| Revision as of 05:29, 27 September 2009 view sourceJacurek (talk | contribs)9,609 edits -dear anon, please read the sources. The only unit that was invited was of the Div. 303 Polish air force. They refused to participate due to the fact that that no other Poles received invitation← Previous edit | Revision as of 13:39, 28 September 2009 view source Varsovian (talk | contribs)1,649 edits 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.Next edit → | ||
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| There has recently been some controversy on the ] 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 ] 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> | ||
| The parade is also notable for the exclusion of all Polish servicemen; hundreds thousands of whom served in the ] as one of the largest Allied contingents. The ] was the only Polish unit invited; it declined because the invitation was not extended to any other Polish units, despite Poland being ]. Poles were expected to attend the ] since the Western Allies did not want to antagonize ], whose ] claimed Poland under their ]. This is considered one of the causes of the feeling of "]" in Poland.<ref name="VicPar">Rudolf Falkowski, . Last accessed on 31 March 2007.</ref><ref name="QoH">], ], ''A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II '', Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, .</ref><ref name="FT06">Kwan Yuk Pan, , ], July 5 2005. Last accessed on 31 March 2006.</ref> | |||
| ==Lack of Polish participation== | |||
| The parade is also notable for claims that all Polish servicemen were excluded from taking part.<ref name="QoH">], ], ''A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II '', Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0375411976, .</ref><ref name="FT06">Kwan Yuk Pan, , ], 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 "]" 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 </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 </ref> On 6 July 1945 the British government officially recognised the Polish ] (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej; TRJN) and withdrew recognition from the London-based ]. Therefore the 1946 invitations to the victory parade were sent to the ] and not to ]. This invitation to send representatives was accepted but no representatives actually arrived. ] newspaper reported in June 1946 “The Polish Government accepted, but the contingent has not yet arrived.” | |||
| <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.'' | |||
| </ref> Some authors claim that the Polish government was ordered by the Soviet leadership to not send representatives. <ref name="VicPar">Rudolf Falkowski, . Last accessed on 31 March 2007.</ref> | |||
| However, the situation with Polish forces was more complex than with other nations. Although ], Polish forces were split between the ] and the ], who took part in ]. After public and media outcry that no units from the ] had been invited to the London parade, invitations were extended to representatives of Polish airmen who had taken part in the ] <ref> ], “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299 </ref>. But as ] 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 </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. | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| *] | *] | ||
| *] | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
| <!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags--> | <!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags--> | ||
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| == External links == | == External links == | ||
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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.
Lack of Polish participation
The parade is also notable for claims that all Polish servicemen were excluded from taking part. 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 and lists the Polish airforce as one of the foreign airforces scheduled to parade. 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.” Some authors claim that the Polish government was ordered by the Soviet leadership to not send representatives.
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 . 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.” 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