Is Irelands neutrality stance in WW2 unfairly criticized? (see Mod note 217)

Books?

Two seconds on google and I was able to find out more than you were willing to post because you are that bitter and frankly twisted in your hate.
Think hard on what you are doing.

Two seconds on google is no good. I gave you links from numerous sources. You could not be bothered reading them as that would have taken much much more than 2 seconds. As I say, you should read the books. You would learn a lot as I had to fill you in on so many things.

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/the-lost-story-of-our-nazi-slaves/a/146740305.html

Peter Mulvany of the Irish Seaman's Relatives Association Disputes Harry Callan's retelling here, and also rubbishes 'The Irish Government Abandoned' sensationalism. :

German Documents in our archive show, that by the end of August 1944, Irish Chargé d'affaires Con Cremin had successfully acquired the cooperation of the Nazis to extract the Irishmen from Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager: (see letter dated 30th August 1944: Con Cremin to the Irishmen in Farge bei Bremen.)

However the German authority required proof that each of the Seamen to be issued an Irish Passport, qualified for Irish Citizenship before being released from Bremen-Farge Camp.

Following extensive background checks on each of the Seamen to ascertain their Irish Nationality via the German Minister in Dublin Dr Eduard Hempel, in cooperation with Assistant Secretary of the Department of External Affairs Frederick Boland, by October/November 1944 all except 3 of the Irish Born British Merchant Seamen had been confirmed as having Irish Nationality.

Following rechecks within Ireland, by the 22nd January 1945 the final batch of 3 Passports were issued from the Irish Legation in Berlin for Henry Callan, Edward Condon and William Knox including exit visas.

Prisoners declaring they were British, albeit born on the island of Ireland, was of concern to the German authority.

As Harry Callan declared he was of Northern Ireland Nationality/British in early 1943 and refused to sign for an Irish Passport as he deemed himself to be British, until invited to do so again in 1944, and interestingly now signed for an Irish Passport, perhaps he and those Irish Born British Merchant Seamen/Prisoners, who declared themselves to be of British/Northern Ireland/English Nationality, should take responsibility for the delay in obtaining an Irish Passport, which would have led them to being released at the very latest by the end of 1943 from the Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager.

Unfortunately, the efforts of Chargé d'affaires William Warnock to gain the release of all surviving Irish Born British Merchant Navy Seamen held in Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager had been frustrated due to these varying claims of Nationality by Harry Callan and others.

Conceivably, there are some Irishmen who would have been alive had Mr Harry Callan and some of his shipmates cooperated with the Irish Legation in 1943?

Ironically, by January 1945 following the efforts of Irish Chargé d'affaires Con Cremin, Mr Callan and all qualified Irish Born British Merchant Navy Survivors held in the Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager were awarded an Irish Passport.

 However, by January 1945, it was too late for some of the Irishmen. Perhaps Mr Callan and others, who since 1945 have directed their approbrium and apportioned blame towards the Irish Legation in Berlin for their continual incarceration in the Arbeitslager Bremen-Farge, should in fact be grateful for the efforts of the Irish Diplomatic Corps, who despite all the difficulties for Neutral Ireland during World War Two, made representations and intervened on behalf of Northern Ireland Born British Merchant Navy Seaman Mr Callan and his Shipmates in the Bremen-Farge Work Concentration Camp, which arguably hastened their return to the SAFETY of their former Camp, Marlag und Milag Nord Westertimke, in April 1945: (Film extract showing the Liberation of Marlag und Milag Nord 28 April 1945 - Imperial War Museum): (Google Map location Prison Camps Germany where Irish Born British Merchant Navy Seamen were held 1941-1945):

Interestingly, Mr Callan confronted former Irish Chargé d'affaires Con Cremin in Dublin many years after the war and accused Con Cremin of doing nothing for the Merchant Seamen held in Bremen-Farge, Cremin never answered Callan's charge.

