Dunkirk or Dunkerque?
The place associated with Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from northern France in 1940, is known in France as Dunkerque, rather la Ville de Dunkerque. It is a small city on the north coast of France near Calais. In English it is known as “Dunkirk,” and when associated with the events of 1940 the English spelling is normally used.
The town’s name is rooted in Middle Dutch. It is a combination of the Dutch words dune and kerke, or “dune” and “church.” It literally means a place where a church is built on a sand dune. It is just ten kilometers, or about 6.5 miles, from the Belgian frontier. Culturally and historically it had both French and Flemish influence.
As a rule I try to use culturally correct spellings for place and people names in my prose. In Particularly Dangerous Work: Part 1, At Waters’ Edge (PDW1), which is scheduled for release on 7 June, I used (spoiler alert) “Dunkerque” instead of “Dunkirk.” Similarly, I used the Spanish “Zaragoza” rather than the English “Saragossa.” Generally my application of this rule goes so far as to use those culturally correct spellings if it does not interfere with the prose. It would seem awkward in English prose, for example, to use “Deutschland” in place of “Germany.” On the other hand when a character is a Spaniard and is referring to another Spaniard, he is likely to use “Felipe” rather than “Philip,” even if he is speaking in English.
I debated whether to use “Dunkirk” or “Dunkerque” in PDW1. Certainly with regard to the history of the place in its World War II context, “Dunkirk” would have been entirely appropriate. The book is about the beginning of World War II, so I think most readers can assume that Operation Dynamo somehow figures into the story. For reasons of context I chose “Dunkerque.”
It is an exciting coincidence that the upcoming release of Christopher Nolan’s movie Dunkirk is just a month after the release of PDW1. By now it must be obvious (spoiler alert) that the evacuation at Dunkerque is a significant event in PDW1. I hope all of my readers will see the movie. I think (hope) my book and the movie will complement each other.
For people who are not so familiar with the story, the evacuation at Dunkerque was one of the most significant events in the early part of the war. It was one of those epic moments celebrated in newspapers, magazines, and all media forms at the time. It is sometimes referred to as the “Battle of Dunkirk,” though it wasn’t a battle in the traditional sense. The evacuation was code named Operation Dynamo by British military leaders, and they viewed the event as an “operation” not a “battle.” Historic battles are usually fought between two warring sides in the hope that one or the other will prevail. Operation Dynamo was not that kind of battle. The British and French had already lost the “Battle of France” and were attempting to retreat. British military goals there were to enable the bulk of a 400,000 man army to retreat to safety. German goals were to prevent their escape. It ended when some 340,000 of those soldiers had been evacuated to British ships and safely landed on British shores.
The significance of the evacuation was that most of the BEF, which had been made up of Great Britain’s best soldiers, survived to fight another day. These rescued soldiers stood on the British isle to protect it from invasion. They fought in North Africa, in Asia, Italy, and returned to northern France on D-Day four years later. Their rescue was vital to Britain’s survival and the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.
Strategists and journalists used the Dunkerque evacuation as a point of comparison to other retreats. When the British evacuated Greece in 1941 it was a similar kind of event, with similar significance. The American evacuation of the Philippines, the British evacuation of Crete, even the German evacuation of North Africa and Sicily all compare strategically to what happened at Dunkerque.
Though the evacuation at Dunkerque was always heralded as a huge success for the British, it was not without staggering cost. First there was the human cost – some 60,000 soldiers killed or captured in the process. The British left behind a huge arsenal of tanks, guns, ammunition, and fuel. They were severely criticized for not destroying abandoned fuel stores, even though they had time. The German army happily recycled all of this war materiel. The fuel went directly into German tanks. British and French tanks went to the smelting furnaces of the Ruhr industrial center to make new German tanks. The guns and ammunition were similarly recycled and added to the German war effort.
So far as the upcoming movie, I only know what I have seen in trailers and web posts. It does not appear that Christopher Nolan’s new film to be released 21 July 2017 is a remake of the 1958 movie of the same name. The 1958 film, directed by Leslie Norman, stands on its own, and I highly recommend it to all my readers. It starred Richard Attenborough, John Mills, and Bernard Lee. This film portrayed Operation Dynamo accurately, respectfully, and with passion. I think anyone attempting to tell a story about an event like this should do so with those three criteria in mind.
