Germany Invade Ireland: dealing with Terrorism

[pacifritz]

'Terrorism or Freedom-Fighting: clearly it depends how you look at this.


So, if Germany had defeated the mainland of Britain, surely Irelands' time would have come as well?

Despite Irelands' supposed neutrality, both the South and the North were bombed by Germany.

If Hitler 'wanted Ireland', how would he have approached the problem of Paramilitary Unrest, --just say Republicans started bombing the mainland, [now under Nazi jackboot rule] ------how would bombing by terrorists, or rioting , or 'no-go' areas be responded to?

Something tells me it probably wouldn't be rubber or plastic bullets [admittedly not in existence in 1940, or at least probably not used anywhere in WW2] .

Would Hitler have launched true All-Out War against Terrorism, and if so, how far would he have went with this?

Would the Troubles continue for decades, like happened under British Rule?

Would more than 3000 people have been killed [the approximate total of the Troubles from 1969 onwards] with Hitlers' policies in place?


Would the Republicans resort to more indiscriminate bombings, more akin to what ISIS are doing today?

What about reprisals by the Nazis: have far would this have gone?

Would Bloody Sunday [and indeed rioting in general] have been met with machine-gun fire?


Would tanks and all-out shelling have been used by the Germans against rebel factions?

Would even bombing by aeroplanes have been used ?? [even Churchill proposed this threat to Collins---I kid you not]


How long would the conflict have lasted. if ever resolved?


Would the Nazis have been able to wipe out terrorism?

Would the Republicans be able to assasinate Hitler--is this even thinkable?



Your thoughts, pleas.......

[pacifritz]

I forgot to mention:


The 2000 or so Irish Jews living on Irish territory were earmarked'for destruction' by Hitler.

So, despite Irelands' nuetrality, the Nazis would have 'went in' for this purpose alone, apart from anything else.


How would Republicsan Dissidents have reacted to Nazi Heavy Artillery breaching their country: would they have tried to halt the Nazi onslaught against Irish Jews? [I assume Eistenzen Gruppen Mobile Liquidation Units would have been used in this case, and not Industrialized methods like Auschwitz, but who knows].


How would the Nazis have responded to the populace who tried to stop them in their grisly 'work'?

[pacifritz]

The amount of 'what if...' scenarios this one throws up is seemingly endless.


For example:


Many known activist Republicans were jailed by the British during WW2, presumably for security reasons] so what would would have happened to these dissidents?


Would the British have handed over these freedom fighters/ terrorists to the Germans, or would the British have required their assistance against German Rule?

Would the Republicans been happier with the British or Germans, or neither?


If the British did hand the jailed Republicans over to the Germans, what would likely have happened to them?


Could the Germans even have utilized the Republicans' anti-British sentiments, and even recruited them?


Or would they just have eliminated them?

[Sheldrake]

Terrorism would have been the least of Germany's problems in an invasion of Ireland, compared to command of the sea.

The Irish Free State had no gripe with Hitler. Hitler and the IRA were on the same side against Britain. I think the IRA proposed a plan to invade Northern Ireland backed by the Germans.

Irish - or British resistance to any German occupier would have been likely to have resulted in the sorts of measures used in France: round ups of suspects and reprisals. Each dead German results in the execution of 10 Irishmen.

[pacifritz]

Thanks for your input, Shield,

So , who do you think would have ended up running Ireland: the Nazis or the Republicans?

[Sheldrake]

The Catholic Church

[antwony]

All of your questions are badly formed and based on a confused view of history.

I don't think you'll be getting any responses to your questions. For a start;

Despite Irelands' supposed neutrality, both the South and the North were bombed by Germany.

The bombing of the Irish Republic was, probably, a mistake. Belfast, et. al. are part of the UK.

Your question only makes sense if you're a political extremist.

Your big problem is you seem to be using the term Republican in it's post 1969 context. Do you know about the Irish Civil War? The term Republican, in the Irish context, (unfortunately) does have strong association with terrorism. But, and I'm making this number up, circa. WW2 about 1% of Irish Republicans would have supported the IRA.

