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Narrator: May 1940,
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darkness had
descended upon the world.
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Germany and her allies
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controlled large
swathes of Europe.
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Japan had invaded China
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and was looking to
expand her empire further.
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Britain, and empire,
were under threat.
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But if anybody
likes to play rough,
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we can play rough too.
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Narrator: In this
fractured world,
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Winston Churchill
became prime minister
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of the United Kingdom.
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He did so with a
clear goal - victory.
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Now we are at war, and
we are going to make war,
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until the other side
have had enough of it.
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Narrator: This is the story
of the man who led britain
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and her empire through
one of the darkest moments
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in its history.
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This is Winston Churchill's war.
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Narrator: In September 1939,
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Germany, led by
Adolf Hitler's Nazi party,
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invaded Poland.
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France, britain,
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and the commonwealth dominions,
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were quick to declare
war on Germany,
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but could do little
to directly support
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their beleaguered Polish ally.
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16 days later, the Soviet union
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invaded Poland from
the east, taking advantage
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of the instability to
annex their own territory.
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By October, all of
Poland was occupied,
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and Germany was making
plans for further advancements
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in Europe's west.
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The second world war had begun,
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a war that would plunge
the world into conflict
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for over six years.
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By the spring of 1940,
Nazi Germany had launched
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successful offensives
across Western Europe.
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Adolf Hitler,
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and his fascist ally
Benito Mussolini,
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now dominated much
of mainland Europe,
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and Hitler had his sights
set on Great Britain.
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The British empire
faced a menace
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greater than any she
had faced in centuries.
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Against this threat,
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britain's newly
appointed prime minister,
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Winston Churchill,
resolved to fight
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to the end.
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He, and the British
empire, were determined,
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"to wage war against
a monstrous tyranny."
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This was a decision
that profoundly shaped
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the outcome of the
second world war,
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and would come to define a man
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who had himself believed
that he was destined
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to lead his nation.
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- Lift up your heart,
all will come right,
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out of the depths of
sorrow and of sacrifice
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will be born again
the glory of mankind.
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Narrator: How did
Winston Churchill
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come to fulfil his
self-appointed destiny?
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Did class, opportunity,
and good fortune
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pre-determine his fate?
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Or did a combination
of will, drive,
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and ambition keep
him on his course?
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It was the life he
lived before the war
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that had prepared
Churchill for the struggles
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and toil that arrived in 1940...
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..The successes and the failures
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that helped and hindered,
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as he led his nation's fight
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through years of war.
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Narrator: Churchill was born
in blenheim palace in 1874.
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The same year as the first
impressionist art exhibition.
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This was a fitting
coincidence for a man
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who would later develop
a passion for painting.
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It was a passion
shared by another key
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20th century figure.
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A figure whose life and
actions would become
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intertwined with
Churchill's own.
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Adolf Hitler.
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Although Hitler was born
15 years after Churchill,
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both would be
defined by their actions
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in the second world war.
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Their fates would
converge in 1940,
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but their lives began
very differently.
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Born in Austria in 1889,
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Hitler was the son
of a civil servant
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and a doting mother.
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Up until the first world war,
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Hitler was a man
in search of purpose.
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Winston Churchill, by contrast,
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was born into the
English aristocracy.
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- Churchill was an
extraordinary mixture
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of English aristocrat
and American tycoon.
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His father was the youngest son
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of the Duke of marlborough.
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His mother was the
daughter of Leonard Jerome,
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who was an amazing
American speculator,
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who won and lost
fortunes all the time.
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He was a strange mixture of this
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immensely distinguished
English family,
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and an American gambler.
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Narrator: Churchill's father,
lord Randolph Churchill,
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was inattentive and
largely emotionally absent,
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despite young Winston's
many childhood pleas
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in letters from boarding school.
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As a child, Churchill
did not easily fit
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within the conventional
frameworks of schooling.
