Nazi sympathisers - Lord Haw, Haw, & John Amery.

 

William Joyce aka Lord Haw, Haw.

During the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), William Joyce was an informer for the Black and Tans and had links with MI5. He'd been recruited to work for British military intelligence by Captain Patrick Keating. The IRA suspected Joyce of being an informant and Keating had him transferred to the Norton Barracks in England.

William Joyce had been born in America to Irish parents and was therefore an American citizen. The family moved from America to Ireland and lived in County Galway. Joyce was entitled to Irish citizenship but he never claimed it. He also became a German citizen in 1940. Joyce always claimed that he was a British citizen and he did have a British passport but he'd lied on his passport application to get it. He'd lived in England and had been a Blackshirt fascist. He was a member of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF).

At his trial, Joyce was charged with three counts of treason because it was claimed that he owed allegiance to King George VI when he was making propaganda broadcasts for Nazi Germany. He was acquitted on two counts but he was convicted on the third charge and sentenced to death. The prosecution argued that even though Joyce lied about his nationality on his passport application, he was entitled to British diplomatic protection in Germany and therefore owed allegiance to the King. The conviction was upheld on appeal to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.

In 1916, some of those who participated in the Easter Rising, were executed for treason because of their collaboration with Germany who had armed them. Many Irish men at that time, were serving in the British Army. During WWII, Sean Russell, the IRA chief of staff, collaborated with the Nazis and so did Frank Ryan, a member of the IRA who had fought on the Republican side in Spain. The IRA foolishly seemed to think that if Hitler won the war, he would've given Ireland its independence from British rule.

In Britain, many people will have heard of William Joyce or Lord Haw, Haw, but few will have heard of John Amery who was also hung for treason. Amery also made propaganda broadcasts for Nazi Germany and gave direct support to Benito Mussolini. He was the son of the famous Conservative MP Leo Amery and the brother of Julian Amery who was also a Conservative MP and government minister. When John Amery was captured in Italy by partisans, he was wearing the uniform of the 'Muti Legion', a fascist paramilitary organisation. He was handed over to the Allied authorities. He was taken into custody by a British army officer called Alan Whicker who later became a famous broadcaster.

Despite his Nazi sympathies, John Amery's grandmother, was a Hungarian Jew. He was executed at Wandsworth Prison on 19th December 1945. As he was led to the scaffold, Amery is reputed to have said to the executioner, "I've always wanted to meet you, Mr Pierrepoint, though not of course under these circumstances."