National Archive blogger red-flags Sir Winston Churchill’s use of word Huns to describe the Nazis

A National Archive blogger has red-flagged Sir Winston Churchill’s use of the ‘derogatory’ term Huns to describe the Nazis.

Mark Dunton, Principal Records Specialist, described undertaking research into the signing of the Atlantic Charter on August 14, 1941.

In the blog, titled ‘Winston Churchill’s secret voyage (Part one)’, Mr Dunton referred to a letter Churchill wrote to US President Franklin D Roosevelt on August 4.

It read: ‘We are just off. It is twenty-seven years ago today that Huns began their last war.

‘We must make a good job of it this time. Twice ought to be enough. Look forward do much to our meeting. Kindest regards.’

In the blog, titled ‘Winston Churchill’s secret voyage (Part one)’, Mr Dunton referred to a letter Churchill wrote to US President Franklin D Roosevelt on August 4

The archives author then warned readers: ‘The use of the derogatory word “Huns” to describe the Germans obviously needs to be viewed in the historical context.’

The National Archives is located in Kew, Richmond, and ‘are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents.’

Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, told The Sun: ‘It doesn’t help anyone if common historical terms require trigger warnings. 

‘If people using the archives have to be protected from such terms, where does it end?’

In the early months of World War I, the Allies applied the term ‘Hun’ to the forces of Germany and Austro-Hungary to emphasise their enemy’s brutality

In dispatching his troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II said ‘let the Germans strike fear into the hearts, so hell be feared like the hun!’

The original Huns were a nomadic tribe, probably originating from Mongolia, in the mid-5th century. 

In dispatching his troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II said ‘let the Germans strike fear into the hearts, so hell be feared like the hun!’

In the early months of World War I, the Allies applied the term ‘Hun’ to the forces of Germany and Austro-Hungary to emphasise their enemy’s brutality.

A National Archives spokesman said: ‘There is no trigger warning on the blog. The author included a line within the text to explain a derogatory term no longer commonly used.’

WHO WERE THE HUNS AND HOW DID THEY DEFEAT THE ROMANS?

The Huns were a nomadic community originating in Central Asia.

They travelled to Europe and threatened what was left of the Roman Empire.

It is likely they fled from a dry period in Asia. Searching for food and water, they conquered as they went.

By 216 AD – when their territory was split into five successor states – the Huns had extended their area of control north to Siberia, south to Tibet, east to the Pacific Ocean and west to the Caspian Sea.

The herders’ diet was high in meat and fish.

The Roman Empire collapsed because of terrifying Huns attacking its eastern frontier around the fourth century AD. Pictured is an artist’s impression of a battle between Roman and Hun solider

 The Huns also ate lots of millet, which has a distinctive chemical signature that can be identified in human bones.

The wandering Huns grew millet as it it grows in a few short weeks. 

Agriculture was considered the foundation of Roman civilisation, and the Romans had a big problem with the Huns as they didn’t engage in farming, choosing instead to live a nomadic lifestyle.

The Roman Empire collapsed because of terrifying Huns attacking its eastern frontier around the fourth century AD.

Roman accounts of the Huns tell largely of terror and destruction: The group fought on horseback using longbows to attack their enemy, and were renowned for their savagery and blood-curdling war cries. 

‘Barbarian’ tribes quickly moved into the power vacuum in Europe created by the decline of the Roman Empire.

These include the Huns, Franks, Vandals, Saxons and the Goths.