Ireland is the only member country of the British Commonwealth that has not joined the anti-Hitler coalition . During the war, the country maintained neutrality . The policy of neutrality was the result of a pre-war policy aimed at increasing sovereignty and entailing an increase in nationalism , which was associated with non-participation in hostilities on the side of the British. In addition, Ireland did not have a sufficiently developed defense system for participating in the war - the country's army was small (19,783 people, of which 7,223 were volunteers) and poorly armed (2 light tanks , 21 armored vehicles , 24 military aircraft).
On September 2, 1939, De Valera announced the following:
“We know what happens when a strong nation uses its power against a weak one. We know what aggression and partition mean, we have not forgotten our history, and while our country or any part of it is conquered ... our people, regardless of their sympathies ... will be guided by the interests of their country. "
Since the president defined the status of Ireland as a country that is not at war, but is in crisis because of the war, emergency legislation was introduced on September 3. During the war more than 7 thousand decrees and decrees regulating the functioning of the country were adopted; the state, limiting the rights of the population, took over the powers to protect public safety, order and supply. A curfew was introduced, additional police forces were created, land plowing became compulsory, the supply of population was rationalized, wages were frozen, trade union activity was limited, and censorship was strengthened (aimed at promoting neutrality through propaganda of neutrality as such and banning the publication of news about the horrors of war, in particular including on the crimes of Nazism; it was impossible to print weather reports and even photographs related to the weather earlier than 10 days in order to avoid using this information in parties, etc.).
In October 1939, the British Foreign Office received the Irish Public Opinion and War memorandum (written by Lord Longford, historian Frank Packenham ), which recommended that Irish neutrality be respected, and statistics were provided according to which 78.2% of the population is neutral, 11.6% - for the war on the side of Britain and 10.2% - for the war against Britain (profitability for the allies of the neutrality of Ireland was emphasized during the war and beyond). The basis of neutrality was called the partition of the country.
During the war, negotiations were underway on the possibility of Britain using the Irish naval bases abandoned by it under the 1938 agreement. Churchill demanded their return right up to the threat of power capture. Negotiations reached the point that Britain was ready to abandon the division of Ireland if it entered the war; negotiations were held from June 17 to 26, 1940 and ended on June 27 , when at a meeting of the Irish government the proposals were assessed as unacceptable. As a counter proposal, the idea of a united, neutral Ireland was put forward, the territory of which cannot be used against Great Britain, but this idea did not suit the British government, which introduced economic sanctions against Ireland. Already in 1941 the question arose about the survival of the country; in 1943 there was a transport collapse due to lack of fuel.
It is difficult to assess whether a historic chance was really missed; in fact, during the negotiations, Great Britain only promised, without giving guarantees and not describing the mechanisms for implementing the proposals, in addition, the Allies allowed themselves phrases regarding the issue under discussion, such as “British ports”.
In addition to economic, Ireland experienced other internal difficulties during the war - since 1939, the Irish Republican Army acted as a fifth column , carrying out terrorist activities in England and relying on the support of Nazi Germany . In May, the Law on Crimes against the State was adopted, aimed at combating this activity, according to which more than a thousand people were interned.
There are various assessments of Irish policies: from resentment due to the fact that formally the country did not participate in repelling the threat, to admiration for the consistent confrontation of Great Britain .
However, Ireland provided indirect assistance to the allies - interacted with US and British intelligence, provided air corridors for flights across the Atlantic , interned German prisoners of war, supplied the allies with weather reports, and served as a food base for Great Britain. In addition, the Irish volunteers fought in the ranks of the British army and worked in British factories (it is estimated that 200 thousand people left for work in Great Britain during the war). Nevertheless, the policy of neutrality largely determined the isolation of Ireland in the first years after the war.
Literature
- Polyakova Elena Yuryevna. Ireland in the 20th century. tutorial. - M .: "KDU", 2009. - S. 101-118. - 170 p. - ISBN 978-5-98227-159-4 .