1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Frying. Today we 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: are picking up where we left off in our two 5 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: part podcast on the evacuation of Dunkirk, known as the 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: Miracle of Dunkirk or Operation Dynamo, at least in the 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: UK in the US not necessarily known by that name 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: other places. Last time, we talked about at the beginnings 9 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: of World War two and how from May nine to tenth, 10 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France, 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: and then over the next ten days basically plowed right 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: through the Allied defense with advanced units making it all 13 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,480 Speaker 1: the way to the English Channel. This was an efficient, 14 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: highly strategic maneuver on Germany's part to win very quickly 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: because Germany knew it could not outlast its enemies in 16 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: a drawn out war. So if you have not heard 17 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: that episode, this one will probably make basic sense. This 18 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: is where most of the movies, books, and TV shows 19 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: about the evacuation of Dunkirk start off. Anyway, But those 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: first weeks of World War two you tend to be 21 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: glost completely over, particularly for Americans, since the United States 22 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: had not joined the war riort at that point. Plus 23 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: it is often portrayed as France just sort of rolling 24 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: over and surrendering immediately with no resistance, which is not accurate. 25 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: So if you would like to know more about that, 26 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: it is back in Part one, and we have the 27 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: same caveat here as Part one. Even at two parts, 28 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: this stretch of history is just incredibly complicated. There are 29 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: multiple multi hundred page books that get into all the 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: fine details of all the individual towns and troop movements 31 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 1: and military decisions. So we're trying to strike a balance 32 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: with these two episodes between the two main modes of 33 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: telling this story, one of which is basically three sentences, 34 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: and the other is seven hundred pages of more detail 35 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: than you could possibly want. After the first German forces 36 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: plowed through France and reached the English Channel, the Allied 37 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: forces in France and Belgium were left in disarray. Not 38 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: only did they hold no central point from which to rally, 39 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: but they were increasingly cut off from one another, with 40 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: communication and supply lines disrupted. They were also being surrounded 41 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: and pushed towards the sea, with German forces moving in 42 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: from multiple directions. If you look at maps of how 43 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: this progressed, the arrows representing Germany essentially move in from 44 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: all sides through the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Germany also 45 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: dropped pamphlets to that effect, showing the Allied positions surrounded 46 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 1: by Germany urging them to surrender. Yeah, if you've seen 47 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: one of the many trailers for Dunkirk where you see 48 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: somebody holding this, this pamphlet that's been dropped out of 49 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: an airplane that basically is like, here's us, here's you, 50 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,079 Speaker 1: You should surrender. Like that is based on a real thing. 51 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: On May one, the Allies tried to mount a counter 52 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: attack near a rapt in northwestern France. From the start, 53 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: this was a long Many of the tanks involved had 54 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: been moved to Belgium earlier in May to fight the 55 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: German invasion there. Then they were moved back into France 56 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:11,239 Speaker 1: when it became clear that Germany's efforts in Belgium were 57 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: a diversion, with the primary attack really coming into France 58 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: through the Ardennes in the southeast. That was about three 59 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: hundred miles of travel over the course of ten days 60 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: without a lot of opportunity for repair maintenance. The Allied 61 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: force was able to inflict heavy damage at the start 62 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: of the fighting, but soon tanks started to break down 63 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,760 Speaker 1: and the German force, which had been thrown into confusion 64 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: in the initial assault, regrouped. The German forces, superior numbers 65 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: in terms of both men and tanks, soon overwhelmed the Allies, 66 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: who once again had to fall back. However, the Allied 67 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: counter attack had done enough damage in those first hours 68 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: that the German high command started to fear that if 69 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: they had more armored divisions in one place, the Allies 70 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: might actually turn things around. So from Germany's point of view, 71 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: it became even more critical to win and win quickly. 