forces getting permission to defend themselves & the people in their care, hence the massacre in Serbernicina ( excuse my spelling) Bosnia.

@@murpho999 one correction: it was the Norman's who invaded and colonised Ireland, just as they had England and Wales beforehand. England and Wales were under the rule of French speaking Norman elites in the 12th century. British rule in Ireland was just a continuation of Norman rule.

The message I got from it was don't f**k with Ireland 😆✌

@@jamesmarrinan3244 One reason for Irish history being so complicated is its relationship with Britain and its eventual independence. One would think that a relatively small island whose inhabitants (with the exception of the Gaeltacht) spoke the same spoke the same language and followed various forms of Christianity would have a straightforward history. Wrong! I think De Valera performed a delicate balancing act during the Emergency.

True however the reason why the Irish speak English is because of the British invasion. The gaeltacht is what we could've been today had the British left us alone.

@@jamesmarrinan3244 Yes, but to be fair, we would have had to learn English in school rather than Irish.

In case you are searching, the name is Fisk, not Risk. Quite an old book, but good. Trying to be helpful!

Girvin's book is a polemic, not a history. He condemns Irish neutrality and is fully of prejudice.

But fair play like, most people would go "Cob.... uhh... cobihuh"

@@fhearrbod858 He did ask how he did with the pronunciations, and Cobh was the one which stood out to me as well.

@@dyread I know, just saying, he did more well with the pronunciations than most people

@@fhearrbod858 Yes I agree. Thinking about it now I'm wondering how as an Irish person I know how that is pronounced. I'm presuming Geography class because there really isn't anything about it that looks like it could be pronounced Cove.

@@dyread It looks like it should be pronounced "Cuv" if you apply Irish language phonetics.

Oh absolutely but there was a general idea back since the treaty that they would force the North in by economically devastating them by returning the 3 more nationalist counties back to Ireland making it near impossible for the other 3 to stay either independent or part of britain

@@monaghangm if the three nationalist counties were reunified, it would also mean the three remaining counties would NEVER reunify because they'd have a huge unionist majority.

@@kevburke realistically yeah they wouldn't

@@kevburke but that was still the plan. Put them in a situation where they literally couldn't survive without joining Ireland but I think the British really underestimated the unionist hatred of the irish

It would probably result in another bloody civil war in all six counties from the plan

And "ayawen" for Eoin like it'd not that hard to say

And the legend is that some wee Belfast man was pulled from the rubble and found it was Dublin firemen around him and reacted 'Jesus, that was some bomb!'

Eamon De Valera said of the bombings from the Luftwaffe that were raining down on Belfast were on our people. Further emphasis on a united Ireland. IRA sided with Germans during this time. The old saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend very apt. Southern Ireland played a blinder staying out and I believe it did help the Allies by staying neutral. Invasion from Germany and the National Army wouldn't of stood a chance up against the Third Riech. Pincer movement would of been achieved from Ireland and France totally cutting off the UK and ultimate invasion. History would of been totally different, ya meine damen und herren.

Belfast is part of the North. Which is part of the UK.. Not Ireland. I know because I live here.

@@paulnolan6866 No one here disputed Belfast's location as being in Northern Ireland. This thread of comments refers to how in the 1940s the constitution of the Republic of Ireland claimed Northern Ireland (this has since changed) because they claimed the entire island of Ireland (the name of the entire island ignoring political boundaries). Thus in WW2 it was justifiable for De Valera and still "neutral" when he send aid into the north following it getting bombed by the Germans.

Yes but Northern Ireland was still part of the UK so why wouldn't the rest of the UK send help?

Fucking Gaels... have such a cool and interesting language but god is it hard for me. It’s like French, it goes against my German language programming to not be able to sound a word out

@@Wombat_Astronaut And Craigavon has the accent on the penultimate syllable. The built a "New City" in Armagh in his memory. Quare stuff, thon filum!

@@Wombat_Astronaut I've found that breaking other languages' sounds into pieces helps a lot over time. When I first started learning Irish, I tried committing all the pronunciation rules to memory at once and failed to retain anything. BUT I always remembered how "aoi" is pronounced because I'd already known the name Aoife - so I tried just picking up one new rule at a time, and it worked out great. If you give yourself ample time to focus on one or two sounds before moving onto the next, eventually it adds up and starts feeling almost as natural as pronouncing your native language.