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He was not lacking in intellect,
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but Latin gave him trouble,
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and mathematics was a challenge.
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His early career
in the British army
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was equally unconventional.
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He possessed a
strong sense of self
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beyond the institution.
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But more than that, he
considered himself a man
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destined for bigger things.
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- He had a supreme
self-confidence.
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At age 21, he was telling people
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that he was destined to
become prime minister
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of england, and
they believed him.
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He had this ambition,
but he also had
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a staggering capacity for work.
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He read. He prepared himself.
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He educated himself
for this political career.
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And he said, even
at that early age,
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that he was intending
to beat his sword
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into an undispatch box,
and succeed in parliament.
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Narrator: Churchill also longed
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for battle and adventure.
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During the second world war,
he sought out opportunities
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to travel as close as he
could to the battlefield.
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These impulses had
begun as a young adult.
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In the 1890s, Churchill
worked as a writer
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and war correspondent,
as well as actively serving
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in the British army
in Cuba, India,
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Sudan, and South Africa.
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Even in his early
years, he found ways
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to successfully
meld war with words.
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- Churchill had really
established his reputation
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before the end
of the victorian era
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with his early books
'the malakand field force',
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'the river war' and so forth.
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And he had been
straight from the start,
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a master of the condensed
epigrammatic phrase.
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In fact, his early
rhetoric is better,
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it's far more muscular
than his later rhetoric
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in world war two.
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Narrator: Churchill's
initial experience in politics
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was not a success.
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In 1899, he ran as a
conservative candidate
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in a by-election in the seat
of oldham, but did not win.
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The next year, in
the general election,
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he managed to secure
a seat by a slim margin.
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He took his seat
in November 1900,
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while queen Victoria
still reigned over britain
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and the empire.
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It was here during his early
days in the house of commons,
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where Churchill refined
his rhetorical ability
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which would later fortify
the nation at war in 1940.
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- Indeed, now that
I come to think of it,
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it was at westminster
that I received
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a very large part of
my education in politics,
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dialectic, rhetoric,
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and one or two other things.
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- He was very good at
the prepared set oration,
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but he knew this himself,
he wasn't particularly good
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at being spontaneous.
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- I've learned a lot
in these 31 years.
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Many things have
happened to the world.
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- His technique from the
earliest days in politics
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was to memorise long
and detailed speech.
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Early in his career, in 1904,
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he was in the house of commons,
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he was almost all the
way through his speech,
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and then suddenly he
had a kind of a brain freeze,
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couldn't remember
what he was going to say,
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sort of stuttered a few
words, and sat down.
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From then on, he almost
always worked from a text.
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Narrator: In 1904,
Churchill crossed the floor,
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shifting his allegiance
from the conservatives
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to the liberal party.
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And as Churchill
continued to build
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his political career, he
also sought, and found,
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happiness in his personal life.
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Clementine hozier first
met Winston Churchill
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at a ball in 1904.
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She later recalled he
hadn't said a word to her
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in their first encounter.
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He just stood and stared.
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Winston proposed at his
birthplace, blenheim palace,
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in August 1908, and
they were married
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the very next month at
st Margaret's westminster.
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In the wars and
political storms to come,
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Clementine remained a
beacon of strength and support.
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Britain may have stood alone
in those dark days of 1940,
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but Churchill certainly did not.
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In July 1914,
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European tensions
transformed into war.
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Churchill had become
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first lord of the
admiralty in 1911.
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With the first world
war underway,
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this position as
the political head
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of the royal Navy was
strategically important.
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Churchill's role in the
failed gallipoli campaign
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in 1915 earned him infamy
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that lives on to
the present day.
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The plan to use the royal Navy,
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to try to force passage
through the dardanelles,
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sail a fleet to bombard
constantinople,
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and force Turkey out of the war,
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ended in abject failure.
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The land campaign that followed
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also ended in defeat and
withdrawal in January 1916,
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after eight months of fighting.
