[Pete Ashby]

Mike

Difficult question you pose here.

In the UK the interest for re-enacting from many periods of my countries long history has been gaining pace and respectability for a number of years now. Be you a Celtic warrior, Roman Legionary, Viking pirate, Dark Age Warrior, Saxon mercenary, Mounted Norman knight, War of the Roses foot soldier, English Civil war pike man, Napolionic rifleman, WW1 trench soldier or WW11combatant you will have a number of clubs to cater for your interest.
The general public appear react to all this on the whole with benign interest and the feeling is if that's what they want to do then at least their not rioting and costing the tax payer money in policing fees as do most of our so called sports.

What's this got to do with your original question ? ……I have observed the following reaction from the public…. If the historical event is outside of living memory then the whole thing takes on something of a pageant, it lights the imagination and lets the spectator view with emotional detachment two men trying to chop bits of each other. The rationalisation here is that we all know one is a Bank Manager from Slough and the other is a teacher from Leeds so if it starts to get a bit scary all the observer has to do is remember that they are just putting on a show. This view will undoubtly upset the re-enactors who put vast amounts of time and money into getting things right.
If we now move to WW11 which is the period that has prompted your question then things get a bit more confused for us here in the UK and in Europe. Three factors may be at work here,

1 this is within immediate or first generation memory for large numbers of people
2 I think there is a compelling fascination for some that Hitler and the German armed forces came so close yet ultimately failed
3 The USA had nearly three million men in the UK just before D-Day and a presence from 1942 to the current day. This has had a huge cultural effect on Britain the echoes of which can still be felt today.

What does this mean for WW11 re-enactment at MV events? US and British (I'm including all Common Wealth and Dominion Forces in here) usually get a good reception and the standards of dress and behaviour do credit to the various organisations involved. German units are viewed with a range of emotions ranging from historical interest, suspect political motives through to hostility.
I have to say the German re-enactors I have seen put on a very professional demonstration of kit and uniforms.
But it leaves me feeling uneasy even though I find the historical aspect interesting.
Why do these Englishmen want to represent a force that so nearly crushed the free world?.
Why do they want to represent a force that perpetrated such crimes against humanity?.
I have asked a number of them over the years, the more articulate will say that they represent the balance and this may be true, my Father fought for six years for his country and was always the first to remind me that we won so we got to write the history.

Do I think WW11 battle re-enactment is acceptable?….. No…that’s playing soldiers…. The real experience would be to use live rounds. Having said that why is it OK to watch a thousand English Civil War re-enactors knocking seven bells out of each other on a sunny Sunday in June ? historical distance? my point above .
I restore my trucks and regard them as time capsules that represent a period of high endeavour and focused effort when there were clear goals and the shades of grey were not so varied as now in our grey grey world of political correctness.
Perhaps the re-enactor is a living example of this clearer world, done well and with personal pride and discipline I think it has it's place... but not for me.
Running round firing blanks and then going home to tea I think is too soon after the event to my mind and has no place at MV shows, but of course it brings in the crowds!!.

Pete