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Great Contemporaries: George Marshall and America at War (2)
05
Jan
2024
1
Despite sharp wartime differences, the British never forgot George Marshall. At the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, as he entered Westminster Abbey representing the United States, the vast congregation stood as a mark of respect. When he was hospitalized and dying in 1959, Churchill (by then “Sir Winston”), on a visit to Washington, accompanied President Eisenhower to see him. He left Walter Reed Medical Center with tears in his eyes.
Great Contemporaries: The Three Lives of Churchill’s Hitler Essays
03
Jan
2024
Did Churchill ever admire Hitler? The question, ridiculous on its face, is frequently asked. Critics have long quoted selectively from Churchill to show he was “for Hitler before he was against him.” In fact, Churchill never deviated in his view of Hitler, who was himself so infuriated that he lodged a diplomatic protest against Churchill’s “personal attack.”
Video: The 20th Century: Its Promise and Realization, M.I.T., 1949
18
Dec
2023
1
“No technical knowledge can outweigh knowledge of the humanities.... Those whose minds are attracted or compelled to rigid and symmetrical systems of government should remember that logic, like science, must be the servant and not the master of man. Human beings and human societies are not structures that are built or machines that are forged. They are plants that grow and must be tended as such.”
Great Contemporaries: Marshall, “The American Carnot” (1)
15
Dec
2023
Marshall’s role is usually discussed now in terms of his contributions to Anglo-American strategy. His clashes with Churchill and his formidable Chief of Imperial General Staff General Sir Alan Brooke well known. But the skill with which he built a small, somewhat obsolescent force into a mighty army was staggering. He selected and promoted its leaders, oversaw its organization and training, secured its equipment, worked with industry, and managed relations with the President, Congress and a public anxious about “their boys.”
Did Eisenhower Threaten Resignation over Bombing Policy?
11
Dec
2023
At Kasserine Pass in 1943, Eisenhower realized the critical importance of air power—and the need to avoid parceling out control to different commanders. Eisenhower declared that the invasion of Europe could not come “until we had established ourselves so firmly that danger of defeat was eliminated—all air forces in Britain, excepting only the Coastal Command, should come under my control....”
Best and Jenkins on Churchill, Empire, India and the Middle East
07
Dec
2023
“Let us say, for example, that we form the view that children in some distant land should not be taught the method and the rightness of suicidal murder of civilians. Let us say that they should not be taught to kill people because of their race or religion. Let us say that their families should not be paid large sums when they do it; that teenagers should not be instructed how to carry ugly bombs around as if they were knapsacks. Let us say that we propose to stop this. This is a lot to prevent.”
Timeline: Winston Churchill and the Road to Israel, 1947-49
05
Dec
2023
“We are told that there are a handful of terrorists on one side and 100,000 British troops on the other. How much longer are they to stay there? And stay for what? In order that on a threat to kill hostages we show ourselves unable to execute a sentence duly pronounced by a competent tribunal. It is not good enough. I never saw anything less recompensive for the efforts now employed than what is going on in Palestine.” —WSC, 31 January 1947
Timeline: Winston Churchill on Palestine, 1945-46
27
Nov
2023
“[I]t is impossible to avoid expressing deep regret at the many changes of tactics and method, at the needless disappointment created throughout world Jewry by the failure to fulfill the hopes which the party opposite excited by their promises and convictions at the General Election, and above all, at the lack of any policy worthy of the name. This absence of any policy or decision on these matters, which have become more complicated as they proceed, has allowed havoc and hatred to flare and run rife throughout Palestine for more than a year and no one knows where we are today.” —WSC, 12 November 1946
Classic Letters Bracket the Churchill Saga, 1883 to 1964
21
Nov
2023
"Letters for the Ages" includes correspondence between Churchill and his family, friends and colleagues. In no way do the authors seek to encapsulate the official eight-volume Official Biography, or the twenty-three volumes of Churchill Documents. Instead these carefully edited personal letters reveal the unvarnished thought of the authentic and complex Churchill. He was utterly devoid of the artifice of modern media manipulators.
The Churchill Day Book for 1943: Turning of the “Hinge of Fate”
17
Nov
2023
The year 1943 was the final turning point of the Second World War. At 69, Churchill’s schedule saw relentless activity and 147 days abroad. He worked from morning to the small hours. He met staff and advisors, read cables, correspondence, communiques, newspapers, government reports, intelligence data. He chaired meetings of numerous committees, the most important being the War Cabinet. Churchill wrote his own speeches, corresponded and met with world leaders, most importantly Stalin and Roosevelt.
Bowman on Churchill and D-Day: “What’s Not Trite is Not True”
13
Nov
2023
“Empire First” argues that Churchill was dragged into D-Day by his U.S. and Russian allies: Right to the last, Churchill supposedly preferred the “soft underbelly” route to Germany through Italy. This is not a new charge. What is new is the argument that Churchill was motivated by ignoble self-interest: securing the Mediterranean, Suez and Britain’s Eastern empire.
The Churchill Day Book for 1935
09
Nov
2023
“Never must we despair, never must we give in, but...the policy of detachment or isolation, about which we have heard so much and which in many ways is so attractive, is no longer open. If we were to turn our backs upon Europe, thereby alienating every friend, we should by disinteresting ourselves in their fate invite them to disinterest themselves in ours.” —WSC, 2 May 1935