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Sadat would later write that there were strong pro-German sentiments among the population: "The general feeling in Egypt was against the British and, naturally, in favor of their enemies, he recalled, adding: "They demonstrated in the streets , chanting slogans like 'Advance Rommel!' as they saw in a British defeat the only way of

Sadat would later write that there were strong pro-German sentiments among the population: "The general feeling in Egypt was against the British and, naturally, in favor of their enemies, he recalled, adding: "They demonstrated in the streets , chanting slogans like 'Advance Rommel!' as they saw in a British defeat the only way of

British reports give a more nuanced assessment of the local mood, suggesting that political attitudes were not static but continuously changing during the war years. <ref name=moradel-p110>Motadel, D. (2014). Islam and Nazi Germany’s War. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=zUiYBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 p. 110].

British reports give a more nuanced assessment of the local mood, suggesting that political attitudes were not static but continuously changing during the war years. <ref name=motadel-p110>Motadel, D. (2014). Islam and Nazi Germany’s War. United Kingdom: Harvard University Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=zUiYBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 p. 110].

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Closer to the North African front line, in Egypt, the attitude of the population was similarly mixed. Anwar al-Sadat, then a young officer in wartime Cairo, later claimed that there were strong pro-German sentiments among the population: "The general feeling in Egypt was against the British and, naturally, in favor of their enemies, he recalled, adding: "They demonstrated in the streets , chanting slogans like 'Advance Rommel!' as they saw in a British defeat the only way of getting their enemy out of the country." Al-Sadat was part of the revolutionary “Free Officers” group, which—in the name of the people—sought armed revolt during the war and even collaborated with German agents, an entanglement that, in the summer of 1942, eventually led to his arrest. British reports give a more nuanced assessment of the local mood, suggesting that political attitudes were not static but continuously changing during the war years.  

Closer to the North African front line, in Egypt, the attitude of the population was similarly mixed. Anwar al-Sadat, then a young officer in wartime Cairo, later claimed that there were strong pro-German sentiments among the population: "The general feeling in Egypt was against the British and, naturally, in favor of their enemies, he recalled, adding: "They demonstrated in the streets , chanting slogans like 'Advance Rommel!' as they saw in a British defeat the only way of getting their enemy out of the country." Al-Sadat was part of the revolutionary “Free Officers” group, which—in the name of the people—sought armed revolt during the war and even collaborated with German agents, an entanglement that, in the summer of 1942, eventually led to his arrest. British reports give a more nuanced assessment of the local mood, suggesting that political attitudes were not static but continuously changing during the war years.