Foyle’s War Part 2
The BBC series, Foyle’s War, is an exemplar of historical fiction and period drama. I am not a film expert or dramatist, which might be obvious to my readers. But I am an historical fiction enthusiast. When I point out a particular book or film as the best of the best, I do it sparingly and honestly. I enjoy British film like Downtown Abbey: the costuming and soap-opera plots are addicting. I watch Poirot mysteries because I like the unusual art nouveau and art deco objects in every scene. Both series entertain their audiences by exposing the absurdities of pre-WWII British aristocracy. But P G Wodehouse books do the same. Foyle’s War does far more than these series that are popular among American viewers. It recreates history in dramatic form so that the stories are remembered. It recreates history in dramatic form to expose the realities of war and the dilemmas in which class and race, government and religion find themselves.
While I write this, I’m reminded of the German television series set in 1920s Germany, Babylon Berlin. It is also period drama at its best…engaging, authentic, edgy, at times uncomfortable to watch because it reveals historical truths that many want to suppress or distort. The setting, costumes, acting, writing, and music are remarkable. Most important to me are the lessons of history. And my first lesson from season 1 of Babylon Berlin was jolting; by 1929, prevalently seated inside Germany’s judiciary and law enforcement were angry men, resentful and racist and extremist. The far-right fascist movement was already in motion. Germans were hungry and unemployed, crime and violence had risen sharply, and distrust of state institutions hindered much-needed reform and civic progress. But the angry men pushed for vengeance and violence instead of reform or compromise.
Sounds like Americans should study 1920s Germany.
Foyle’s War shows that remarkable people are our neighbors, our public servants, our mothers, and our volunteers. Michael Kitchen plays the role of DCI Christopher Foyle, a public servant who keeps a keen eye on his tasks and expertly solves both mundane and international crimes. The character is an educated, experienced man whose empathy and learned ability to ascertain between liars and victims helps him apprehend the worst among a people already bearing the hardship of war. I am in love with this character; hence, I am in love with Kitchen. I’ve watched the series too many times to separate the actor from his role. But I imagine that men like the fictional character Foyle who were too old to enlist truly existed. Their contributions to public safety and war efforts remain immeasurable. And Foyle is neither aristocrat nor elitist. He understands class differences but does not hesitate to assert his professional authority when up against criminals from any of Britain’s social classes. My favorite scene is when DCI Foyle tells the American thief and murderer who’s being used by both Whitehall and Roosevelt to advocate for US involvement in Britain’s war against Germany, “When this war ends, I have this (he holds up a stolen gear on which the American became rich), and I will not have forgotten.”
And multiple other characters show the remarkable sacrifices that British people readily accepted. DCI Foyle’s driver is the young daughter of a country vicar. She is often hungry or homeless. Others work in munitions factories where accidents regularly cause loss of limb, sight, or death. The Land Girls left parents in London to toil on farms and raise food for the nation and troops. Londoners share shelter, laundry facilities, and the task of cleaning up the rubble left after a night’s bombing. Old men stand guard, dispense gas masks, and drive ambulances. Conscientious objectors farm or teach children or perform emergency medical tasks. Old women tend children while mothers work in factories or hospitals. Everyone contributes; everyone surrenders personal aspirations for the nation’s collective good.
So, how do the sacrifices of British people differ from the sacrifices made by the Germans during this era? Both governments have compulsory military enlistment, both nations experienced hardships caused by WWI and international economic collapse of 1929, both claim they’re defending their land and culture, both claim they’re in the right and that God is on their side, both have a decaying aristocracy and a generation of eighteen+ years eager to earn their place in society, both are afraid of an emerging Stalin socialist movement, and both had a strong, burgeoning middle class before WWI. What differs are their nations' reactions to the devastation caused by WWI and the economic collapse a decade later.
First, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles was a regrettable attempt to punish Germany and to recoup war costs. Germany’s efforts to feed its people and grow employment were hindered by harsh sanctions and impossible repayment plans. It wasn’t punishment; it was taking food from the mouths of children. Hence, inside Germany, hatred of the English and Americans and French grew astronomically. The German-produced film, Babylon Berlin, shows widespread hunger, shortages, unemployment, and the logical consequences of deep, localized, hopeless poverty. The United States and Great Britain entered a growth period in spite of their losses during WWI. Sons and daughters could not be replaced but, no one placed sanctions on the US and UK that created mass shortages of food, medicine, and jobs.
Hitler and his propagandists used the hopeless suffering in several ways. They rallied old racial biases toward Jews, Slavs, negroes, and homosexuals by blaming these groups for “taking your jobs” and “owning all the banks and global businesses” and “sexually molesting our children” and “using our schools to indoctrinate us”. Sound familiar, Americans? They also used the false blames and grievances to stoke violence. After forming uniformed, tactically trained groups, they planned skirmishes and escalated violence until German communities accepted the presence and violence of these militarized groups. At first, the aggression targeted only those who had “caused our suffering”. And Germans became bystanders. By 1933, Hitler had total power. Thereafter, Germans became upstanders – but protecting the despot and his bigotry laws instead of their neighbors and coworkers. Their suffering was eased.
Second, by 1938, most of Great Britain understood the aggressive, uncompromising intentions of the now-prosperous Germany. German people were enjoying high employment, bounteous feasts, and lavish parties…except for the Jews, dissenters, disabled and mentally ill, homosexuals…but Germans looked the other way. The Other did not matter. These were good times. Like the US and UK, most of Europe was digging its way out of the economic collapse. But by late 1939, people in England, Wales, and Scotland were at war with Germany. Churchill’s call to sacrifice and their acceptance of it came from reason-based fear that Germany would invade their islands and install fascist, despotic rule. It was survival mode.
In contrast, the Germans got high on their Cult leader and his first military victories. When Hitler asked them to sacrifice for war, they did so because He was their ideal leader, a superman, a fixer and a god, their Father and their Husband at once. Irrational mindset. True Believers. A nation of people mesmerized by a false god, roused by disinformation, spurred by hatred, electrified by imperialism. Hitler’s call to sacrifice and their acceptance of it came from delirium, induced by cult fever and two decades of disinformation.
Sound familiar, Americans?
What else is there to analyze? The Foyle’s War series is a collection of stories that reveal the struggles of people like you and me. These are heroic people. If I get lost in my irrational blues, my rational fear that my nation is capable of surrendering to willfully ignorant, violence-prone, authoritarian-bent extremists, I watch this historical drama. We haven’t given in to a cult leader or cult mindset…yet. We will not be bystanders. We will unite and contribute all we’ve got to beat back right wing extremists.