revolution

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12.9.40 [George Orwell]

September 12, 2010 in Churchill, East End, Elephant and Castle, Hitler, Ireland, Political, Scotland, South Coast, War-time, Warsaw, West End, air force, air-raids, bombs, destruction, garage hand, homeless, invasion, patriotism, pessimism, profit, revolution, rich, south London, stephen spender, war by orwelldiaries

As soon as the air-raids began seriously it was noticeable that people were much readier than before to talk to strangers in the street. . . . . This morning met a youth of about 20, in dirty overalls, perhaps a garage hand.  Very embittered and defeatist about the war, and horrified by the destruction he had seen in South London.  He said that Churchill had visited the bombed area near the Elephant[1] and at a spot where 20 out of 22 houses had been destroyed, remarked that it was “not so bad”.  The youth: “I’d have wrung his bloody neck if he’d said it to me.” He was pessimistic about the war, considered Hitler was sure to win and would reduce London to much the same state as Warsaw.  He spoke bitterly about the people rendered homeless in South London and eagerly took up my point when I said the empty houses in the West End should be requisitioned for them.  He considered that all wars were fought for the profit of the rich, but agreed with me that this one would probably end in revolution.  With all this he was not unpatriotic.  Part of his grouch was that he had tried to join the Air Force 4 times in the last 6 months, and always been put off.

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24.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 24, 2010 in Canada, Churchill, Duff-Cooper, Eileen, England, Flandin, France, Frenbch, French Communists, German armistice, Gwen, Hitler, LDV, Laval, Manifesto of Plain Men, Mass Observation, News Chronicle, Petain, Political, Richard Acland, Russia, Spain, Stalin, Verdun, War-time, capitalists, class, collaboration, conquest, demotic speech, left, pacifist, patriots, propaganda, red army, revolution, revolutionary government, revolutionary war, revolvers, right, speeches, winter by orwelldiaries

The German armistice terms are much as expected. . . . What is interesting about the whole thing is the extent to which the traditional pattern of loyalties and honour is breaking down. Pétain, ironically enough, is the originator (at Verdun) of the phrase “ils ne passeront pas”, so long an anti-Fascist slogan. Twenty years ago any Frenchman who would have signed such an armistice would have had to be either an extreme leftwinger or an extreme pacifist, and even then there would have been misgivings. Now the people who are virtually changing sides in the middle of the war are the professional patriots. To Pétain, Laval[1], Flandin[2] and Co. the whole war must have seemed like a lunatic internecine struggle at the moment when your real enemy is waiting to slosh you. . . . It is therefore practically certain that high-up influences in England are preparing for a similar sell-out, and while e.g. — is at — there is no certainty that they won’t succeed even without the invasion of England. The one good thing about the whole business is that the bottom is being knocked out of Hitler’s pretence of being the poor man’s friend. The people actually willing to do a deal with him are bankers, generals, bishops, kings, big industrialists, etc., etc. . . . . Hitler is a leader of tremendous counterattack of the capitalist class, which is forming itself into a vast corporation, losing its privileges to some extent in doing so, but still retaining its power over the working class. When it comes to resisting such an attack as this, anyone who is of the capitalist class must be treacherous or half-treacherous, and will swallow the most fearful indignities rather than put up a real fight. . . . whichever way one looks, whether it is at the wider strategic aspects or the most petty details of local defence, one sees that any real struggle means revolution. Churchill evidently can’t see or won’t accept this, so he will have to go. But whether he goes in time to save England from conquest depends on how quickly the people at large can grasp the essentials. What I fear is that they will never move until it is too late.

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16.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 16, 2010 in Churchill, Conservative Party, German conquest, L.D.V., Political, U.S.A., War-time, concentration camp, newspapers, revolution, wages by orwelldiaries

This morning’s papers make it reasonably clear that at any rate until after the presidential election, the U.S.A will not do anything, i.e. will not declare war, which in fact is what matters. For if the U.S.A is not actually in the war there will never be sufficient control of either business or labour to speed up production of armaments. In the last war this was the case even when the U.S.A was a belligerent.

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