Reasons for 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 neutrality during World War Two
The day after Britain declared war on Germany, 脡amon de Valera confirmed 脡颈谤别鈥檚 neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict..
Question
Why did de Valera opt for neutrality during World War Two?
There were a number of reasons for this:
- De Valera correctly assumed that the population would support neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. to reinforce 脡颈谤别鈥檚 independence.
- partition/partitionedThe division of a country into two regions. ruled out 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 involvement in the war.
- The population was divided over whether or not to support Britain.
- Many believed Germany posed no threat; if there was a threat, they believed that Britain would protect 脡颈谤别.
- 脡颈谤别 was not equipped to fight a war.
- The government wanted to protect its people against the hardships of war.
The Government also introduced the Emergency Powers ActLaw passed by the 顿谩颈濒 in 1939 giving it extensive power., which increased its control over the country and gave it extensive powers to ensure that neutrality was maintained.
Attitude of the people of 脡颈谤别 towards neutrality
Although many in 脡颈谤别 sympathised with the Allied cause, neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. was popular.
The majority of the population supported neutrality because it was a British, not an Irish, war.
Many believed neutrality was a good way of asserting their independence from Britain.
They also hoped it might save Ireland from the horrors of modern warfare.
Even Ireland鈥檚 unionistA person who believes the union between Britain and Northern Ireland should continue. minority supported neutrality, whilst still backing the Allied war effort.
Only a small number of people advocated abandoning neutrality.
This number increased when the USA joined the war in December 1941, but it was never a widespread opinion.
The response of Northern Ireland and Britain to 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 neutrality
Britain's response
Although Winston Churchill had warned that 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 co-operation with Britain in a war was unlikely, many expected 脡颈谤别 would help, and in particular let Britain use the former treaty portsThree ports at Berehaven, Cobh and Lough Swilly which Britain controlled under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. These were later transferred to 脡颈谤别 under the terms of the Anglo Irish Agreements, 1938. and other military bases.
The British only accepted 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. reluctantly.
They wanted to end it as:
- Britain was suffering heavy shipping losses in the Atlantic. Re-routing British merchantA person involved in buying and selling items, usually between different countries. ships to ports in Northern Ireland, instead of using ports in 脡颈谤别, was placing a great strain on the vital supply route across the Atlantic.
- Britain was worried that Germany might invade 脡颈谤别 and use it as a 鈥榮tepping stone鈥 from which to attack Britain.
- 脡颈谤别 did not have blackoutDuring World War Two, windows and doors had to be covered at night to block any light which might aid enemy aircraft. regulations. Therefore, Northern Ireland was an easily identifiable target for the LuftwaffeThe German air force..
However, realising the importance of good communication, Sir John Maffey was appointed as the British Government鈥檚 representative to 脡颈谤别.
He developed a positive relationship with de Valera.
However, British pressure to end the policy remained strong, particularly after Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940.
Northern Ireland's response
There was strong resentment at 脡颈谤别鈥檚 neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. in Northern Ireland.
It was viewed as an act of betrayal and a threat to the United Kingdom鈥檚 security.
Overall, the war led to a further decline in north-south relations.
They clashed over:
- The lack of a blackoutDuring World War Two, windows and doors had to be covered at night to block any light which might aid enemy aircraft. in 脡颈谤别, which the unionists believed increased the probability of Northern Ireland being targeted by German bombers.
- De Valera not expelling Hempel, the German ambassadorAn important official sent by the leader of one country to another, to organise such things as alliances or treaties. in Dublin.
- De Valera鈥檚 campaign for clemency An act or instance of leniency. for Tom Williams, an Irish Republican Army (IRA)A republican paramilitary group which was determined to create an Irish Republic as proclaimed in the 1916 Easter Rising. man sentenced to death for his part in a gun battle with police in West Belfast.
- De Valera鈥檚 repeated demands for an end to partition/partitionedThe division of a country into two regions..
- The issue of conscriptionCompulsory enrolment in the armed forces. (1941).
- Workers from 脡颈谤别 taking what unionist regarded as their jobs in Belfast.
- Thus, by 1945 the relationship between the Northern unionistA person who believes the union between Britain and Northern Ireland should continue. in the north and Southern nationalistPeople who believe their country should be independent from other nations. For example, Irish nationalists, who want Ireland to be fully independent of Britain. was extremely hostile.
Unionists were not aware of 脡颈谤别鈥檚 benevolent neutrality.
However, de Valera's quick response during the Belfast The BlitzAn aerial bombing campaign directed at large towns and cities and carried out by the German air force (the Luftwaffe) during World War Two. in 1941, through the supply of fire-fighters to help in Belfast, was greatly appreciated at the time.
脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 neutrality in practice
脡颈谤别 asserted its neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. as follows:
- It refused military assistance to both sides.
- The Allies were denied the use of ports and airfields.
- News bulletins gave purely factual reports about the war.
- Weather forecasts ceased to be broadcast in case they helped either side.
- When the US entered the war, de Valera resisted US pressure to end neutrality.
- Indeed, de Valera went to great lengths to appear neutral.
He irritated Washington by protesting at the arrival of US troops in Northern Ireland.
He also annoyed Allied opinion when he expressed sympathy over Hitler鈥檚 death.
However, he had also expressed sympathy at the death of US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
'Benevolent neutrality'
Frequently Dublin鈥檚 actions made it seem that its neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. was pro-Allies.
This help was known as 'benevolent neutrality'.
Examples of this were:
- In 1943, the German ambassadorAn important official sent by the leader of one country to another, to organise such things as alliances or treaties. radio transmitter was confiscated.
