When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over Europe in the early days of WW II, London became a refuge for the European leaders of several occupied nations, who escaped there to continue the fight. As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known as "Last Hope Island." In her books Last Hope Island and Citizens of London, Lynne Olson argues that England did not stand completely alone: the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians have recognized, and the Americans in London who worked tirelessly for US involvement, played a significant role in raising American awareness and sustaining British morale.
Churchill has portrayed World War II as an unalloyed American-British-Soviet triumph, with the Americans and British playing the starring role. Throughout the conflict, he promoted the idea that plucky little England and its united empire maintained the struggle "single-handed" until joined by the Soviet Union and the United States. This has remained the standard narrative.(1) The debacle across Europe.
(2) The European exodus to Britain and wartime London.
(3) Sparks of resistance, British intelligence and the BBC.
(4) The Battle of Britain: on the brink of disaster.
(5) Americans in London: the arrival of Winant, Harriman. Harry Hopkins and Lend-Lease.
(6) July - December 1941: Britain no longer “alone.” Stalin’s war and the threat to British Eastern Europeans allies; Roosevelt and Churchill take over the show.
(7) 1942-1943: preparation and planning for D-Day. SOE's missteps, European resistance movements and rescuing Allied airmen.
(8) American GI’s and the British.
(9) D-Day.
(10) Liberation Begins across Europe; Warsaw and Paris uprisings.
(11) The war in Europe draws to and end; the hunger winter; the West turns it back on Poland and Czechoslovakia.
(12) The aftermath of the European war: destruction, displaced persons, dealing with collaborators. Conclusions.
Core Books:
Last Hope Island - Britain, Occupied Europe & the Brotherhood that Helped Turn the Tide by Lynne Olsen, 2017.
Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour by Lynne Olsen, 2010.
Recommended:
Participants may find it useful to have a general history of WWII for reference. Examples of such books are Inferno by Max Hastings (2011), The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts (2012), and The Second World War by Anthony Beevor (2013).