@@Wombat_Astronaut Oldest written vernacular language in Europe and the spelling comes straight from the seventh century (",)

@@Wombat_Astronaut as an Irish person, it’s hard for me too I don’t blame you for having trouble

@Black Lesbian Poet stop spreading misinformation and inciting hate

@Black Lesbian Poet so you based your view on a person based on what you believe their skin colour to be... Is there a word for that? Feel like there a word for that Oh right racism.

@Black Lesbian Poet You don't know their race or gender... so doesn't that make you racist and sexist?

@Black Lesbian Poet I’m black and you make our race look bad

@Black Lesbian Poet I have a question do you feel suppressed

According to a previous poster, who also claimed it wasn't really a unification offer, such a referendum only applied to Belfast. So....

You know, I'm not so sure about that. I know it sounds suspect, but consider the following: - When France fell, there was serious consideration to reforming both countries into a Franco-British, though the idea was deemed slightly less palatable to Nazi occupation by the French High Command. The environment of World War II at the time was one of absolute panic and out the box thinking. They were prepared to make a literal deal with the devil at that point. Giving up Northern Ireland in exchange for Irish entry into the War might just have sounded like a pretty good deal at that point. Remember, both America and Russia had yet to enter the War. It would have appeared fairly desperate, and there were calls to attempt a settlement with Hitler that Church was prepared to do just about anything to avoid... - Also, consider that the dissolution of the British Empire, whilst incompetent and careless, was largely peaceful, in that it was disassembled without the need for rebellion or revolution in most parts of the world. There was little public resistance to the notion in Britain, mostly due an aversion to Empire born out of World War II, and due to the recognised contributions of most of the Considering also that most of the Empire fell apart in the years following WWII. Compared to all of that, Northern Ireland is a very small area. It would seem strange to give up dominion over so much of the world, only to cling on to Northern Ireland... It isn't entirely inconceivable that they could have just added Northern Ireland to list of returned territories, if Ireland had fought against Nazi Germany. There would still have been significant sectarianism. It wouldn't have been quiet or straightforward. But it might have been enough. And if America had entered into the War in 1941 as in our timeline, I could imagine them pressuring Britain to keep its agreements. It seems like a longshot to us now of course. But given the environment and situation at the time? I could actually see it happening. Just about. Its fun to think about, at any rate. I like to imagine different timelines.

@@benlowe1701 I can see your point that if Ireland joined they would have the leverage over british and might actually force them into giving up NI but that's wasn't the main issue, it was the unionists in ulster themselves who were against any notion of unification. I'm talking extreme hardliners bred from over decades of sectarianism that will try anything and everything to oppose it. We'd likely see something like the Troubles happening decades earlier if it was the case. This is why unifying the island has always difficult even if the british did not object to it and is the reason why ireland was partitioned in the first place.

9:04 Yea, this is a complete misrepresenation of what happened. Churchill spoke of "One nation once again", which also could have meant that Ireland would have been reunited with its own british occupied north by way of re-annexation into the UK. Churchill was very vague on purpose, as the very cunning man he was, he obviously understood that he would be accused of having lied to the Irish later on, had he made a more substantial offer, which he wasn't prepared to make. Hence it was just a diplomatic trick to get the Irish in his boat. Eamon De Valera had no reason to trust the British at all, and thus he rejected the extremely vague "offer" and told Churchill that the British needed to leave the Irish alone.

@@Ryan_Winter When your backs to the wall and the freedom of Europe is at stake I’m sure you would do anything to get an advantage. What would a free Ireland have done had Britain fallen - all alone on the western edge of a Europe dominated by an evil facist dictatorship who would have had no qualms of walking into Ireland. Dance with the devil at your peril.

Your pro pic disgusts me

@@toker6664 are you intolerant or intoxicated?

Your pro pic disgusts me

Oh that's pretty epic, what parts of Irish history have you covered

@@ahopefor Well from the Dark ages to WW2, learned alot about the Troubles as well.

@@elemperadordemexico That's really cool.

Sweden was the one of the NAZIs main source of raw materials in WW2. Had they refused to send the materials to Germany , Hitler would have invaded the country.

@@Struieboy Most famous was the high grade Iron Ore from the Swedish mines at Kiruna which was shiiped through the Norwegian port of Narvik down to Germany.

Do you know any war stories? I'd be interested to hear.

@@alfiejob6546 no, he was a 16 y/o cook's helper.

@@avnrulz8587 Ah, okay.

@Charlie@78 I believe the pilot you're thinking of is Paddy Finucane.

@Charlie@78 He was killed after being shot down over the English channel, so it most likely is him you're thinking of.

