May I thank Lorna de Smidt (Letters, May 14) in responding to my earlier letter on being proud of British history.
She proves the point that I tried to make, that there are always two sides to every story.
In my 63 years, I have been friends with a German air force pilot shot down in the Battle of Britain. One of my other late friends had to escape from a Russian concentration camp in order to join the Polish Army in exile. He was part of the regiment that took Monte Cassino.
I have had the honour and privilege of meeting a German concentration camp survivor.
As a teenager, I met an elderly lady who, in her younger days, was a member of the Hitler Youth.
She had personally shaken Hitler by the hand. She explained that in those days she would have died for Hitler, and that he was doing wonderful things for Germany.
She could not have known he was going to turn into a monster responsible for millions of innocent deaths.
One thing I have learnt is that ordinary people like us do not cause wars. We are not the troublemakers.
That is why we have to teach our children to be proud of our history. It is not to fill their heads with misplaced patriotism. It is to teach them what can be achieved when ordinary people fight for what they believe in.
They have to understand that there may come a time when they have to fight in order to prevent the atrocities of the past from being repeated.
Stuart Bower, Hallyburton Road, Hove
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here