Waiting for Hitler: Voices From Britain on the Brink of Invasion

by Midge Gillies

The perfect follow-up for readers of Dunkirk , Hidden Britain , Finest Hour and other gripping, personal accounts of life during the Second World War. In late summer 1940, Hitler told his army to prepare to invade England. The nation waited, breathless with tension, for the Nazi threat to become real. Acclaimed author Midge Gillies gathers together the personal accounts of those who still remember this time, with written sources from contemporary press reports, to diaries and letters, to illustrate and recreate the fear, suspense and even excitement of living in England in the shadow of the Nazis. A pair of sisters, determined that life should go on as normally as possible, carry on swimming and playing tennis - only to find themselves under suspicion of being sympathisers because of their seemingly carefree attitude. A group of former poachers and gamekeepers huddle in a woodland hideout, newly trained and prepared to blow up bridges and slit German throats. Citizens hide their most treasured possessions from the Nazis in biscuit tins, or bury them in graveyards. Over the weekend of September 7th, the code word for high alert flashed round the country, and with tensions at their height many assumed it to mean that the Nazis had already landed. Sunday September 8th was declared a National Day of Prayer - and seemed to many to be the beginning of the end. This is a compelling and evocative account of what it was like, for that short period in 1940, to be waiting for Hitler.

Genres: History, World War II, War

368 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2012

Reviews

[Sebastian Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and easy read.

Using several strands of private and personal historical narratives, mostly centred around ordinary British folk - such as two sisters in Norfolk, Scots artillery man Frank O’Brien, members of the Home Guard, etc, and others such as ‘resident aliens’ like Italian Decio Anzani, or the German Jewish Baruchs – Midge Gillies weaves a tapestry of firsthand accounts around the theme of ‘Waiting For Hitler’, during the invasion scare of 1940.

It’s kind of fun for me that there are quite a few stories relating to areas I know, mostly in East Anglia (and even London), such as Snettisham (Norfolk), and Hauxton (just south of Cambridge). It turns out that Gillies is local – she lives in Ely! – which may account for the unusual number of Anglian anecdotes!

Much of what one reads here makes Dad’s Army look worryingly like documentary history, as opposed to loving satire. England, esp. after the ‘heroic’ debacle of Dunkirk, was not well prepared! It’s also salutory to be reminded that the way we treated ‘enemy aliens’ was shockingly heavy-handed and unjust.

It’s hard to credit the impact an imminent Nazi invasion really must have had. This book does an admirable job of trying to convey the range of feelings, from ennui to all out panic, and from the unifying ‘we’re all in it together’ to the divisive paranoia around fifth columnists.

Perhaps because we know the feared invasion never came, even when one reads accounts such as these, it can all seem to partake of that ‘cosy rosy memories of WWII’ nostalgia that Britain seems so obsesssed with! This book is a reminder of the crazy goings on of those febrile and unusual times.

All told I found this an enjoyable and compelling read, and can definitely recommend it.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I this book is very informative and an in depth account of the summer of 1940 - this book demonstrates how under prepared the British people and the Government were for this Second World War.

You really have to marvel at the British who don't bow down to terrorism on any level of religion or race, even when the future is hanging in the balance and the cost to the nation and future nations affects all. The Second World War has had an impact on the future generations and was the debt has only recently been paid off within the last ten years. War is costly in mortality count and also in price but I never really thought of how people's lives were changed and how poor Britain was after the war had ended.

This book really brings to light how desperate the British people were, how truly remarkable the strength of the British people must have been when they didn't really know for certain what would happen if we didn't win, and how thankful I am that we had such amazing people throughout the war and history, willing to fight and challenging suffering across the World. This make me really proud of my history despite the circumstance on which it arose from and also really grateful to everyone who sacrificed for the future generations, any debt is worth that and more.

[Purnima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for Hitler is a brilliant narrative of the social history of the time. The poignance, anxiety and the deep reaching social consequences of war leap off every page. On the beach is one of my favourite fiction reads of recent times which draws several parallels to this book, given the moral and existential dilemmas in this book.

[Ellie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the summer of 1940, a summer quite unlike any other in British history.

Midge Gilles perfectly captures the growing tension as the people of a nation waited for an invasion everyone thought inevitable. Ordinary lives were turned upside down and the extraordinary became normal. Britain on the Brink is the perfect subtitle.

You are left with two overriding thoughts after reading this book. The first is how unprepared we really were, the second is wondering how modern generations would fare in similar circumstances.

It is a book that makes you think and a book that makes you grateful.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to get different views of the expected invasion.