Geoff Russ: Winston Churchill saved civilization — we must never surrender his memory

If both the far-left and the far-right despise someone, there’s a good chance that person was great

Published Sep 04, 2024  •  4 minute read

Former British prime minister Winston Churchill Photo by Miller Services Limited

Is Winston Churchill a more controversial figure in 2024 than he was in 1941? We ultimately cannot know for sure, but nowadays, Churchill is certainly a controversial, if not hated, figure among some of the worst elements of society. If both the far-left and the far-right despise someone, there’s a good chance that person was great and helped steer the world in the right direction.

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On a recent episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show,” the former Fox News host featured the “historian” Darryl Cooper, who spent a great deal of time asserting that Hitler wanted peace with Britain and that Churchill was a warmonger.

The reasons why the far-right hates Churchill are quite obvious. In 1940, many influential voices in the British government sought to negotiate terms with Hitler during the disastrous Battle of France, when the Nazis overran the French military and the British Expeditionary Force in a matter of weeks.

Churchill was the loudest voice in the divided British war cabinet who was vocally opposed to any peace talks with the Nazis. He willed the government to continue fighting, culminating in his famous “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech.

Great Britain, under Churchill’s leadership, did not win the Second World War alone, but it did not surrender. The war could not have been won had Britain given up.

That was the view of historian John Lukacs, a Hungarian-born American whose book, “Five Days in London,” should be essential reading for anyone who wants to have an informed opinion on Churchill.

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The Battle of Britain in 1940 was essential to the eventual Allied victory. Not only did the British victory ensure the nation’s survival against the Nazis, but the Royal Air Force’s efforts in defending the British Isles permanently crippled the Luftwaffe, Adolf Hitler’s air force.

Yet, those on the left, especially those who still admire the Soviet Union, are often among the most enthusiastic about tarring Churchill’s name. They claim that Britain and the United States were marginal powers in the Second World War and that all the credit for the Allied victory belongs to Joseph Stalin.

These so-called tankies do not appreciate it when it’s pointed out that Stalin signed a pact with the Nazis and was a co-conspirator in the invasion of Poland in 1939. Their ideology’s most famous proponent only became a temporary hero because he was, not at all shockingly, betrayed by Hitler when the Nazis turned on their partners in 1941 and invaded Russia.

Ironically, those on the far-left who champion the Soviet Union while decrying the Eurocentric lens of history conveniently ignore the Asian theatre, which made the conflict a world war, not just another European war. The fighting in the Pacific was undoubtedly won by the United States and China against the Empire of Japan.

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Often ignored by the far-left is the fact that in China, the anti-communist Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek bore the brunt of the fighting, leaving them weakened for the recommencing of the Chinese Civil War that the Communists won.

Perhaps the reason why the far-left, and even some progressives who still make excuses for the Soviets, dislike Churchill is because he reminds them that the Soviet leaders only participated in the Second World War because they acted with cowardice and were then betrayal by people who were even more evil than themselves. This is not a novel statement, but nobody should be allowed to forget it, especially those who seethe with anger as they walk past a statue of Churchill.

Churchill was an imperialist, and this has provided ammunition for post-colonial nationalists around the world to attack him while ignoring his wartime leadership. You can find YouTube videos dedicated to demonizing him, created by some very loathsome, dishonest characters, including one who joked about being sexually aroused by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israeli civilians.

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Nonetheless, these are the types of people who are aiding the push to turn Churchill into a villain.

A good chunk of the books demonizing him are written by non-historians, such as Madhusree Mukerjee, who wrote a conspiratorial book called “Churchill’s Secret War.”

Most of the books that uphold Churchill as a heroic figure, or at least not a villain, are written by career historians. Take your pick of canon: those written by “experts” or those written by actual experts, which are two very different categories.

Those who do not have the time to read a plodding history tome should consider checking out historian Andreas Koureas’ social media accounts. His daily debunking of accusations levelled at Churchill are as refreshing as they are loaded with facts derived from primary sources, not the second-hand scribblings of sensationalist journalists.

Yet this will not stop ideologically captured public institutions and organizations from going along with the “inclusivity” cult’s push to make Churchill a villain.

A few years ago, the Tyee, a left-wing news website based in British Columbia, published an article listing Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in Vancouver as a candidate to be renamed. And when the Aristotle Foundation commissioned a statue of Churchill to be placed in Calgary, the usual crowd of protesters showed up to decry it.

Those who know the truth about Winston Churchill and his contributions to human civilization must understand that the left-wing’s capture of public institutions means that those very institutions cannot be relied upon to defend his memory. It thus falls on ordinary people to ensure that Churchill continues to be seen as a hero. As cheesy as it may sound, we must never surrender!

National Post

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