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The "London Letters" were a series of fifteen articles written by George Orwell when invasion by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
seemed imminent,http://www.bu.edu/partisanreview/books/ Boston University and published in the American left-wing literary magazine ''
Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated Joh ...
''. As well as these "London Letters", ''PR'' also published other articles by Orwell.


Time line

On 3 January 1941 Orwell sent the first of his fifteen "London Letters" which were to appear in ''PR'' over the next five and a half years. It was included in the March–April 1941 issue. Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.)''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 2: My Country Right or Left'', 16 (London, Penguin) *March–April 1941: *July–August 1941: In his second "London Letter," Orwell answered ten questions – although each question included several sub-questions – put to him by ''PR'' on issues such as the tone of the popular press; current British writing; the morale of the regular army; the
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...
; Labour Party politicians; the amount of democracy and civil liberties; the war economy and the war effort; support for the government. *November–December 1941: *March–April 1942: Nothing is happening politically in England. Certain currents of thought: Whom are we fighting against? (New German daily paper, ''Die Zeitung'' (mildly Left, circulation 60,000), for German refugees;
Blimps A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hyd ...
using
Vansittart Vansittart is a surname of Dutch origin, derived from the city of Sittard in Limburg. Notable people with the surname include: *Augustus Arthur Vansittart (1824–1882), English scholar * Cyril Vansittart (1852–1887), English-Italian chess playe ...
’s thesis that all Germans are wicked, not merely the Nazis, to divert from the fact of fighting against Fascism; "The pinks cannot admit that the German masses are behind Hitler any more than the Blimps can admit that their class must be levered out of control if we are to win the war."; "Ordinary working people do not seem to hate the Germans... All the blame for everything is placed on Hitler."); Our Allies ("tremendous net increase of pro-Russian sentiment"; enormous hammer and sickle flag flies over
Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridg ...
; ordinary people fail to grasp that there is any connexion between Moscow and the Communist Party; ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...
'' still banned but now sold under title of ''British Worker''; immense amount of anti-American feeling; English
xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
is being broken down by presence of large numbers of foreigners, but plenty of people disagree with him; certain amount of "disquieting" antisemitism); Defeatism and German Propaganda (right-wing defeatism is exemplified by ''Truth'', distinctly influential weekly, "stronghold for the very worst kind of right-wing Toryism", advertisements for banks and insurance companies is significant; questions in Parliament revealed it is partly owned by Conservative Party machine; left-wing defeatism is more interesting:
ILP ''ilp.'' () is the debut album by record producer and musician Kwes. It was released on 14 October 2013 on Warp Records. The release is a follow up to his second EP release '' Meantime''. The record's title ''ilp'' refers literally to the record ...
is preaching a watered version of the ''Partisan Review''’s Ten Commandments, never clearly stating whether it 'supports' the war; "increasing overlap between Fascism and pacifism"; "With the out-and-out, turn-the-other-cheek pacifists, phenomenon of people started by renouncing violence, ending by championing Hitler"; antisemitic motif very strong, usually soft-pedalled in print; "since there is no real answer to the charge that pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist, nearly all pacifist literature... specialises in avoiding awkward questions"; example of
Middleton Murry John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. ...
’s ''Adelphi'' and ''Peace News''; example of ''Now'', with contributions by the Duke of Beford,
Alex Comfort Alexander Comfort (10 February 1920 – 26 March 2000) was a British scientist and physician known best for his nonfiction sex manual, ''The Joy of Sex'' (1972). He was an author of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a gerontologist ...
,
Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
and
Hugh Ross Williamson Hugh Ross Williamson (1901–1978) was a prolific British popular historian, and a dramatist. Starting from a career in the literary world, and having a Nonconformist background, he became an Anglican priest in 1943.Joseph Pearce, ''Literary Co ...
; German radio propaganda: New British Broadcasting Station, Workers’ Challenge Station, Christian Peace Movement and Radio Caledonia (Scottish nationalism); intellectuals in France who were ready to go over: Drieu la Rochelle, Pound and
Céline Céline, sometimes spelled Celine, is a French female first name of Latin origin, coming from ''Caelīna'', the feminine form of the Roman cognomen ''Caelīnus'', meaning "heavenly".
; "All is very quiet on the literary front" with paper shortage favouring very short books; corrected mistake made in earlier letter re. Dylan Thomas being in the army, now working for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and MOI); tobacco situation "has righted itself"; matches very short; watering the beer, third time since rearmament; absence of air raids relaxes black-out; few people sleeping in Tube stations; basements of demolished houses bricked up to use as water tanks in case of fire. *July–August 1942: *November–December 1942: *March–April 1943: *July–August 1943: *Spring 1944: (sent 1944-01-15) *Summer 1944: (sent 1944-04-17) *Fall 1944: (sent 1944-07-24) "It seems to be taken for granted that there will be a General election before the end of the year."; All parties compete to "cash in on the popularity of the U.S.S.R."; MOI and BBC consider Stalin and Franco "completely sacrosanct"; Common Wealth continues to do well at by-elections; Domestic issues dominate people's attention:
demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milit ...
