Hitler did not want war and did not want to occupy France. He did so because the British invaded France, intending to invade Germany from the West. This was a follow-up to their naval blockade earlier that year.
A very long quote below follows, which references a few people and a couple of books on the subject of Dunkirk. The overall quote is from "The Myth of German Villainy" by Benton Bradberry:
"The real story is that Adolf Hitler halted the German panzers just at the point where they could have swept down and either destroyed or captured what amounted to the bulk of the entire British army as they were stranded indefensibly on the beaches of Dunkirk. If they had done so, Britain would thereafter have been defenseless against a German invasion and World War II would have been over in the West.
"But Hitler did not want to destroy the British army. He wanted only peace and friendship with Britain. In his book, The “Other Side of the Hill,” published in1948, which deals with the invasion of France and the Dunkirk event, British military historian Sir Basil Liddell Hart quotes the German General von Blumentritt concerning Hitler’s halt order:
“He (Hitler) then astonished us by speaking with admiration of the British Empire, of the necessity for its existence, and of the civilization that Britain had brought into the world. He remarked, with a shrug of the shoulders, that the creation of its Empire had been achieved by means that were often harsh, but ‘where there is planing, there are shavings flying’. He compared the British Empire with the Catholic Church saying they were both essential elements of stability in the world. He said that all he wanted from Britain was that she should acknowledge Germany’s position on the Continent. The return of Germany’s colonies would be desirable but not essential, and he would even offer to support Britain with troops if she should be involved in difficulties anywhere..”
"The “miracle at Dunkirk” was in fact an extraordinary peace overture to England."Louis Kilzer quoted Hitler, in his book “Churchill’s Deception,” 1994:
“The blood of every single Englishman is too valuable to shed. Our two peoples belong together racially and traditionally. That is and always has been my aim, even if our generals can’t grasp it.” Adolf Hitler.
"According to Kilzer, Hitler was trying to convince the British to make peace. Hitler even offered to pull out of France, retreat from the Low Countries, retreat from Norway and Denmark and to give up much of Poland in exchange for peace with Britain. Hitler wanted an alliance with Britain in order to fight Bolshevik Russia."
Hitler's order to cease hostilities wasn't a miscalculation or an error in judgement. It was obviously intentional. Hitler wasn't interested in becoming a major mass murderer or in maintaining an enormous prison population in huge camps in France. He just didn't want to engage in war with Britain.
This is a big reason why I never watch Nolan's film "Dunkirk", because it's nothing but British propaganda. Well, that, and because Nolan is a shit filmmaker.
Lordbananafist -10 points 2.1 years ago
lol you're so full of shit.