A little off the topic of federal politics here but, in a comment to an earlier post here, the question was asked why didn’t the Germans of the Second World War destroy the monument Canada unveiled at Vimy in 1936. CTV PoliticsBlog reader Ray writes in with the following:
“…Adolf Hitler was a decorated veteran of the Great War and winner of the Iron Cross (if I'm not mistaken). There is a somewhat famous photo of Hitler posing in front of the Vimy monument in c.1940 (left). He seemed to appreciate great works of architecture, which may explain why he ordered that Paris remain intact during its capture. As well, Hitler would not authorize the use of gas by his troops against enemy combatants during the second world war, as he was injured by a gas attack during WWI, & felt that in combat, gas was too 'cruel and inhuman'. Obviously, this courtesy was not extended to everyone, but he did seem to posses a very real respect for combat soldiers German, Canadian, American, British, or otherwise, past and present.
Perhaps even a butcher like Hitler realized the enormous cost in lives, on both sides, and opted to leave these monuments and cemeteries remain intact to honor those lost..”
Now, as it turns out, in preparation for a story on tonight’s newscast dealing with Vimy, I was over at the Canadian War Museum and talked to Tim Cook, who is the museum’s expert on all things World War I. He confirmed that Hitler had, indeed, visited the memorial and that Ray’s account is, by and large, correct.
Interestingly, though, during the Second World War, the rumour got around to Canadian troops serving in Europe that Hitler had destroyed the Vimy memorial. Needless to say, it helped whip the troops up against the Germans. And, even though Canadian pilots would have flown over it countless times during the war and would have been able to see it standing perfectly intact, the myth persisted.
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