, rehousing ("already serious, is going to be appalling"), the birthrate ("cannot be expected to rise unless people have houses to live in..."); Conservatives more concerned and "preaching to the working class the duty of self-sacrifice and the wickedness of birth control" while the "Left tends to evade this problem"; "Basic questions that the Left habitually ignores"; "The Tories are not only more courageous, ... and they have no scruples about breaking the promises they do make."; "The Communists are using the slogan 'Make Germany Pay' (the diehard Tory slogan of 1918)"; The distinction between first class and third class on the railways is being enforced again."; "
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...
now consists of youths who are conscripted at sixteen or seventeen."; "...in the remotest places one cannot get away from the roar of aeroplanes, which has become the normal background noise, drowning the larks."; "After nine months as a literary editor I am startled and frightened by the lack of talent and vitality"; In spite of paper shortage there is "an enormous output of unreadable pamphlets" from political parties and religious bodies.Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.). ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 3: As I Please (1943–1945)'' (Penguin) *Winter 1944: (sent December 1944) Almost four years since first letter; "suitable moment for a sort of commentary on the previous ones."; "I have to admit that up to ... the end of 1942 I was grossly wrong in my analysis of the situation."; "many mistaken predictions"; "many generalizations based on little or no evidence"; "from time to time, spiteful or misleading remarks about individuals"; "I particularly regret having said in one letter that
Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
‘writes in a vaguely Fascist strain’; a quite unjustified statement based on a single article I probably misunderstood."; "Essential error" in "very first letter" when he stated "that the political reaction already under weigh is not going to make very much ultimate difference" and repeated this in various forms for eighteen months; "Britain is moving towards a planned economy, and class distinctions tend to dwindle, but there has been no real shift of power and no increase in genuine democracy."- "In the United States the development seems to be away from Socialism."; Not concerned n this articlewith correcting the mistakes; "Among British intelligentsia... there were five attitudes towards the war."; "... I don’t share the average English intellectual's hatred of his own country."; "I hate to see England either humiliated or humiliating anybody else."; "To an astonishing extent it is impossible to discover what is happening outside one's own immediate circle."; "One cannot get away from one's own subjective feelings, but at least one can know what they are and make allowance for them."; Latest shortages include feeding bottle teats "unprocurable in some areas... made of reconditioned rubber.. contraceptives are plentiful and made of good rubber." "The Home Guard has been stood down." *Summer 1945: (sent 1945-06-05) Orwell had spent the previous three months in France and Germany (as war correspondent for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
''; The coming General Election... "I have predicted all along that the Conservatives will win by a small majority, and I stick to this, though not quite so confidently as before, because the tide is obviously running very strongly in the other direction."; "The impending show-down with Russia"; Regarding the Soviet régime and the
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...
, "A thing that has struck me in recent years is that the most enormous crimes and disasters – purges, deportations, massacres, famines, imprisonment without trial, aggressive wars, broken treaties; not only fail to excite the big public but can escape notice altogether..."; "Behaviour of the British people during the war... people just keep on keeping on... darts at the pub,... mowing the lawn,... even amid the disorganization caused by the bombing."; "Never would I have prophesied that we could go through nearly six years of war without arriving at either Socialism or Fascism, and with our civil liberties almost intact." letter in a series which "have given me a wonderful feeling of getting my nose above water."; "...Word of praise is due to the censorship department" for letting "these letters through with remarkably little interference." *Fall 1945: (sent 1945-08-15?) Following the General Election, held "after six years of war"; "in a quite orderly way, and throw out a Prime Minister inston Churchillwho has enjoyed almost dictatorial powers"; "weakness of all left-wing parties is their inability to tell the truth about the immediate future.... (that people) won’t benefit (from the new economic and political programme) immediately, but only after, say, twenty years."; "The great need of the moment is to make people aware of what is happening and why, and to persuade them that Socialism is a better way of life but not necessarily, in its first stages, a more comfortable one."; "Like everyone else in England, I know very little about lement Attlee... one of those secondary figures who step into a leading position because of the death or resignation of somebody else,..."; "The salaried and professional middle class has now largely 'gone left', and its votes were an important factor in swinging the election."; "The news of the Japanese surrender came in yesterday about lunchtime,..."; "Much speculation as to ‘whether the Russians have got it he_atomic_bomb.html"_;"title="atomic_bomb.html"_;"title="he_atomic_bomb">he_atomic_bomb">atomic_bomb.html"_;"title="he_atomic_bomb">he_atomic_bombtoo’." *Summer_1946:_(Early_May?_1946)_"The_standing_of_the_Labour_Government";_"‘Underground’_Communist_M.P.s_–_that_is,_M.P.s_elected_as_Labour_men_but_secretly_members_of_the_C.P._or_reliably_sympathetic_to_it.";_Petrol_rationing,_and_forgery_of_petrol_coupons;_consumer_goods;_"...top-hats,_for_the_first_time_in_six_years_or_more...";_"...more_literary_monthlies_and_quarterlies_have_come_into_being.";_BBC..._"...anything_in_the_smallest_degree_highbrow_provokes_storms_of_indignation_from_ordinary_radio-users."Orwell,_Sonia_and_Angus,_Ian_(eds.)._''The_Collected_Essays,_Journalism_and_Letters_of_George_Orwell_Volume_4:_In_Front_of_Your_Nose_(1945–1950)''_(Penguin)


