'Above All Nations: Acts of Kindness done to Enemies, in the Present War by Men of Many Nations' (1945)
‘Above All Nations: Acts of Kindness done to Enemies, in the Present War by Men of Many Nations’ - George Catlin, Vera Brittain, and Sheila Hodges (eds) (1945)
Our image of the Second World War is often one of battle, brutality, and bloodshed. We tend to think of the war in terms of the bigger picture, but seldom consider the individual actions of men, whether good or bad, within the context of war. The book ‘Above All Nations: Acts of Kindness done to Enemies, in the Present War by Men of Many Nations’ challenges our impression of the Second World War because it tells us stories about acts of goodwill performed by both Allied and Axis soldiers throughout the conflict. The book is made up of hundreds of short newspaper articles, each of which details a simple act of kindness carried out between British, German, Italian, Russian, American, French, and Canadian soldiers. This small but powerful book was published in 1945, immediately after the conclusion of the war by the now defunct London Victor Gollancz Publishing House. Each newspaper extract contained within the text was carefully and purposefully selected by its three principal editors, George Catlin, Vera Brittain, and Sheila Hodges, who were known pacifists in their time. The book is divided into numerous chapters which deal with goodwill towards the enemy, helping the wounded, kindness towards prisoners and internees, comedy, goodwill from civilians, respect towards the dead, love towards the other side, and Christian morality. The foreword outlines that the purpose of this book was to ask a public reeling from the devastating effects of the conflict to have hope and faith in humanity and not to be overcome by the hatred and malice produced by the experience of war.
Most of the book concentrates on the friendliness exhibited between enemies on the frontlines of the war. The chapter on goodwill in battle gives one particular example of a Canadian flight lieutenant named Henry William McLeod who immediately after shooting down a German plane off the coast of Malta, tried to save the life of the German pilot to ensure that there was ‘no hard feelings’ between the two men. Other similar acts of kindness towards the enemy can be found in the chapter on prisoners and internees where one article tells us how blinded British prisoners of war in Germany were given better conditions by their captors as well as reading and writing help on a daily basis.
However, the book does not just focus on soldiers as a particular chapter is devoted to the civilians who risked their lives and reputations to assist those considered to be enemies of the nation. One such story describes how a Welsh woman from Pwllheli crossed a German-manned bridge in Amalfi in order to get food supplies to Italian towns cut off by the war.
Another good thing about this book is that it does not just stick to the dominant Western narrative of events because stories from the Asian and Pacific fronts are also included in the text. One such example can be found in the chapter on helping the wounded where one excerpt tells us about a Scot and a German who helped smuggle insulin into a besieged Shanghai, which was under Japanese occupation at the time, as an act of Christian goodwill in order to treat injured civilians and soldiers
The theme of Christian pacifism is a dominant overtone in this book and indeed, a whole chapter is devoted to faith responses to the war. Two German examples stand out as one recounts the actions of a Catholic bishop from Berlin who publicly spoke out against the persecution of Jews and other acts of Nazi violence. Another similar example can be seen in the story about the Archbishop of Cologne who denounced the war in a radio broadcast and stated that the whole ethos of Christian doctrine was to love your enemy.
These aforementioned examples sit alongside a whole trove of other stories which detail similar deeds of goodwill performed throughout the Second World War. This book is an incredible source of information because it presents us with details that are not commonly found in a regular history book. Therefore, this text is a valuable source for historians studying the Second World War, pacifism and peace movements relating to the war, or the responses and reactions of the public immediately after the conclusion of the conflict.
If this book has captured your interest, other works about pacifism and peace movements in war can be found in the Hypatia Collection. As well as having books on Second World War pacifism, the Collection also has texts about pacifist peace groups in the First World War, such as ‘Most Dangerous Women: Feminist Peace Campaigners of the Great War’ which gives a fantastic insight into the idea of pacifism though the often unexplored lens of gender.
If you would like to read another book written by Vera Brittain, the Collection holds a copy of ‘The Rebel Passion: A Short History of Some Pioneer Peace-Makers’ which would be useful in order to gain a deeper understanding of individual peace campaigners throughout history.
Beyond the Hypatia Collection, the British Library and the Imperial War Museum are two fantastic places to find more sources on pacifism and peace-movements from both the First World War and the Second World War.
Written by Hannah Evans