72 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: It was clear at this point that the Allied forces 73 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: just did not have the strength to repel the German army, 74 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: not in the state that they were in, encircled, divided, 75 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: and being driven towards the coast. The German military was faster, 76 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,479 Speaker 1: more nimble, and in general better prepared, and France and 77 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: Britain were still reeling from having fallen directly into Germany's trap. 78 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: So on May, rather than continuing to fight what was 79 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 1: obviously a losing battle, General John Gort, Commander in chief 80 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: of the British Expeditionary Force, recommended that they withdraw back 81 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:42,279 Speaker 1: to Britain. Although this was a unilateral decision that disregarded 82 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: France's plan to continue fighting, it was not a hasty one. 83 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: Gort had presented this as the wisest option as early 84 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: as the nineteen and non combat personnel had begun to 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: be evacuated at that time. From the British point of view, 86 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: the proposed evacuation was not an abandonment of rants or 87 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: of the war effort. Britain would still be fighting alongside 88 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,239 Speaker 1: France by sea and by air, but it seemed clear 89 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: that the only other options in terms of ground troops 90 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:14,160 Speaker 1: were surrender or death. In either of those scenarios, hundreds 91 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: of thousands of soldiers would either be killed or imprisoned, 92 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: leaving Britain with almost no infantry or armored divisions. In 93 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: that scenario, Britain expected that Germany would invade and Britain 94 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't have the means to stop it, so retreating back 95 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: across the Channel was a tactical move to get the 96 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: British Expeditionary Force out of harm's way. At least relatively speaking, 97 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 1: so they could plan a strike against Germany that would 98 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: actually work. From the French point of view, Britain was 99 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: abandoning them to face Germany alone. Between May twenty three, 100 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 1: when General Gort called for an evacuation and May when 101 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: Winston Churchill authorized it to begin, the British Expeditionary Force 102 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: made preparations to escape. With the loss of the Port 103 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: of Calais, Dunkirk was the last port that the all 104 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: Eyes could access. The Allies reinforced the canals around Dunkirk, 105 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: moved troops and equipment into position, and gathered as many 106 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,599 Speaker 1: watercraft as possible. This included a lot of smaller military 107 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: vessels that were to be used as tenders, ferrying men 108 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: from the port to the larger ships awaiting off the coast. 109 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: The initial plan was to use Dunkirk's port to remove 110 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: forty five thousand troops over the span of two days. 111 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,239 Speaker 1: This was not anywhere close to the number of troops 112 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: still left in Belgium and France, but Germany was rapidly 113 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: closing in from multiple directions. Many of the British troops 114 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,240 Speaker 1: were just too far away to make it to Dunkirk 115 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: before Germany's inevitable victory there. This really seemed certain, especially 116 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: since some Handser brigades had already reached the defensive line 117 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: around Dunkirk. But on May there was a pause in 118 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: the relentless German assault. The advanced troops fell back, and 119 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: for about forty eight hours the bulk of the German 120 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: ground force stayed put. Their continues to be debate about 121 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: exactly why this was. If Germany had pressed ahead, Dunkirk 122 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,760 Speaker 1: would have fallen before many troops could have been evacuated, 123 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: but instead Germany stopped. In all likelihood, it was probably 124 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: a combination of several of the most likely factors. There 125 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: was the practical need to refuel and maintain the panzers 126 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: that had gotten head, and to generally resupply. It's also 127 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: likely that the German army thought it would be possible 128 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: to stop the evacuation by destroying the ships from the air. 129 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,880 Speaker 1: The area around Dunkirk was surrounded by canals that the 130 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: tanks couldn't cross without pontoon bridges, and it was also 131 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: marshy and easily flooded, leading to fears that the tanks 132 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: could become mired nearing an assault. The Allied success in 133 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: the early hours of the counter attack at Ross may 134 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: have raised fears that another stronger counter attack was being planned, 135 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: and there are various contradictory theories about how Hitler was 136 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: