After I posted yesterday’s piece about the Battle of the Somme I came across, by accident, the following letter to The Guardian, which expresses my feelings as a historian rather better than ever I could manage myself. It reminds the reader what the EU was originally designed to achieve:
“In my lifetime I have seen world population increase threefold; a stable seasonal climate become wildly unstable with drought, forest fires and floods; the pollution by humanity of the planet’s earth, air and waters to a stage where all life is threatened; and violence become a permanent, continuous tragedy in a world of great uncertainty. The only stable community in this universal upheaval has been the European Union, formed from the wreckage of a continent for which I and millions of others fought six years of war.
“I write as a former airman, having flown well over 2,000 hours against three despotic enemy nations. That victory for the democracies has given Europe 70 years of peace and security in a widely unstable world. The Leave chancers are campaigning to abandon this steady progress, citing values false or irrelevant, while they have no plan of what to do after jumping ship. If the nation should fall for this deceit, I can only conclude the lives of my comrades – Irish, Scots, Welsh and English – were lost in vain. They will be rattling their bones, wherever in the world they fell, at the loss of the beliefs for which they fought. Britain in Europe will enhance progress to higher values in the greater world; Britain out means a return to the early 20th century chaos of warring states against each other.
I am 96. I remember how far we have come. I know what we stand to lose.”
Franklin Medhurst, DFC (RAF 1939-46), Carlton, County Durham
I’m not sure how likely war between Western European countries is should the EU collapse, my guess would be not very. What is more likely is what you mentioned in yesterday’s post, a furthering of conflict between Western Europe and Russia. While I agree that Britain should’ve stayed in to temper possible German expansionism, I would argue that such expansionism is not uniquely German. In fact, Germany’s Foreign Minister recently warned against ‘sabre-rattling’ with Russia. Rather, I think our failures in our policy towards Russia and Eastern Europe can be attributed to politicians across the EU. But the EU’s failures are no reason for its disbandment, but for change. The EU should be conciliatory towards Russia, and should limit if not halt eastward expansion. On the other hand, it should serve as a political bloc, an example of good governance and non-aggression. The way to beat our adversaries is by demonstrating the superiority of our values, not through direct military action against them.