Added section to clarify that Polish forces (both 'official' and Free) were invited but did not attend. Added several sources. Also clarified why Polish army and navy units were not invited. |
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There has recently been some controversy on the [[BBC]] World War II site regarding the date of the Victory Celebrations in Europe and whether or not there was actually a Victory Parade held in London on VJ Day itself.<ref name="tongabbc">BBC WW2 People's War - ''VJ Procession and the Tramps by Gordon Sharrard''. (Online) Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/99/a4648999.shtml}</ref> |
There has recently been some controversy on the [[BBC]] World War II site regarding the date of the Victory Celebrations in Europe and whether or not there was actually a Victory Parade held in London on VJ Day itself.<ref name="tongabbc">BBC WW2 People's War - ''VJ Procession and the Tramps by Gordon Sharrard''. (Online) Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/99/a4648999.shtml}</ref> |
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The parade is also notable for the exclusion of all Polish servicemen; hundreds thousands of whom served in the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] as one of the largest Allied contingents. The [[No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron|303 squadron]] was the only Polish unit invited; it declined because the invitation was not extended to any other Polish units, despite Poland being [[Polish contribution to World War II|the fourth largest European ally during World War II]]. Poles were expected to attend the [[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945]] since the Western Allies did not want to antagonize [[Stalin]], whose [[Soviet Union]] claimed Poland under their [[sphere of influence]]. This is considered one of the causes of the feeling of "[[Western Betrayal]]" in Poland.<ref name="VicPar">Rudolf Falkowski, [http://www.geocities.com/skrzydla/Victory_parade.html THE VICTORY PARADE]. Last accessed on 31 March 2007.</ref><ref name="QoH">[[Lynne Olson]], [[Stanley Cloud]], ''A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II '', Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, [http://www.questionofhonor.com/prologue.htm Excerpt (prologue)].</ref><ref name="FT06">Kwan Yuk Pan, [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0d441dfa-ecf1-11d9-9d20-00000e2511c8.html Polish veterans to take pride of place in victory parade], [[Financial Times]], July 5 2005. Last accessed on 31 March 2006.</ref> |
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==Lack of Polish participation== |
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The parade is also notable for claims that all Polish servicemen were excluded from taking part.<ref name="QoH">[[Lynne Olson]], [[Stanley Cloud]], ''A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II '', Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, [http://www.questionofhonor.com/prologue.htm Excerpt (prologue)].</ref><ref name="FT06">Kwan Yuk Pan, [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0d441dfa-ecf1-11d9-9d20-00000e2511c8.html Polish veterans to take pride of place in victory parade], [[Financial Times]], July 5 2005. Last accessed on 31 March 2006.</ref> Although this is considered by some as one of the causes of the feeling of "[[Western Betrayal]]" in Poland, such claims are erroneous. The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England lists Poland as a nation scheduled to take part by parading its flag with an honour guard <ref>The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England [http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MiscVictoryParade1.htm Part 1]</ref> and lists the Polish airforce as one of the foreign airforces scheduled to parade. <ref>The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England [http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MiscVictoryParade2.htm Part 2] </ref> On 6 July 1945 the British government officially recognised the Polish [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej; TRJN) and withdrew recognition from the London-based [[Polish government in exile]]. Therefore the 1946 invitations to the victory parade were sent to the [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] and not to [[Polish government in exile]]. This invitation to send representatives was accepted but no representatives actually arrived. [[The Times]] newspaper reported in June 1946 “The Polish Government accepted, but the contingent has not yet arrived.” |
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<ref>Dr Mark Ostrowski ''To Return To Poland Or Not To Return'' - The Dilemma Facing The Polish Armed Forces At The End Of The Second World War.''[http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/polisharmy/chapter8.html Chapter 1] |
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</ref> Some authors claim that the Polish government was ordered by the Soviet leadership to not send representatives. <ref name="VicPar">Rudolf Falkowski, [http://www.geocities.com/skrzydla/Victory_parade.html THE VICTORY PARADE]. Last accessed on 31 March 2007.</ref> |
