The Valour and The Horror - Controversy

Controversy

Canadian veterans' groups and some prominent historians attacked the films for allegedly presenting a biased and inaccurate portrait of Canadian military actions. The films were defended by a range of the world's top military historians, including John Keegan. "In Desperate Battle" alleged significant incompetence on the part of Canadian military command, and claimed that Canadian soldiers had committed significant, but unprosecuted, war crimes against German soldiers. Death by Moonlight alleged that Bomber Command, unable to hit military targets with any precision, ultimately turned their attention to German cities and killed more than 600,000 German civilians, mostly old men, women and children, using high explosives and an early version of napalm. They died not as a result of collateral damage, but as part of a deliberate campaign. The producers claimed that the directives remained top secret throughout the war. The films also claimed that Bomber crews, flying at night, were for the most part, kept in the dark about their true mission. As noted below in the CBC Ombudsman’s report many of these assertions were not adequately supported by documentary evidence.

The series became the subject of an inquiry by the Senate of Canada. The NFB's Commissioner at the time, Joan Pennefather, did appear before the committee to defend the production. Pierre Berton, Margaret Atwood and Shirley Douglas, as well as PEN, the Writer's Union, the Guild, the Producer's Association, and many others defended the series. Military historian Desmond Morton stated, "As the McKennas' critics discovered, one of the most difficult things to do in a free society is to criticize the media...Anyone criticizing the media will find them judge, jury, and defence lawyer in their own case." The Senate sub-committee ultimately sided with the veterans' complaints against the filmmakers. The Sub-committee noted "that the criticisms levelled at The Valour and the Horror are for the most part legitimate. Simply put, although the filmmakers have a right to their point of view, they have failed to present that point of view with any degree of accuracy or fairness." The films were also investigated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which sided with the filmmakers. A group of air force veterans formed the Bomber Harris Trust. Claiming they had been slandered, they sued the film and the filmmakers for $500 million. The class action suit was dismissed by Ontario justice Mr. Robert Montgomery, himself a WWII veteran. The Bomber Command Veterans appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, but were dismissed at every level.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the veterans did not have standing for a class action suit and that “The broadcast was aimed not at the plaintiffs or any other Canadian involved in the bombings, but at the British High Command which ordered the bombing and particularly at its overall commander.” It was further noted “It is possible to criticize, even strenuously to criticize, the misplaced emphases, the caricaturish portrayals of some of the strategies, the inaccuracy of some of the detail, and the omission of some of the countervailing considerations in the film.” In addition Mr. Justice Grange wrote that, “There can be nothing wrong with the air crew obeying lawful orders and participating in acts of war that were neither war crimes nor crimes against humanity as defined in our courts” This comment is significant given the allegations against Bomber Command by the producers of the series. The merits of the veterans’ claims were never presented in court and the courts never ruled on them.