An a mhaith ;)

Some of them got to study for degrees.

I'm guessing the Germans didn't like the English banter.

I knew you were Irish based off the word "class"

I’d also love to see a video of them…lined up against a wall 💥

@@elemdy914 it's history ok, I you don't like history them don't bother watching it

@@cameronburke8002 aye its a common saying 😂😂

@@cathanmccann1769 it's a class saying

German?

@@rolandtours8404 It was called the SGCS and it was after the fall of Berlin. Most of them were orphans. There was some French and Polish kids too. We don't deserve recognition for it because they wouldn't take Jewish children, only Christians. Not very woke.

@@stevekildare4053 and also because the Save the German Children Society featured the involvement of a nazi spy in Ireland, Hermann Görtz, who was its secretary.

@@Coillcara I couldn't care less about that. You know how many Nazi scientists went to NASA afterwards?

@@stevekildare4053 there are generally rather noticeable differences in motivations between spies and scientists.

To be fair the DUP have always been a few sticks short of a bundle!

Well also, whether rightly or wrongly (in my view over-simplistically), Dev had been (+ still often is) accused of causing the Civil War. As J. J. Lee said (in “Ireland 1912 - 1985”), if Dev had joined Britain’s side in WW2, the *very first* result would have been a *2nd* civil war. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde’s Lady Bracknell, to be accused of causing *one* civil war may be considered a misfortune _ to be accused of *TWO* looks like carelessness. 😉 Lee adds: *”And by 1939, there was NOTHING careless about the foreign policy of Eamon De Valera”.*

And Eire sold Her sovereignty to Germany.. EU.. For a Hand full of Euros.. To be payed back over the next 40yrs.. Brexit is A Bold Move👍🏻🍀 a Blow in Brit living in Eire for past 22yrs..

@@ianosborne188 The EU is an organisation that allows countries to come together to work and discuss policies together and to share a certain amount of sovereignty to solve problems. It is not perfect but it is an attempt to avoid the awful mistakes of the past. If it is compared to British rule in Ireland where we had to Irexit with a violent war before we could break away from an appalling Empire where the Irish (and many others) had no say, it beats it easily. Brexit is a great move. The spoiled brat of the EU with all its privileges and optouts took itself out of the EU. They're out and many of us in the EU will do what we can to keep them out.

@@ianosborne188 Please go home.

A more accurate term would be non-belligerent.

aaaaand wtf has this got to do with Ireland? oh right. absolutely nothing.

@@evanray8413 the point was about neutral nations that were involved with WWII , my request was maybe to do a video about the time period when the US was calling itself neutral but really wasn’t.

@@philvanderlaan5942 like i said.

@@evanray8413 it’s related because they were both “neutral”. Even if it wasn’t what does it matter?

Newfoundland ceased to be a dominion in 1931. It reverted to being a Crown colony and retained that status throughout the War.

@@williamcooke5627 Well then, the history of the colony of Newfoundland during WW2 it will be

@@Game_Hero graciously said, Sir.

The figure was 70,000, of which about 9,100 military personnel and 200 civilians were killed.

@MrcabooseVG The UK Was never on the right side and it is perfectly understandeble why Irland had so much symphaty for Germany and why so many hate imperialism zionist Britain. History is written by the victors and Great Britain has commited so many crimes against humanity that this damn Island should be cursed.

@@bertrecht913 The UK wasn't on the right side? The other side murdered 6 million innocent people, raped female Russian soldiers shortly before killing them and massacred entire French villages so how do you come to that conclusion exactly?

@@bertrecht913 A nazi crying about crimes against humanity. There's a certain amount of irony in that comment.😂

That was probably more to save cash than anything else. If they could have shipped the Germans back easily they would have.

@Charlie@78 Source for this bs please?

@Charlie@78 Allowing them to be used would have result in the ports being obliterated by the Luftwaffe (and Ireland had no air force to defend itself).

@Charlie@78 What you're talking about would have brought the war to Ireland, making it an open target for the Nazis. They probably wouldn't have limited themselves to the three ports either and gone after Dublin and Cork as well - the 'neutrality' would have become meaningless.

@Charlie@78 Britain's refusal to disengage it's molesting fingers from Ireland led to millions of deaths, in Ireland, over hundreds of years. Get out of here you disgusting little troll.

They certainly did. Big difference between the actions of the government and the heart of the people. Every Irish who would leave Eire to fight for the British of all in the time they did is a special class. God Bless them.