I hope that any of my readers, who watch either or both films, also do so with those three criteria in mind. It’s not just an exciting story about an epic military event. It is a story of the horror of war. Though we may honor the 400,000 plus heroes of that event, we must never look upon it with romantic notions of the glory of war. War is never glorious.
http://www.dunkirkmovie.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk...
https://www.bluewatertales.com
The town’s name is rooted in Middle Dutch. It is a combination of the Dutch words dune and kerke, or “dune” and “church.” It literally means a place where a church is built on a sand dune. It is just ten kilometers, or about 6.5 miles, from the Belgian frontier. Culturally and historically it had both French and Flemish influence.
As a rule I try to use culturally correct spellings for place and people names in my prose. In Particularly Dangerous Work: Part 1, At Waters’ Edge (PDW1), which is scheduled for release on 7 June, I used (spoiler alert) “Dunkerque” instead of “Dunkirk.” Similarly, I used the Spanish “Zaragoza” rather than the English “Saragossa.” Generally my application of this rule goes so far as to use those culturally correct spellings if it does not interfere with the prose. It would seem awkward in English prose, for example, to use “Deutschland” in place of “Germany.” On the other hand when a character is a Spaniard and is referring to another Spaniard, he is likely to use “Felipe” rather than “Philip,” even if he is speaking in English.
I debated whether to use “Dunkirk” or “Dunkerque” in PDW1. Certainly with regard to the history of the place in its World War II context, “Dunkirk” would have been entirely appropriate. The book is about the beginning of World War II, so I think most readers can assume that Operation Dynamo somehow figures into the story. For reasons of context I chose “Dunkerque.”
It is an exciting coincidence that the upcoming release of Christopher Nolan’s movie Dunkirk is just a month after the release of PDW1. By now it must be obvious (spoiler alert) that the evacuation at Dunkerque is a significant event in PDW1. I hope all of my readers will see the movie. I think (hope) my book and the movie will complement each other.
For people who are not so familiar with the story, the evacuation at Dunkerque was one of the most significant events in the early part of the war. It was one of those epic moments celebrated in newspapers, magazines, and all media forms at the time. It is sometimes referred to as the “Battle of Dunkirk,” though it wasn’t a battle in the traditional sense. The evacuation was code named Operation Dynamo by British military leaders, and they viewed the event as an “operation” not a “battle.” Historic battles are usually fought between two warring sides in the hope that one or the other will prevail. Operation Dynamo was not that kind of battle. The British and French had already lost the “Battle of France” and were attempting to retreat. British military goals there were to enable the bulk of a 400,000 man army to retreat to safety. German goals were to prevent their escape. It ended when some 340,000 of those soldiers had been evacuated to British ships and safely landed on British shores.
The significance of the evacuation was that most of the BEF, which had been made up of Great Britain’s best soldiers, survived to fight another day. These rescued soldiers stood on the British isle to protect it from invasion. They fought in North Africa, in Asia, Italy, and returned to northern France on D-Day four years later. Their rescue was vital to Britain’s survival and the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany.
Strategists and journalists used the Dunkerque evacuation as a point of comparison to other retreats. When the British evacuated Greece in 1941 it was a similar kind of event, with similar significance. The American evacuation of the Philippines, the British evacuation of Crete, even the German evacuation of North Africa and Sicily all compare strategically to what happened at Dunkerque.
Though the evacuation at Dunkerque was always heralded as a huge success for the British, it was not without staggering cost. First there was the human cost – some 60,000 soldiers killed or captured in the process. The British left behind a huge arsenal of tanks, guns, ammunition, and fuel. They were severely criticized for not destroying abandoned fuel stores, even though they had time. The German army happily recycled all of this war materiel. The fuel went directly into German tanks. British and French tanks went to the smelting furnaces of the Ruhr industrial center to make new German tanks. The guns and ammunition were similarly recycled and added to the German war effort.
So far as the upcoming movie, I only know what I have seen in trailers and web posts. It does not appear that Christopher Nolan’s new film to be released 21 July 2017 is a remake of the 1958 movie of the same name. The 1958 film, directed by Leslie Norman, stands on its own, and I highly recommend it to all my readers. It starred Richard Attenborough, John Mills, and Bernard Lee. This film portrayed Operation Dynamo accurately, respectfully, and with passion. I think anyone attempting to tell a story about an event like this should do so with those three criteria in mind.
I hope that any of my readers, who watch either or both films, also do so with those three criteria in mind. It’s not just an exciting story about an epic military event. It is a story of the horror of war. Though we may honor the 400,000 plus heroes of that event, we must never look upon it with romantic notions of the glory of war. War is never glorious.
http://www.dunkirkmovie.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk...
https://www.bluewatertales.com
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