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The blame for the
failed gallipoli campaign
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was largely laid
at Churchill's feet.
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In may 1915, shortly
after the failure at gallipoli,
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prime minister asquith
formed a new government
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with the conservatives.
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They insisted Churchill
lose his position
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as first lord of the admiralty,
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and he ultimately resigned
from the government.
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Churchill now
turned his attention
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to what contribution he
might make as a soldier.
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In early 1916,
Churchill took command
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of the 6th battalion of
the royal Scots fusiliers
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and was sent to serve
on the western front.
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The battalion he led
had been savaged
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in the battle of loos
the previous September,
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and morale was low.
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As lieutenant-colonel,
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Churchill entered the
trenches with his men
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at ploegsteert on
the Belgian front
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in late January 1916,
where the unit was subject
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to shellfire and
suffered casualties.
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After a short stint of
leave in London in march,
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Churchill returned
to the battlefield.
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But he returned as
a man in two minds,
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feeling the pull of
politics once again.
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When it was clear that
his unit would be absorbed
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into another, with
someone else in command,
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Churchill resigned his
commission in may 1916.
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In mid-1917, Churchill
secured a position
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as minister of munitions.
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The first world war
was a war of machines.
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Aircraft, artillery, and armour
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all came to the fore
on Europe's battlefields.
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00:14:20,310 --> 00:14:22,586
The experience at the
end of the first world war
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had shown what a combination
of weapon systems could do.
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It was no longer about artillery
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00:14:26,965 --> 00:14:29,482
and infantry individually,
it was about infantry,
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00:14:29,586 --> 00:14:32,103
armour, aircraft,
intelligence, artillery,
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underground mines.
255
00:14:33,793 --> 00:14:35,931
Everything you could
think of working in Harmony
256
00:14:36,034 --> 00:14:38,241
to try and break
any future deadlock.
257
00:14:39,965 --> 00:14:41,793
Narrator: Churchill
understood this.
258
00:14:41,896 --> 00:14:45,862
He had promoted the value
of the tank since early 1915
259
00:14:45,965 --> 00:14:48,379
when, as first lord
of the admiralty,
260
00:14:48,482 --> 00:14:51,068
he had established the
landships committee.
261
00:14:53,724 --> 00:14:57,034
By 1918, Churchill's
instincts on the potential
262
00:14:57,137 --> 00:14:58,965
of the tank were proven right.
263
00:15:00,344 --> 00:15:03,448
The infantry and armoured
corps had learned to work
264
00:15:03,551 --> 00:15:06,344
more effectively together,
and tanks became
265
00:15:06,448 --> 00:15:09,000
a key element of
the British war effort.
266
00:15:14,655 --> 00:15:17,137
During his tenure as
minister for munitions,
267
00:15:17,241 --> 00:15:20,827
he also briefly met
Franklin Roosevelt.
268
00:15:20,931 --> 00:15:23,827
In July 1918, they
both attended a dinner
269
00:15:23,931 --> 00:15:27,068
in the banquet hall
of gray's inn, London.
270
00:15:28,793 --> 00:15:31,137
When the two met
again years later,
271
00:15:31,241 --> 00:15:34,068
Churchill had forgotten
their earlier encounter.
272
00:15:34,931 --> 00:15:36,689
Roosevelt had not,
273
00:15:36,793 --> 00:15:39,172
and he did not have
fond memories of it.
274
00:15:40,206 --> 00:15:42,275
Roosevelt recalled
that Churchill
275
00:15:42,379 --> 00:15:45,000
had "acted like a stinker."
276
00:15:52,379 --> 00:15:55,103
Churchill and Roosevelt
were not the only future leaders
277
00:15:55,206 --> 00:15:57,517
whose experiences
in the first world war
278
00:15:57,620 --> 00:16:01,655
would inform their
leadership in the second.
279
00:16:01,758 --> 00:16:04,482
Adolf Hitler also
served in the war.