Irish Republicanism is not synonymous with the IRA.

The actual IRA, all 5 of their members, attempted to co operate with the Germans during WW2.

Would say if Ireland was occupied by the Germans during WW2 Ulster Protestants would be the most likely group to make trouble.

[pacifritz]

Hiya Sheldrake, thanks for input as well.

Sorry you feel my questions are 'badly formed': I thrive on spontanaeity and not dry facts for the sake of it, as I have explained on this forum before, more than once.

My questions are direct and clear and straight to the point: please clarify WHY this approach is not to your satisfaction---and would you have preferred if I had submitted long-winded, psudo-intellectual sub-waffling, which may have gone down better with your own tastes?

My questions are NOT based on History, but on a hypothetical, Alernative History and so I naturally have to deviate from actual events that happened in reality. I use the term Republicans to describe the Mindset and motivation of some of the Catholic Extremists, whatever labels are unhelpfully placed upon them. I am attempting to REWRITE History above, with alternative scenarios that has nothing to do with what the History Books say. I hope I have made this clear.

'My questions only make sense if they are politically extreme': YES, the Nazis WERE 'Political Extremists' by any measure and I am trying to imagine how they would have have approached the problem of Terrorism: I have never said I agree with Nazi methods and I personally find their actions abhorrent.


I fail to see how the Germans bombing the South could have been a mistake --Dublin for example was hunderds of miles from the UK city targets and surely the German pilots would have noticed the gulf of water between the two seperate Islands.

And even if bombing the South HAD been a mistake, the Nazis never apologized for it , indicating they never cared a jot about the casualties of Neutral Countries.

[Sheldrake]

Hiya Sheldrake, thanks for input as well.

Sorry you feel my questions are 'badly formed': I thrive on spontanaeity and not dry facts for the sake of it, as I have explained on this forum before, more than once.

My questions are direct and clear and straight to the point: please clarify WHY this approach is not to your satisfaction---and would you have preferred if I had submitted long-winded, psudo-intellectual sub-waffling, which may have gone down better with your own tastes?

My questions are NOT based on History, but on a hypothetical, Alernative History and so I naturally have to deviate from actual events that happened in reality. I use the term Republicans to describe the Mindset and motivation of some of the Catholic Extremists, whatever labels are unhelpfully placed upon them. I am attempting to REWRITE History above, with alternative scenarios that has nothing to do with what the History Books say. I hope I have made this clear.

'My questions only make sense if they are politically extreme': YES, the Nazis WERE 'Political Extremists' by any measure and I am trying to imagine how they would have have approached the problem of Terrorism: I have never said I agree with Nazi methods and I personally find their actions abhorrent.


I fail to see how the Germans bombing the South could have been a mistake --Dublin for example was hunderds of miles from the UK city targets and surely the German pilots would have noticed the gulf of water between the two seperate Islands.

And even if bombing the South HAD been a mistake, the Nazis never apologized for it , indicating they never cared a jot about the casualties of Neutral Countries.

I did not say your questions were ill formed, merely based on an unlikely alternative history,

The Nazis were more likely to make an accommodation with the right wing Catholic nationalist anti British Free State of Ireland than seek to occupy it. Even if the Germans wanted a naval base at Cork, A more plausible route would be for the Germans to agree to give Ulster to the Free State than to try to seize it by force. It would also avoid antagonizing German relations with catholic Italy and Spain. In this circumstance the Free State of United Ireland and their German ally would be likely to facing unionist terrorism/ resistance.

In the unlikely event of a jackbooted invasion of the Free State, the locals would have seen them as just another bunch of Huns - the derogatory term for the English. A heavy handed German response using Eastern Front methods would probably have pacified Ireland. It worked for Cromwell.

[antwony]

My questions are NOT based on History, but on a hypothetical, Alernative History

OK, best of luck with that.