Ethnically, I come from several different backgrounds.  Each one has a story behind it but perhaps none impact my life more than the stories behind my English heritage.  My grandmother on my maternal grandmother came over from England in 1950, thanks to her sister, Edith.  Edith, or Edie as my family calls her, was the first to arrive in the United States.  In 1946, at 22-years-old, she came to Chicago to live with her new husband, Morris, an American soldier.   The story behind Edie and Morry is one unmatched by any prize winning novel or critically acclaimed film.  Fate, as my great-aunt put it, was responsible for turning a terrible war into something wonderful.  Edie isn’t the only one with a story to tell about World War II; many others had amazing and profound experiences.  For six years, England endured the hardships and the destruction of grand-scale warfare.  In 1945 when the destruction finally ceased, intense scars were left on England’s precious landscape and lives of its people.  For some those scars have never faded, but for others, like my great-aunt, they serve as a reminder for their current blessings.
 The Second World War has been referred to as the most destructive war in history.  Clearly, since it took place in modern times where the population is at its greatest, the war affected more people than any previous war.  As in any major conflict, the fighting broke out for a number of reasons and in a number of places.  Since my focus is England it makes sense to focus on the war in Europe, and neglect any discussion of Africa or Asia, namely Japan.

After World War I, Germany was left in shambles.  The country was defeated and slapped with huge war reparations outlined  in the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany reluctantly signed on June 28, 1919 (Campbell 8).  In the ten years following Versailles, Germany was left in a deep economic depression and great loss of morale.  “In 1932, following spectacular inflation and high unemployment, the National Socialist (“Nazi”) party, led by Adolf Hitler, won 37 percent of the popular vote, becoming by far the largest party in the German parliament, the Reichstag” (Campbell 8).  1933, Hitler became chancellor and soon overturned the Weimar Republic, Germany’s provisional democracy.  Because German pride was left in shambles by its defeat in the Great War, the German people took to Hitler and loyally followed him as their leader.  Hitler wasted no time in overturning the limitations set by Versailles and rebuilt the armed forces.  No one in Europe could stop him because they were all having their own domestic problems.  The Austro-Hungarian Empire fragmented in 1918, leaving one of Germany’s borders weak and vulnerable.  To the northeast, the Soviet Union was in civil turmoil after a revolution in 1917.  Finally, the United States went back to traditional isolationism after World War I.  After losing thousands of men and spending countless amounts of money, the last thing the American public wanted was to get mixed up in another European war.

A power vacuum was left untouched in Europe, so Hitler took advantage of the opening and proceeded in his quest for a Lebensraum or “living space” for the Germans.   In 1938, Hitler succeeded without much protest from the Western democracies in taking over much of Czechoslovakia.  Then in 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland, England declared war and the chaos commenced.  For six long years dozens of countries put the lives of their soldiers as well as civilians on the line essentially over territorial desires.

My aunt and her family grew up in England and were living in Manchester when war broke out in 1939.    My aunt was sixteen at the time.  Along with her younger sister, Anita (my grandmother), her two younger brothers Buddy and Harold, and her mother, she spent countless days and nights in a converted raid shelter while bombs dropped out of the sky overhead.  Her two older brothers Tony and Joe were old enough to enlist in the Royal Air Force.  Tony went through special training and became part of a select few to pilot bomber planes.  He was known as a Warrant Officer.  Tony was involved in countless missions to drop bombs on Germany, most of which took place at night.  Joe was a mechanic and never left his station in England (Zeitlin).

When the German bombers first flew over England, British leaders set up places in the countryside where families could send their children for safety.  Edie’s mother, Clara, would have none of this; she did not want the family separated.  Instead, Clara paid a carpenter to convert the cellar of their house into a bomb shelter.  He put in steel beams to ensure the safety of its structure and installed bunk beds, a stove and a heater, among other essential things.  In January 1940, food rationing was put into effect, allowing families only a certain amount of food each month (Campbell14).  The family kept all the canned food and water they could get their hands on in the raid shelter.  When German bombers were coming, the city set off a loud siren telling everyone to get down underground.  They sometimes went days at a time without emerging to the surface.  When the raids were over another siren sounded telling everyone it was safe to emerge.  Sometimes when they ascended to the streets they found that several houses in the neighborhood had caught fire from the firebombs.  Fortunately, Edie’s home was never touched.
 It is hard to imagine being a small child in 1940s England where the threat of bombing and destruction literally hangs overhead.  Unfortunately it was a reality for thousands of children who lived in England, especially large cities like London.

In August of 1940, German forces began air attacks on England in what became known as the Battle of Britain.  At first the attacks were only on coastal areas, but in September, the Germans moved inland and attacked London and other major cities.  Hitler’s plan was to invade England through air attacks, destroying all the major cities.  Unfortunately for him, British armed forces deployed radar technologies in 1935.  As soon as German planes reached French airspace, British radar stations picked them up and sent out pilots to pick them out of the sky.