regarding Britain at this point, whether he was perhaps hoping 137 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: to negotiate a peace and stayed his hand with the 138 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: hope of using it as a tool during negotiations. Of course, 139 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: the counter argument to that is that he would have 140 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: had a much bigger card to play if he had 141 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 1: just captured the British Army. Regardless of what prompted it, 142 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: that brief repreve ultimately allowed far more troops to get 143 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: to done Kirk, and it gave the force already there 144 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: more time to bolster the fortifications. And without this pause, 145 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: the massive evacuation that we will talk about after a 146 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 1: sponsor break could not possibly have taken place. May was 147 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: scheduled to be the first full day of Operation Dynamos evacuations, 148 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: which were being planned and overseen by Bertram Ramsey, Vice 149 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: Admiral at Dover. But Captain William Tennant, who was responsible 150 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: for managing the operations in the port at Dunkirk, arrived 151 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: that day to find that the German Luftwaffe's air raids, 152 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: which had gone on for more than twenty four hours, 153 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: had destroyed most of the port facilities, and as that 154 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: was happening, the Belgian dens was crumbling on. Belgium sued 155 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: for an armistice, removing Belgium's fighting force from the defense. 156 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,960 Speaker 1: Belgium would surrender to Germany the following day. The entire 157 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 1: situation immediately became more complicated. The destruction of Dunkirk's port 158 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: made the evacuation of Allied troops vastly more difficult, and 159 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: the newly opened hole in the Allied defense made it 160 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,400 Speaker 1: more precarious. Captain Tennant concluded that it would be far 161 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,439 Speaker 1: too time consuming to move troops directly from the shore 162 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: to the ships. The water near the shore was much 163 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: too shallow for even most small boats to get close. 164 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,679 Speaker 1: Dunkirk's beaches were sandy and gently sloping, which made it 165 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: a very popular vacation destination, but that shallow water meant 166 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: that men would have to wade for up to one 167 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:48,040 Speaker 1: hundred yards even to get into a smaller vessel, and 168 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: that smaller vessel would then need to carry its passengers 169 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: to a larger vessel waiting in deeper water, plus those 170 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: larger vessels couldn't take a direct route between Dunkirk and Dover. 171 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: Germany control old the port at Calais to the south, 172 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: along with much of the water around it, and could 173 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: train guns on the French coast from its position at Calais, 174 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: so ships going back to Britain had to take a 175 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 1: very roundabout way, sometimes traveling far north along the French 176 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 1: and Belgian coasts before turning to cross the channel. A 177 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: large scale evacuation directly from the beaches was just not feasible. Ultimately, 178 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,719 Speaker 1: Captain Tennant decided to evacuate the troops from one of 179 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: the breakwaters that protected Dunkirk Harbor. It was known as 180 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: the East Mole, and this was a long jetty made 181 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: from concrete, stone and wood, with water on either side, 182 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: deep enough for destroyers to be moored there. It basically 183 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: made a bridge from the shore out to waiting ships, 184 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: and while some of those evacuating still did have to 185 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:48,800 Speaker 1: wade out into the water, sometimes for hours, the East 186 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: Mole became the primary evacuation point. About two hundred thousand 187 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: of the men evacuated were taken from the Mole. Additional 188 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,080 Speaker 1: makeshift jetties were also constructed by driving vehicles into the 189 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: water at low tide and then reinforcing them with wood 190 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: and other materials. As British troops were able to reach Dunkirk, 191 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: they gathered on the beaches queuing up to a wait departure, 192 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: and it was overall a harrowing weight. The men were hungry, 193 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: thirsty and dirty, and many were wounded. Although bad weather 194 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 1: kept the Luftwaffe away for a couple of days during 195 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: the evacuation, the area was otherwise under continual air assault. 