- German pilots who bailed out over 脡颈谤别 were internedImprisoned without trial.; Allied airmen were allowed to cross the border into Northern Ireland,
- During the 1941 Belfast The BlitzAn aerial bombing campaign directed at large towns and cities and carried out by the German air force (the Luftwaffe) during World War Two., de Valera sent fire crews from Drogheda and Dundalk to help.
- In the aftermath of the Belfast Blitz, relief centres were set up close to the border and relief funds were started.
- Allied airmen patrolling the Western ApproachesAn area of the Atlantic Ocean used by shipping convoys going to and from Britain and America. or refuelling on trans-Atlantic missions could fly over Irish territory via the Donegal Air CorridorA strip of Irish airspace that linked Lough Erne to the Atlantic Ocean and through which the government of 脡颈谤别 permitted flights by British military aircraft during World War Two (known in 脡颈谤别 as 'The Emergency'). This was through their policy of 'benevolent neutrality'.. This saved a 100-mile detour.
- Coastal navigational aidAny type of signal, marker or guidance equipment which helps monitor and control the movement of a craft moving from one place to another. Lighthouses and buoys are examples of navigational aids for ships. were provided for US airmen.
- Weather reports were secretly transmitted to the Allies, and proved very valuable during the Normandy landingsCommonly known as D-Day, it was when Allied forces landed in Normandy, France in June 1944, to retake Europe. in June 1944.
- In the final months of the war, de Valera allowed the RAFThe Royal Air Force - the collective name for Britain's fighter and bomber planes. to establish secret radarA system of using radio waves to detect the location of objects from a particular place. Used by Britain in World War Two to locate German aircraft heading towards Britain. bases in 脡颈谤别.
- Plans were drawn up by both countries for joint co-operation if Germany invaded 脡颈谤别, and for the British army based in Northern - Ireland to move into the South.
- However, all co-operation was kept secret; most members of the British and Irish government were unaware of it.
Question
What were the real reasons for 脡颈谤别鈥檚 ability to remain neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict.?
脡颈谤别 benefited from the sympathetic attitude of the British and German representatives in Dublin.
If the Allies had needed to invade the South, they would have done so.
That they did not was due to Northern Ireland鈥檚 significant strategic role.
This possibility was revealed in a post-war speech by Churchill, in which he condemned de Valera and praised Northern Ireland.
Quiz: 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 neutrality
Reaction to Britain鈥檚 offer to end partition
Britain made several attempts to persuade 脡颈谤别 to enter the war on the Allies鈥 side.
In June 1940, Churchill proposed ending partition/partitionedThe division of a country into two regions. in return for British forces using 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 naval bases.
De Valera refused as:
- He was unsure if the British could be trusted to honour the decision after the war.
- He doubted that unionistA person who believes the union between Britain and Northern Ireland should continue. could be forced into a united Ireland against their will.
- He thought Britain might lose the war, thus making the promise worthless.
- He did not want to compromise 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 hard won independence from Britain by having British troops back in 脡颈谤别.
- Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (7 December 1941), Churchill telegramA communication system where messages were electronically transmitted over distance through wires and then printed out at the destination and delivered by hand. de Valera.
His offer of 'Now is your chance. Now or never 鈥淎 nation once again鈥濃, was understood by de Valera to refer to the possibility of Irish unity if he joined the Allies.
Now is your chance. Now or never 鈥淎 nation once again.鈥
鈥 Winston Churchill to 脡amon de Valera 1941
Again he declined.
In 1942, Churchill again attempted to regain the use of the .
Once again, his efforts were rejected.
Pressure on 脡颈谤别 to end neutrality
Economic pressure
Britain reduced the number of its ships used both to transport goods to 脡颈谤别 and to protect Irish cargo vessels.
Due to neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict., 脡颈谤别 was not able to access financial aid under the USA鈥檚 Lend-LeaseA scheme run by the USA to help Allied nations which were short of money and resources during World War Two. programme.
Propaganda pressure
As the war continued, 脡颈谤别 came under increasing pressure from both sides of the Atlantic to join the fighting.
After the USA joined the war in December 1941, President Roosevelt put pressure on 脡颈谤别 to join the Allies.
He felt 脡颈谤别鈥檚 neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. was detrimental to the war effort, so a media campaign portraying de Valera as pro-German was launched.
Relations deteriorated further in 1942 when, in spite of de Valera鈥檚 protests, US troops arrived in Northern Ireland to train and to help with defence.
Actions taken by 脡颈谤别 to maintain its neutrality
Maintaining neutralNot favouring either side in an argument or conflict. was difficult.
To achieve it, 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 government did the following:
- The 顿谩颈濒The lower house in the Irish parliament. used its extensive new powers under the Emergency Powers ActLaw passed by the 顿谩颈濒 in 1939 giving it extensive power.. There was strict censorshipThe examining of different forms of media and removing or suppressing parts considered to be unacceptable. of the press and radio. No negative comments were permitted and weather reports were not published in case they helped either side in the war.
- De Valera used the Offences Against the State Act, 1939Law introduced by 脡amon de Valera to deal with renewed IRA activity. and the Treason Act, 1939A law introduced in the Irish Free State in 1939 which set out the punishment for those convicted of treason (the crime of betraying one's country, sovereign or government.). to deal decisively with the Irish Republican Army (IRA)A republican paramilitary group which was determined to create an Irish Republic as proclaimed in the 1916 Easter Rising..
- 脡颈谤别 ensured it received essential supplies previously brought by British ships by setting up a Ministry of Supplies under Se谩n Lemass.
- 脡颈谤别虫27;蝉 defences were strengthened.
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