After a few months Hitler realized that invading Britain would be more difficult than he had originally anticipated.  He abandoned hopes of invasion, but continued air attacks through the end of the war.  Between September of 1940 and May of 1941, the Germans made “71 major raids on London and 56 on other cities” (Encarta).  That comes to an average of 14 air attacks per month for a nine-month period.  At first the raids came only during the day, but because of England’s radar technology, the Germans soon switched to night attacks.  As a defense, the British installed anti-aircraft guns on street corners in major cities.  Men would operate the machines for hours on end and pick fighter planes out of the sky as the German pilots parachuted out of their ill-fated aircrafts.

Liz McKellar was 4-years-old when war broke out and lived for 6 years.  She witnessed, therefore, The Battle of Britain and the London Blitz.  On September 7th 1940, Germany launched a massive attack on London, which became known as the London Blitz.  Over 2,000 British civilians were injured, 430 of which died, all in just the first night.  The Blitz lasted 76 consecutive nights, excepting November 2 (Campbell 176).  In Ms. McKellar’s account, which I found on the Internet, Liz retells the feelings of confusion and chaos that consumed much of her childhood.  Like my aunt Edie, she remembers times when thousands of children were evacuated from their homes at little or no notice and taken out into the countryside, or down into bomb shelters, sometimes for days at a time.  They were taken for safety’s sake; if anything were to happen, at least the children, the next generation, would be saved.  When they returned to the city, some kids found that their home and families were gone—destroyed.   Liz recalls her distaste for the anti-aircraft guns that were “stationed on practically every corner,” she says, “the ground shook for hours and hours” (McKellar par.1).

Perhaps it was Liz’s young age that kept her oblivious to the reality of the situation, because she recalls with great joy her gas mask that looked like Mickey Mouse.  Her brother had one that looked like Donald Duck and they each were delighted to play with them and wear them when ever possible.  She also fondly remembers the American G.I.’s.  “I never meet such big kind and giving people as the American G.I.'s. You could ask them for anything, and they would always find something in their pockets” (McKellar par.2).  It’s interesting to hear the experiences of war through the eyes of a child.  Clearly, Liz was sheltered from the worst of the war and wasn’t strongly affected by the end result.  At worst the fighting was a nuisance or an annoyance because it disrupted everyday life.  Even while living literally in the midst of a battleground, Liz found fascination and little joys in her surroundings.

An even more profoundly joyful tale of the war comes from Doreen Joyce who was eight-years-old when the war broke out in England.  Doreen was living thirty miles north of London on a rural road halfway between Dunstable and Luten.  The road she lived on was well used by Allied troops.  It was not uncommon for her to see convoys of American, Canadian and British troops pass by her house on the road.  When a convoy came by, she and all the children would run and wave and the troops would throw gum and candy to them.  One day, much to her astonishment, a convoy of American soldiers came to a complete stop directly in front of her house.  The troops started pouring out of their vehicles and walked down the street to a local pub called The Halfway House, named for its location between the towns of Luten and Dunstable.  The children, including Doreen, ran after the soldiers, hoping for some good candy.  Doreen recalls with excitement, “oh, that wonderful thick, dark, army ration chocolate! We soon learned that the Americans had better rations than the British troops.”  When the children arrived at the pub they found the soldiers happily eating and drinking at the proprietors hospitality.  The children eagerly approached the soldiers and the men were equally joyful, playing games with the children and telling them stories.  One soldier, named Jack said to the children, “I would like to hear you sing.  I hear that British children sing very well”(Joyce par.9).  When none of the other children spoke up, Doreen boldly volunteered to sing a hymn to the soldiers, especially Jack.  She loved the American soldiers and she wanted to make them happy.  When looking back on that day, Doreen admits that she didn’t know much about the dangerous warfare that went on around her.  She just knew “that for a moment in time, in the midst of a raging war an American soldier and a little English girl faced each other and God was there” (Joyce par.12).   It’s nice to see the little positive things that can happen during a time when nothing seems to be uplifting.  Just a little song brought so much joy and happiness to the soldiers.  Many of the troops were just young men, some not even eighteen, as it was common for boys to lie about their age to join the army.  Undoubtedly the men and boys were scared and homesick.  Perhaps Doreen’s song put a little bit of strength and hope into their hearts.

Undoubtedly the most uplifting story I’ve ever heard, not just in doing this research, comes from my aunt herself.  Towards the end of the war, during the Jewish festival of Purim, there was a dance held where all the young Jewish people went to meet and socialize.  My Uncle Morry, was an American soldier stationed in Manchester at the time. Although he was not a combat soldier, he held an important position handling strategic paper work.  While riding on a bus with a few of his buddies, he came across a flyer advertising the dance.  Needing a break and a place to celebrate the holiday, he and his friends agreed to go.