196 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,160 Speaker 1: The air was clouded with smoke from burning oil tankers 197 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 1: and smoldering ruined ships. The beach itself and the town 198 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,600 Speaker 1: of Dunkirk were also increasingly filled with derelict vehicles and 199 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: other military equipment, deliberately put out of commission to keep 200 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: them from falling into the hands of Nazi Germany. It 201 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: was immediately clear that the British Expeditionary Force would need 202 00:11:47,559 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: more boats than it had to successfully evacuate. Even by 203 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: mooring destroyers along the East Mole, removal of the troops 204 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,599 Speaker 1: was proceeding too slowly. Britain had already created a civilian 205 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: small vessels rediter for the war effort, and on the 206 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: Admiralty began contacting people who had listed their boats. They 207 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: would eventually broaden the net, putting out a call for 208 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: any small vessel that was very shallow in the draft 209 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: and could get close to the Dunkirk beaches. Owners were 210 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,959 Speaker 1: directed to take their boats to several staging areas before 211 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: proceeding to Ramsgate, which was the departure point for the 212 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,119 Speaker 1: fleet of little ships. The little ships ultimately included civilian 213 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: vessels of almost every conceivable use. There were yachts and 214 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: other pleasure craft, fishing boats, lifeboats, ferries, fireboats, racing boats, 215 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: and steamers. Some of the little ships were captained by 216 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 1: their owners or day to day operators. This was particularly 217 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: true of fishing boats, whose owners were well experienced on 218 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: the water already. Others were either handed over to or 219 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: commandeered by the Royal Navy to be helmed by military personnel, 220 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:54,839 Speaker 1: regardless of whether they were going all the way back 221 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: to Dover or to a larger ship farther offshore. The 222 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,960 Speaker 1: little ships were critical to the evacuation if for allowing 223 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 1: far more men to be removed from Dunkirk and doing 224 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:08,800 Speaker 1: a job in incredibly dangerous circumstances. The evacuees weren't necessarily 225 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: safe once they got onto a ship. Though Hitler had 226 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: ordered Hermann Gurrig, the Luftwaffe commander in chief, to destroy 227 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: the British Expeditionary Force. This he tried to do by 228 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: bombing Dunkirk, primarily but not exclusively, focusing on the ships 229 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: out in the harbor. Men waiting on shore witnessed already 230 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: loaded boats and ships being bombed and sunk, with the 231 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: survivors of the initial impact drowning or being crushed by 232 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,520 Speaker 1: debris before they could be rescued. This made leader of 233 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: ecuees reluctant to go below decks once they were aboard themselves, 234 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: because it would be harder to escape if the ship 235 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,959 Speaker 1: that they were on were bombed or torpedoed. The destroyers 236 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: that were pulling men from the East Mole weren't intended 237 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 1: as troop transports, and with the men refusing to go below, 238 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: their decks became so overloaded that there was no room 239 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: to crew the ship's guns. Was also apparently a harrowing ride. 240 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: Since they couldn't crew the guns, they had to do 241 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: extra zigzagginus to get back across the channel, and since 242 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:14,240 Speaker 1: they were very top heavy. With careening going on on, 243 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: the Liftwaffe's activity in Dunkirk reached its peak. Ten destroyers 244 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: and eight personnel ships were either sunk or put out 245 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: of commission on that one day, some by the Liftwaffe 246 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: and some by Navy torpedoes. Even so, forty seven thousand 247 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: troops were rescued just that day while under heavy fire. 248 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: Throughout the evacuation, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy 249 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: tried to defend the transport ships by sea and air, 250 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: with the RAF providing twenty four hour air cover while 251 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: consistently outnumbered by German aircraft. A lot of the RAF 252 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: activity wasn't actually visible from the shore or the evacuation route, though, 253 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: which led to the assumption that there was no air cover, 254 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 1: even though the RAF lost one forty five aircraft while 255 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,520 Speaker 1: defend in the evacuation. As the evacuation war on. This 256 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: led to a lot of friction and hard feelings between 257 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: the Air Force and the other branches of the British military, 258 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: and there are a lot of stories about people disembarking 259 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: one of the ships and running into a pilot being 260 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: like where were you guys, and the answers they were 261 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: they were they were in the air. The evacuation at 262 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: Dunkirk was originally a British plan to save the British 263 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: Expeditionary Force, but on May twenty nine, France, which had 264 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,160 Speaker 1: previously planned to stay and fight, joined the evacuation effort 265 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: as well contributing French ships to the effort and evacuating 266 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: French personnel. France's involvement in the evacuation was marked as 267 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: this whole period of the war with numerous miscommunications and misunderstandings. 