Dunkirk - 1940

Triumph or Disaster ??????

What is going on here?What two flags can you see?

Why are they there???

“…At Dunkirk a miracle was born. This land of Britain is rich in heroes. She had brave daring men in her navy and airforce as well as in her army. She had heroes in jerseys and sweaters and old rubber boots in all the fishing ports of Britain. That night when the word went round in all the south-east ports of Britain, there was not a man or boy who knew how to handle a boat who was not prepared to give his own life to save some unknown son of his country who had faced, without flinching, the red hell of Flanders. For almost a week the epic went on. The little ships dodged their way up the waters and hauled over their sides the soldiers who waded waist deep to safety…”

An extract from a book published in England in July 1940

What impression of the event do you get from this???

What is happening in the picture?

Painting produced by an artist commissioned by the British government on events on the beaches

Of Dunkirk – Can we trust it????

“There were lines of men waiting in queues until boats arrived to transport them, a score or so at a time, to the steamers and warships. The queues stood there fixed and regular, no bunching, no pushing.”

A first-hand account by a gunner officer, published in 1940

All day and all night men of the undefeated British Expeditionary Force have been coming home. From interviews with the men it is clear they have come back in glory; that their morale is as high as ever and that they are anxious to be back again. ‘to have a real crack at Jerry (the Germans)’

From a BBC radio news bulletin May 1940. This was the first report about Dunkirk that was broadcast.

Describe what you see happening in the photo.

Which of the sources that we have read so far does it match up with?

What if I told you that……

There was not a single reporter at DunkirkTo write their articles the reporters had to rely on what they were told by the governmentThe evacuation had been going on for 5 days before any reports went out.

How might each of the following statements help explain the

differences between the two stories?

The government controlled information for sometime after the event.

The government needed to ‘glamorise’ Dunkirk for the sake of British morale

People were ashamed to say anything about the unpleasant incidents, so they only came out later.

The unpleasant incidents were relatively minor and of no great importance. It was an heroic rescue and many people acted very bravely.

Do you think the British government was

right to report Dunkirk as a victory?