My aunt Edie was also at the dance with a few of her girlfriends.  They noticed the American soldiers but were not impressed.  “I had a very low opinion of American soldiers because they were known to be big drinkers,” said my aunt, “so I wanted nothing to do with them” (Zeitlin).  Morry approached Edie and politely asked her for a dance.  She refused.  He came back several times and each time she refused.  Finally after some coaxing from her friends, she agreed to dance with him.  “I was a great dancer,” she said, “But he couldn’t dance.  He had two left feet!”  After the dance the two sat down and talked.  Morry told Edie his life story.  He told her all about his family and friends back home in Chicago and pretty much everything he could think of.  At the night’s end she went home not expecting to see him again.  The next day, however, he showed up at her door.  Edie invited him inside to meet her mother, upon which he proclaimed, “Ma’am, I am going to marry your daughter!”  Five months later they were married and they haven’t left each other’s side since.  “For 55 years there hasn’t been a day gone by that he didn’t tell me he loves me,” she said (Zeitlin).  Their story is simple and commonplace, but that is why it is so special.  It took a war to bring these two together and if it weren’t for so many events, the two would never have met.  It is easy to see why Edie is such a strong believer in fate.

These days and in this country, anyone who wants to get married can do it in a heartbeat.  Spontaneous types can even get married at a drive-thru in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator.  In 1940s England, however, it was not quite so simple.  In August of 1945, while the war was still on, Edie and Morry, accompanied by Edie’s mother wend to the local court and filled out marriage papers.  The papers were kept for two weeks and hung up on the wall, a process called “posting bans”.  Then on August 24th, they returned and were married by English law.  When they left the courthouse, Morry returned to his camp and Edie went home with her mother.  She took her ring off and gave it to her mother to keep, because in the eyes of the Jewish Temple, they were not really married.  Two weeks later on September 2nd, they held a real wedding in a Synagogue, witnessed by family and friends.  To this day September 2nd is the day Edie and Morry recognize as their wedding day.

As I pointed out before, my great-aunt Edith was the first of her family to arrive in the U.S.  In order to do so, she had to apply for a passport.  Edie went to the American embassy in Liverpool and filled out the paper work, giving basic information like date of birth, height and weight, etc.  Then she went in for an interview.  The man interviewing her read her papers, looked at her and said “You’re not five feet tall.  Remove your shoes and go stand next to that wall.”  He pointed to the wall where measurements were marked off in inches.  Without flinching, Edie indignantly said, “I will not!” Before getting up and storming out of the room she added, “I hope Americans are not as rude as you are!”  Sure enough, a few weeks later she got her passport in the mail, which stated in clear black ink that she was indeed five feet tall (Zeitlin).

In May 1946, Edie finally arrived in the United States.  Her arrival was not your regular vacation trip however.  Morry was dismissed from the army and was sent home in April.  The U.S. government arranged for the thousands of army brides to arrive on boats called “brideships”.  Luckily, Edie got one that left only a few weeks after Morry did.  The ship arrived in New York City and Edie recalls with a laugh, “They woke us all up at the crack of dawn to see the Statue of Liberty and it was fogged in.  We couldn’t see a thing!” (Zeitlin).  In New York the brides got on trains taking them all over the country to their respective destinations.  Along with several other brides, Edie boarded a train to Chicago where Morry was waiting to take her home to his family.

Two year later, after settling in a bit, Edie was able to bring her younger brothers, Harold and Buddy to Chicago.  Two years after that in 1950, my grandmother Anita came.  In 1952, she brought older brother Joe and her mother Clara.  Tony didn’t come until 1956, because he had a wife and children in England.  It took a while to convince his wife to leave her own family to come live with his.  With the whole family settled in Chicago, Edie was as happy as she could possibly be.  She was married to the man she loved, living in a peaceful country and surrounded by the people who lived through the same struggles she did.  It’s a quintessential fairy tale ending.

Along with millions of other civilians, Edie lived through ordeals that I cannot even fathom.  I can’t imagine living in a place where such uncertainty reigns as the
norm.  But then, I have never lived in a battlefield.  The only war stories I knew before this assignment came from the history books I read in high school.  There is no way to get a real sense of war by reading about it.  Such a harrowing experience must be lived through to understand it completely.  As an American born during peacetime, I have always felt safe and protected at home.  The war brought pain and tears to millions of people all over the world.  Countless lives were lost in battle, not to mention this little thing called the Holocaust, but that is another story altogether.  I can think of no better painkiller than to find true love in the midst of chaos.  Nothing is more precious than to escape hatred and pain and bring those you love with you to your safe haven.

Memories of World War II: A British Focus.  13 May 1999.  14 Nov 2000  www.warlinks.com.

Middleton, Drew.  The Sky Suspended.  New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1960.

“World War II”.  Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000. http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation.

Zeitlin, Edith.  Personal Interview.  12 Dec. 2000.