268 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: French troops arriving in Dunkirk on June one and second 269 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: believed they were going there to be evacuated, but they 270 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: had really been sent to mount a counter attack. Another 271 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: miscommunication played out on the night of June's second through third, 272 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 1: when French troops that were being evacuated were sent to 273 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: the beaches when the ships were really waiting at the 274 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 1: east Male. By the time the men learned where they 275 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: were supposed to be and got to the mole the 276 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: ships had left was further heightened the sense of bitterness 277 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: over Britain's decision to evacuate. French high command gave the 278 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: last remaining troops the order to evacuate on June three. However, 279 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: many of this last rearguard who tried to evacuate had 280 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,000 Speaker 1: their way blocked by deserters who had been hiding in 281 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,600 Speaker 1: Dunkirk and rushed the ships to try to get away. 282 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,359 Speaker 1: Many of these French troops were ultimately captured. Between May 283 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: and June four, three hundred thirty eight thousand, two hundred 284 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: twenty six troops were evacuated from Dunkirk, two hundred thirty 285 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,120 Speaker 1: nine thousand, five hundred and fifty five were taken from 286 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: the harbor, and ninety eight thousand, six hundred and seventy 287 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,440 Speaker 1: one from the surrounding beaches. It was roughly a sixty 288 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: forty split of British and French troops, with a small 289 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: number of troops from other nations. Well. General Gort was 290 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:04,000 Speaker 1: evacuated on the thirty to keep him from being captured 291 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: by the Germans, both for strategic reasons and because it 292 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: would have been hugely devastating to morale if that had happened. 293 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: So this was far far beyond the initial plan of 294 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: forty five thousand people rescued, and it was not by 295 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,399 Speaker 1: any stretch without consequences, and we'll talk about all of 296 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 1: that after we first paused for a sponsor break. British 297 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 1: propaganda surrounding the Dunkirk evacuation began almost immediately. The term 298 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,920 Speaker 1: Dunkirk Spirit came into use, signifying a coming together to 299 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: steadfastly faced down adversity. The fleet of Little Ships became 300 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 1: an emblem of bravery and perseverance that persists today today. 301 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: There's even an association of Dunkirk Little Ships that mounted 302 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: a smaller scale return to Dunkirk in On June four, 303 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: the day the evacuation ended, Prime Minister Winston Church gave 304 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: his famous we shall fight on the beaches speech, which 305 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: is quite rousing, and it he noted, quote, we must 306 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the 307 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,880 Speaker 1: attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations, 308 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: but there was a victory inside this deliverance which should 309 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: be noted. The victory inside this deliverance, though, was incredibly 310 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: hard one, as some troops were waiting at Dunkirk to 311 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,960 Speaker 1: be evacuated, others, primarily British and French. We're defending a 312 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: twenty five mile that's about forty kilometer front around the 313 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 1: perimeter of Dunkirk, and this was the absolute last line 314 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: of defense, with the defenders only job to hold off 315 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:44,120 Speaker 1: the Germans as long as possible to protect this evacuation. 316 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,720 Speaker 1: The British troops had received this order as quote, you 317 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,919 Speaker 1: will hold your present position at all costs to the 318 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,840 Speaker 1: last man and last round. This is essential in order 319 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:58,879 Speaker 1: that a vitally important operation can take place. As the 320 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: evacuation war on to the last man increasingly included men 321 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,200 Speaker 1: who were two wounded to get to an evacuation ship, 322 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,359 Speaker 1: along with medical personnel who had volunteered to stay. This 323 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: defense force was also relatively speaking poorly armed. Tanks, anti aircraft, guns, 324 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: and other heavy equipment had largely been destroyed or rendered 325 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,280 Speaker 1: inoperable before the evacuation began to keep it from being 326 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: put into use by Germany, which meant that it also 327 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: could not be put into use by the defenders during 328 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 1: the evacuation. Eight thousand, sixty one British troops and one thousand, 329 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: two hundred thirty Allied troops were killed. At the end 330 00:19:37,359 