Mr Callan has also asserted on previous occasions that he was never photographed in the Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager, and had never signed for an Irish Passport. That is UNTRUE: An Irish Passport Application was signed on the 07 April 1944 by Mr Callan which also includes a photograph taken while he was a prisoner in the Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager. It is inexplicable that Mr Callan records in his book that he did sign for an Irish Passport in 1943, yet the German record for the 5 July 1943 shows 5 men refused to complete the Irish Passport Application form sent by then Irish Chargé d'affaires William Warnock, and Prisoner Nr 90882 Harold Callan is recorded in German Archives as one of 5 Irishmen who refused to sign for an Irish Passport stating he was of Northern Irish/British Nationality, which raises concerns as to the reliability of Mr Callan's memory.

Thankfully German records in our archive (Extracts in English follow) have helped to work through the obvious inconsistencies in accounts given by Irish born British Merchant Navy Seamen held as Internees in the Bremen-Farge Arbeitslager 1943-45:

There is more here on a horrible website.

Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46)

*Posted as proof that there are conflicting narratives about all of this.

I'm not claiming any of it is true but he does seem to have the verification for his claims.

Wrong,we were a poor country being dragged into a power struggle that had nothing do do with us. We were just out of a trade war with Britain and most of the country didn't have running water or electricity. What exactly did we have to gain by joining the war in 39? I asked you before, what could we provide to the war effort that would make a difference? The Treaty ports were obsolete, hence the British handing them back with no plan for the coming war.

Imperialists and colonists never had an issue sending the young to their deaths.

When or where did I advocate sending men off to fight the Nazi in 1939? Given our history that would not have been realistic. Least we could have done though is given them back, until the end of the war, the Treaty ports, to save young mens lives in the Atlantic.

The American geared up for war in 1940 etc, well before Pearl Harbour. But I would not take any moral lessons from America anyway. They were late for both world wars.

When or where did I advocate sending men off to fight the Nazi in 1939?

But they still sent their young men off to fight the Nazis for us here in Europe.

What else did you mean?

US conscription began in September 1940 for men between 21-45 and they called up 900,000.

After Pearl Harbour they widened it to 18-64 and called up another 9,000,000. Many more volunteered after Pearl Harbour and some didn't even wait to be drafted and signed straight up the day they turned 18 like Grandpa Don who I mentioned here before.

On the Treaty ports, you were shown before how they were obsolete and that even the British Navy said they didn't need them. All Convoys went up the Irish sea and across the North.

If they joined the British Merchant Navy which was supplying the Allied armed forces they were considered a legitimate target of war under international law. You know this since you (claim to) have read two books on the subject.

A prisoner of war swap between Britain and the Axis powers could have gotten them home.

Why they would feel abandoned by DeValera, of all people, makes no sense to me. The Irish Government didn't encourage enlistment in foreign armed forces but covertly turning a blind eye to people traveling to Britain to volunteer.

It's another demonstration of how weak your case is imo. According to you DeValera now bears responsibility for random Irish people who voluntarily joined up to be part of the inter-linked British civilian and military war effort despite discouraging them from doing so ahead of time.

Under the rules of the era, merchant vessels were required to be warned and allowed to surrender or evacuate before being sunk, and their crews were to be spared. Of course we know the Axis powers did not always pay much heed to the rules of war or even observe common morality.

Prisoner swap during ww2? Little do you know. Returning trained soldiers to the battlefield would only give the enemy an immediate tactical advantage, and the vast numbers of captured humans made standard swaps logistically impossible.

If you were from neutral Ireland and were one of 50 Irishmen held by the Nazis in slave labour Concentration camps for a few years, and 22 of the 50 died, and the Irish government were afraid to pressure the Nazis for your release, and Dev had more respect for Hitler than for your Irish friends killed in the camps, would'nt you feel abandoned too? Dev has no problem soaking up to Hempel the Nazi party member who was distraught over the death of Hitler, wringing his hands, but how did Dev treat the Irish prisoners who survived Hitlers slave labour Concentration camps when they returned home?

I wonder do they think Dev abandoned James Brady who served 12 years after Joining the Waffen SS to avoid being imprisoned like the other Irish serving for the British?

When did Roosevelt say that Poland and other small nations freedom could swing on Nazi gallows? Seems like something you made up again? Like you made up your lie about how the Americans did not use the word Nazi, like how you made up the lie the Holocaust film was shown here in May 1945 etc.

Probably gave him a clap on the back after he arrived home in 1950.