In an op-ed, British writer and RAF (Royal Air Force) veteran Harry Leslie Smith compares the days leading up to World War II—to the days of now with Trump in the Oval Office. Smith’s perspective and parallels are absolutely haunting. Here are three excerpts from his piece in The Guardian.
“A chill of remembrance has come over me during this August month. It feels as if the 2017 summer breeze is being scattered by the winds of war blowing from across our world towards Britain, just like they were in 1939.”
Experience often coincides and aligns with the mathematical count of days in our lives, and Smith has plenty of both.
“Because I am old, now 94, I recognise these omens of doom. Chilling signs are everywhere, perhaps the biggest being that the US allows itself to be led by Donald Trump, a man deficient in honour, wisdom and just simple human kindness. It is as foolish for Americans to believe that their generals will save them from Trump as it was for liberal Germans to believe the military would protect the nation from Hitler’s excesses.”
Smith’s foreboding assessment of the resemblance between now and the days of World War II is almost too difficult to read, yet believable.
“This August resembles too much that of 1939; the last summer of peace until 1945. Then aged 16 and still wet behind the ears, I’d go to pictures with my mates and we’d laugh at the newsreels of Hitler and other fascist monsters that lived beyond what we thought was our reach. Little did we know in that August 1939, life without peace, without carnage, without air raids, without the blitz, could be measured in days. I did not hear the thundering approach of war, but as an old man I hear it now for my grandchildren’s generation. I hope I am wrong. But I am petrified for them.”
This poignant quote from the Smith’s piece appears in the sidebar.
“Summer should be comforting, but it isn’t this year.”
Comfort did not come this summer, nor did it exist during the winter or spring— and it can be imagined the fall will also bring little reprieve. Here is one of Smith’s most recent tweets:
Although catastrophe seems to be awaiting us and there are many resemblances between the beginning of World War II, there are also stark differences. One that may be the most important difference is, today the the people/The Resistance understand the imminent danger we face and we continue to grow in numbers and determination to prevent it. With the help of the internet, intelligent/security departments, the judiciary, Congress, and the press, we will nonviolently take down Trump and his brigade. Still, words and warnings of those like Smith, who’ve seen this before, can be guidelines that cannot be heeded enough or too soon. Many thanks to all those who continue to speak out against what smacks of Nazism, tyranny and fascism.
Note: Harry Leslie Smith’s most recent book, “Harry’s Last Stand” is available on Amazon:
Ninety-one-year old Harry Leslie Smith became an internet sensation in late 2013 when his article for the Guardian website—"This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time"—was shared almost sixty thousand times on Facebook, attracting a huge amount of media attention.
Born in 1923 in the north of England and a longtime resident of Toronto, Ontario, Leslie Smith witnessed firsthand the horrors of the 1930s depression and the rebuilding of the world out of the rubble of the Second World War. He now fears that history is repeating, and with a voice as angry as it is lyrical, Harry shows us younger generations what the world looks like to him—and why we shouldn't take it lying down.
Harry Leslie Smith is a second world war RAF veteran and, at ninety-one, an activist for the poor and for the preservation of social democracy. He lives outside Toronto, Ontario.