Martin Gilbert Quote

Maze also recalled how the sight of the Germans had an immediate effect on the villagers. ‘Women started to wail, and rushed for home, followed by the men, while the children, torn by curiosity, lagged behind turning to see.’ Then the Germans came nearer and firing broke out. ‘At once the atmosphere changed—in a few seconds all these civilians were fleeing along the roads while the invasion, creeping up like a tide, steadily gained ground. In their Sunday clothes, carrying in their hands their feathered hats which they had not stopped to put on, they wheeled perambulators, wheelbarrows, bicycles and anything on wheels, and fled with their babies and terrified men.

Martin Gilbert

Maze also recalled how the sight of the Germans had an immediate effect on the villagers. ‘Women started to wail, and rushed for home, followed by the men, while the children, torn by curiosity, lagged behind turning to see.’ Then the Germans came nearer and firing broke out. ‘At once the atmosphere changed—in a few seconds all these civilians were fleeing along the roads while the invasion, creeping up like a tide, steadily gained ground. In their Sunday clothes, carrying in their hands their feathered hats which they had not stopped to put on, they wheeled perambulators, wheelbarrows, bicycles and anything on wheels, and fled with their babies and terrified men.

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About Martin Gilbert

Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of 88 books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history including the Holocaust.
He was a member of the Chilcot Inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq War.