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: of the war. At least fort hundred British troops who 331 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,919 Speaker 1: had been present in continental Europe in May of nineteen 332 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: forty were missing with no known grave site because they 333 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,760 Speaker 1: had been without real medical care for so long. Injured 334 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 1: British soldiers who did make it to Dover had often 335 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: contracted gang green or had wounds that were infested with maggots, 336 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: but the French losses were much much higher. About forty 337 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 1: thousand French troops left behind during the evacuation became prisoners 338 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: of war. Those who survived their time as POWs were 339 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: not liberated until ninety five, and in terms of the 340 00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: war up until that point, France had faced huge losses. 341 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: From May tenth to June fourth, roughly sixty eight thousand 342 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: British troops were captured or killed for the French, though 343 00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: that number was more than two hundred thousand. Germany lost 344 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:30,199 Speaker 1: far far fewer troops during this time than either Britain 345 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,680 Speaker 1: or France. At least two hundred and forty vessels were 346 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:38,120 Speaker 1: lost during the Dunkirk evacuation, including nine destroyers, six from 347 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: Britain and three from France. Another twenty six destroyers were damaged. 348 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,640 Speaker 1: Of the nine hundred thirty three ships that took part 349 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,879 Speaker 1: in the evacuation, two hundred thirty six were lost and 350 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: sixty one were put out of commission. Because of the 351 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 1: number of men that needed to be evacuated, and the 352 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,960 Speaker 1: constant pressure to remove them quickly before the Germans broke through. 353 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: The All Eyes also left behind a wealth of equipment, 354 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:09,199 Speaker 1: including tanks and other vehicles, anti aircraft, guns, firearms, helmets, 355 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: as much of it as possible rendered inoperable before leaving 356 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: it behind. Food, fuel, and other supplies were also abandoned 357 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 1: during the evacuation. To be clear, these were not small amounts. 358 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:26,360 Speaker 1: Approximately sixty thousand vehicles, two thousand, five hundred guns, seventy 359 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 1: six thousand tons of ammunition, and four hundred thousand tons 360 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: of stores were left behind. What couldn't be destroyed was 361 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,479 Speaker 1: reclaimed by Germany. There were also whole groups of troops 362 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,359 Speaker 1: that were stranded during the defense of the evacuation and 363 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,880 Speaker 1: then were captured or killed. On May in Wormoot, France, 364 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: roughly thirty kilometers southeast of Dunkirk, about a hundred British 365 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: and French soldiers who had been part of the rearguard 366 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: were taking prisoner by the s S. Nearly all were 367 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: killed in what came to be known as the Wormoot massacre. 368 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 1: When the SS three grenades into the barn where they 369 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 1: were being held, then removed and shot the survivors in 370 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: groups of five. Only fifteen survived this initial massacre, but 371 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: so many of them were severely injured that most of 372 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 1: them had died within days of escaping. On May thirty one, 373 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,560 Speaker 1: thirty five thousand troops were captured at Lee, roughly eighty 374 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,880 Speaker 1: kilometers southeast of Dunkirk, when they were cut off as 375 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,720 Speaker 1: the wider perimeter around Dunkirk collapsed. Germany, of course, also 376 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:32,440 Speaker 1: continued its assault on France. After the evacuation was complete 377 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: on June ninth, the focus turned to Paris, with Italy 378 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 1: also declaring war on France on June tenth. The French 379 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: government fled on the France surrendered on June, with Hitler 380 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: arranging for the surrender to be signed in the same 381 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: train car on which Germany had surrendered at the end 382 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:54,720 Speaker 1: of World War One. This was a humiliating defeat for France, 383 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: with the intentional use of the train car compounding that humiliation, 384 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,199 Speaker 1: but it was not at all the sudden arrival of 385 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: troops on the steps of Paris followed by an immediate 386 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: surrender as it is so often described. Francis surrender up 387 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: ended Britain's plans for a return to fight on the 388 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: ground after regrouping, although the British Navy and the Royal 389 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: Air Force continued the fight and ground combat continued in 390 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,760 Speaker 1: Northern Africa and other parts of Europe. It would be 391 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: nearly four years before Britain launched another major assault on 392 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,159 Speaker 1: the ground in France that took place on the D 393 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,399 