"We shall go on to the end. ... We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be,"

November 03, 2017

"We shall go on to the end. ... We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be,"

--Dunkirk, 2017

When we visited Dover Castle, I guess I imagined it would be like every other castle we’ve seen; cool and historical and interesting, but also still an old block of bricks. Imagine my surprise, then, when we had the opportunity to visit the wartime tunnels- those same tunnels that were used during the Dunkirk Evacuation. I’d seen the movie over the summer and I am as much a fan of Cillian Murphy and Harry Styles as much as the next girl, but I also have always just been incredibly fascinated with war, especially WWII.

One of the things that's interesting to me about wartime- specifically WWII- is the heavy use of propaganda and print media, and there were examples of these posters and leaflets and even radio news inside the tunnels. Winston Churchill in particular used propaganda to stress and revitalize values like the importance of victory, and resistance, and hard work; however, Britain- once the biggest world empire, and still very formidable at this point in time- already had these values. In class, we’ve talked a lot about how the British identity was formed; over the years, things such as war, isolated geography, monarchy, and many other factors have helped to solidify a British identity and set of values. We’ve discussed how- once these identifying characteristics were set in place- the British identity has been pretty solid and still continues into modern times. While I do believe that this is true, I would also argue that these values and things that make British-ness are flexible and can change with the times and circumstances.

Churchill- as well as the mainstream British media during WWII- found a need to stress certain attributes, which implies that they were not quite at the forefront or the most important characteristics of society. During WWI, the propaganda that was used was mainly to stress mobilization of the country, or hatred of the German enemy. These values- unity and an abhorrence of the “other”- are both values that are part of Britain’s identity, but these were particularly stressed and brought to the forefront during WWI. WWII’s propaganda eased in the growth of different values and different characteristics, but they were still characteristics of the British identity. This shows that identity is not just a fixed level of national pride or freedom or a sense of victory; rather, these values and their place in society are flexible and changing.

WWII was a unique war for Britain in many respects; it saw the loss of the British Empire and superpower, a greater shift away from the importance of the monarchy and towards political leaders instead, and a need to rely on other countries and powers. These things, then, required different attitudes and values than were previously as heavily in practice. Thus, the propaganda during WWII stressed ideas like British victories and triumphs, which helped to build morale on the home front. They also focused largely on hard work and civilian support, or resistance and a hardening of public opinion. These values have always been a part of the British identity, stapled into place even from the times of the Reformation or wartime with Catholic France, but during WWII they were especially necessary and therefore stressed by the print media and British propaganda.

Identity isn’t so much a fixed, set-in-stone set of values and principles. Instead, it can be flexible, and change depending on the circumstances and needs of the nation. In the case of WWII, propaganda played on the constructivist theory of identity, whereby the nation's identity is shaped incredibly quickly and a new culture or identity is created. Attributes such as a sense of victory and resistance were re-worked and revitalized to help support the British people and war effort through their usage in everyday life because of the ubiquity and heavy influence of print media and radio. Upon the close of WWII, some of these characteristics weren’t as necessary or vital anymore, so they weren’t as stressed and prevalent; the loss of its being a world superpower forced Britain to become a little less autonomous or focused on its own power and victory. However, some of the characteristics stressed in WWII- like a need for hard work and civilian support- continued on in daily life.

So as I first walked up the path to Dover Castle, I had no idea that what lay in the tunnels beneath it had helped to shape and rework British identity. The posters lining the walls of the rooms and the radio news transmitted over the speakers stressed ideas that- while inherently part of British identity- helped to strengthen certain characteristics that were needed for the circumstances surrounding WWII, but were maybe different than attitudes prior to the war or even attitudes directly following it. Identity is flexible, and so are the attributes that make it up.