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However, the situation with Polish forces was more complex than with other nations. Although [[Polish contribution to World War II|Poland was the fourth largest European ally during World War II]], Polish forces were split between the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] and the [[Polish Armed Forces in the East]], who took part in [[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945]]. After public and media outcry that no units from the [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]] had been invited to the London parade, invitations were extended to representatives of Polish airmen who had taken part in the [[Battle of Britain]] <ref> [[Władysław Anders]], “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299 </ref>. But as [[The Times]] noted in June 1946 “Unfortunately, it seems that none of the Polish servicemen who fought in the West under British command will take part. Polish airmen who took part in the Battle of Britain were invited, but they do not wish to march unless Polish soldiers and sailors of the Western Command can march with them.” <ref>Dr Mark Ostrowski Op.Cit [http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/polisharmy/chapter1.html Chapter 1]</ref> It should be noted that, with the exception of the honour guard for each nation’s flag and the bands of certain nations, no units of any army or navy from any non-Commonwealth/Empire nation were invited to take part. |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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*[[Western betrayal]] |
*[[Western betrayal]] |
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*[[Moscow Victory Parade of 1945]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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*[http://www.naval-history.net/WW2VictoryParade1.htm Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations] |
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*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/40/a4768040.shtml Victory Parade, London 1946 by Ron Goldstein (BBC WW2 People's War Archive) An eye witness account.] |
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/40/a4768040.shtml Victory Parade, London 1946 by Ron Goldstein (BBC WW2 People's War Archive) An eye witness account.] |
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Revision as of 13:39, 28 September 2009
The London Victory Parade of 1946 was a British victory parade held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. It took place in the United Kingdom capital of London, on June 8, 1946, mainly encompassing a military parade through the city.
Controversies
There has recently been some controversy on the BBC World War II site regarding the date of the Victory Celebrations in Europe and whether or not there was actually a Victory Parade held in London on VJ Day itself.[1]
Lack of Polish participation
The parade is also notable for claims that all Polish servicemen were excluded from taking part.[2][3] Although this is considered by some as one of the causes of the feeling of "Western Betrayal" in Poland, such claims are erroneous. The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England lists Poland as a nation scheduled to take part by parading its flag with an honour guard [4] and lists the Polish airforce as one of the foreign airforces scheduled to parade. [5] On 6 July 1945 the British government officially recognised the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej; TRJN) and withdrew recognition from the London-based Polish government in exile. Therefore the 1946 invitations to the victory parade were sent to the Provisional Government of National Unity and not to Polish government in exile. This invitation to send representatives was accepted but no representatives actually arrived. The Times newspaper reported in June 1946 “The Polish Government accepted, but the contingent has not yet arrived.” [6] Some authors claim that the Polish government was ordered by the Soviet leadership to not send representatives. [7]
However, the situation with Polish forces was more complex than with other nations. Although Poland was the fourth largest European ally during World War II, Polish forces were split between the Polish Armed Forces in the West and the Polish Armed Forces in the East, who took part in Moscow Victory Parade of 1945. After public and media outcry that no units from the Polish Armed Forces in the West had been invited to the London parade, invitations were extended to representatives of Polish airmen who had taken part in the Battle of Britain [8]. But as The Times noted in June 1946 “Unfortunately, it seems that none of the Polish servicemen who fought in the West under British command will take part. Polish airmen who took part in the Battle of Britain were invited, but they do not wish to march unless Polish soldiers and sailors of the Western Command can march with them.” [9] It should be noted that, with the exception of the honour guard for each nation’s flag and the bands of certain nations, no units of any army or navy from any non-Commonwealth/Empire nation were invited to take part.
See also
References
- ^ BBC WW2 People's War - VJ Procession and the Tramps by Gordon Sharrard. (Online) Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/99/a4648999.shtml}
- ^ Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud, A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II , Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, Excerpt (prologue).
- ^ Kwan Yuk Pan, Polish veterans to take pride of place in victory parade, Financial Times, July 5 2005. Last accessed on 31 March 2006.
- ^ The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England Part 1
- ^ The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England Part 2
- ^ Dr Mark Ostrowski To Return To Poland Or Not To Return - The Dilemma Facing The Polish Armed Forces At The End Of The Second World War.Chapter 1
- ^ Rudolf Falkowski, THE VICTORY PARADE. Last accessed on 31 March 2007.
- ^ Władysław Anders, “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299
- ^ Dr Mark Ostrowski Op.Cit Chapter 1