Speaker 1: Day Invasion of Normandy and amphibious assault involving American, British 394 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: and Canadian forces among others. Although Charles de Gaul refused 395 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,679 Speaker 1: to accept the French surrender and continued to try to 396 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,680 Speaker 1: plan a French military resistance from Britain. After the surrender 397 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: to Germany, the official French government continued to be led 398 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,439 Speaker 1: in Beauty France by Marshall Philippe Pitan, who cooperated with 399 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany and was later convicted of treason. My conjecture 400 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:57,160 Speaker 1: is that it is really possible that if the Vty 401 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 1: government had not started collaborating with the Nazis, the fall 402 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: of France would be portrayed much more as a valiant 403 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,880 Speaker 1: but doomed effort, not as a cowardly surrender. I think 404 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,000 Speaker 1: that's a fair assessment. It is that is largely like 405 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,919 Speaker 1: that that move is is kind of what's pointed to 406 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,399 Speaker 1: in terms of like, oh, look at these guys to 407 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: just do whatever just to stay alive. They'll they'll collaborate 408 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: with anybody which is not after after having previously lost 409 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: more than two hundred thousands. And of course, a German 410 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: attack on Britain did arrive as feared, although it did 411 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: not involve troops on the ground. The Battle of Britain 412 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 1: and the Blitz stretched from July nineteen forty two May 413 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 1: of nineteen forty one. So while the evacuation of Dunkirk 414 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 1: was a success and that it saved the lives of 415 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of Allied personnel, far more than the 416 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: original plan, it was also unquestionably in military because it 417 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,399 Speaker 1: has to be Yeah, I don't think the movie is 418 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 1: going to really frame it as a catastrophe, at least 419 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,159 Speaker 1: based on I know. No, it's Christopher Nolan. He's not 420 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,240 Speaker 1: really like the here's your happy ending kind of director. 421 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: So we'll see had I think, what, Yeah, we will see. 422 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: H do you have a miraculous email? I think Julie. 423 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,959 Speaker 1: Julie rode in and said, Hi, Tracy and Holly. I'm 424 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: a sports radio host in Chicago who often works late 425 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: into the night, and I rely on missed in History 426 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,520 Speaker 1: to get me through my forty five minute commute from 427 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: Downtown back to the suburbs almost every night. It just 428 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: so happened. I was driving home from my studio when 429 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 1: I started listening to the episode on the Eastland Disaster. 430 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:34,800 Speaker 1: My commute takes me right along the Chicago River, and 431 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,040 Speaker 1: I was right on top of the exact spot the 432 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: Eastland went down when you started discussing it, just between 433 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 1: Clark and Lass South Streets. I think most Gen xers 434 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: who grew up in Chicago or had relatives from Chicago 435 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 1: grew up knowing about two events, the Eastland Disaster and 436 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,600 Speaker 1: the fire at the Our Lady of Angels School in 437 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,920 Speaker 1: probably because so many of us had grandparents who lived 438 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 1: through both events and talked about them during our youth. 439 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: I was especially gratified to hear you mentioned Marshall Fields 440 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,639 Speaker 1: helping out with the recovery effort after the Eastland went down. 441 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: It was just one of the reasons so many people 442 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,400 Speaker 1: in Chicago were ridiculously loyal to the department store, one 443 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,640 Speaker 1: of the others being Field's decision to rebuild its flagship 444 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:18,199 Speaker 1: store in Chicago after the Great Chicago fire. Many of 445 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 1: us were extremely upset when Fields was bought out and 446 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: became Amazings. I'm including a couple of pictures of a 447 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: plaque along Chicago River that commemorates the victims of the Eastland. 448 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: Hope you enjoy Keep up the amazing work, Julie. Another 449 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,760 Speaker 1: listener named Anne also sent us pictures of a memorial 450 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: at the Bohemian National Cemetery where a hundred and thirty 451 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 1: four victims of the Eastland disaster are buried. So thanks 452 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:42,639 Speaker 1: both of you for sending these notes in these pictures. 453 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:44,479 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, we are 454 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,640 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com. We're 455 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: also at Facebook dot com, sashmiss in History on Twitter 456 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: at miss in History. Basically all of our social media 457 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: is named missed in History. 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