__A_controversy_

The_September–October_1942_issue_of_''PR''_carried_Orwell's_reply_to_letters_sent_in_by_Derek_Savage_(poet).html" ;"title="atomic_bomb">he_atomic_bomb.html" ;"title="atomic_bomb.html" ;"title="he atomic bomb">he atomic bomb">atomic_bomb.html" ;"title="he atomic bomb">he atomic bombtoo’." *Summer 1946: (Early May? 1946) "The standing of the Labour Government"; "‘Underground’ Communist M.P.s – that is, M.P.s elected as Labour men but secretly members of the C.P. or reliably sympathetic to it."; Petrol rationing, and forgery of petrol coupons; consumer goods; "...top-hats, for the first time in six years or more..."; "...more literary monthlies and quarterlies have come into being."; BBC... "...anything in the smallest degree highbrow provokes storms of indignation from ordinary radio-users."Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.). ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 4: In Front of Your Nose (1945–1950)'' (Penguin)


A controversy

The September–October 1942 issue of ''PR'' carried Orwell's reply to letters sent in by Derek Savage (poet)">D. S. Savage, George Woodcock and
Alex Comfort Alexander Comfort (10 February 1920 – 26 March 2000) was a British scientist and physician known best for his nonfiction sex manual, ''The Joy of Sex'' (1972). He was an author of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as a gerontologist ...
in response to his "London Letter" of the March–April issue, in which he had criticised "left-wing defeatism" and "turn-the-other-cheek" pacifists, stating that they were "objectively pro-Fascist". In his article he had mentioned several people by name, including Comfort, and referred to the review ''
Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...
'', of which Woodcock was editor, as an example of "the overlap between Fascism and pacifism" for publishing contributions by authors who defended these tendencies.Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.) ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 2: My Country Right or Left'', pp. 211–212 (London, Penguin) In his reply, Orwell reiterated that "Pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist"; defended his work for the BBC's Indian broadcasts and refuted Comfort's accusation that he was "intellectual-hunting again".


See also

*
Bibliography of George Orwell The bibliography of George Orwell includes journalism, essays, novels, and non-fiction books written by the British writer Eric Blair (1903–1950), either under his own name or, more usually, under his pen name George Orwell. Orwell was a pro ...


References

{{Crimethink 1941 essays 1942 essays 1943 essays 1944 essays 1945 essays 1946 essays Essays by George Orwell Works originally published in Partisan Review