280
00:16:06,379 --> 00:16:08,655
Perhaps for the
first time in his life,
281
00:16:08,758 --> 00:16:11,000
Hitler found purpose
in the bavarian army
282
00:16:11,103 --> 00:16:13,517
in the first world war.
283
00:16:13,620 --> 00:16:15,275
He served on the western front
284
00:16:15,379 --> 00:16:17,482
and was considered
a good soldier.
285
00:16:18,275 --> 00:16:19,655
In 1918, when news of
286
00:16:19,758 --> 00:16:22,103
the German
surrender reached him,
287
00:16:22,206 --> 00:16:24,103
Hitler was in hospital,
288
00:16:24,206 --> 00:16:27,482
recovering from a
mustard gas attack.
289
00:16:27,586 --> 00:16:30,137
- So in 1919, Hitler is
staying with the army.
290
00:16:30,241 --> 00:16:32,310
Biographers of Hitler
always say that the army
291
00:16:32,413 --> 00:16:34,517
was really the only
home he had ever had,
292
00:16:34,620 --> 00:16:36,413
at least since his childhood.
293
00:16:36,517 --> 00:16:39,068
He starts in the course of
1919 to develop a career
294
00:16:39,172 --> 00:16:41,586
as a political education
officer for the army.
295
00:16:41,689 --> 00:16:44,000
They ask him to give
lectures to troops on politics.
296
00:16:44,103 --> 00:16:45,482
And this is where he discovers
297
00:16:45,586 --> 00:16:47,689
the one thing he could
really do - as he wrote,
298
00:16:47,793 --> 00:16:49,379
"I found I could speak."
299
00:16:53,793 --> 00:16:56,448
Narrator: One topic on which
Hitler spoke about at length
300
00:16:56,551 --> 00:16:58,517
was the treaty of versailles,
301
00:16:58,620 --> 00:17:00,862
and the 'stab in
the back' legend -
302
00:17:00,965 --> 00:17:03,413
the contention that
the war had been lost,
303
00:17:03,517 --> 00:17:05,172
not on the battlefield,
304
00:17:05,275 --> 00:17:08,689
but because of internal
dissent on the home front.
305
00:17:11,172 --> 00:17:13,689
- The stab in the back
was a common currency
306
00:17:13,793 --> 00:17:15,448
among all Germans.
They all thought
307
00:17:15,551 --> 00:17:17,689
they'd been betrayed,
this was the kind of
308
00:17:17,793 --> 00:17:19,724
normative discourse.
309
00:17:19,827 --> 00:17:22,103
But the Nazis gave it
a special prominence.
310
00:17:22,206 --> 00:17:25,965
They were planting this
idea of grievance and betrayal
311
00:17:26,068 --> 00:17:27,827
in the German people,
312
00:17:27,931 --> 00:17:30,310
and they did it
very effectively.
313
00:17:30,413 --> 00:17:33,379
Narrator: Signed at the
1919 Paris peace conference,
314
00:17:33,482 --> 00:17:36,586
the treaty of versailles had
imposed severe penalties
315
00:17:36,689 --> 00:17:40,206
on Germany, including
loss of territory,
316
00:17:40,310 --> 00:17:41,965
restrictions on the military,
317
00:17:42,068 --> 00:17:44,655
and reparations in the billions.
318
00:17:47,965 --> 00:17:50,827
Churchill had also attended
the Paris peace conference
319
00:17:50,931 --> 00:17:54,862
as secretary of
state for air and war.
320
00:17:54,965 --> 00:17:57,551
Though he was not directly
involved in the peace talks,
321
00:17:57,655 --> 00:18:00,413
he was involved in
discussions about the shape
322
00:18:00,517 --> 00:18:02,517
of the post-war world.
323
00:18:08,379 --> 00:18:10,931
In February 1921,
Churchill became
324
00:18:11,034 --> 00:18:13,862
secretary of state
for the colonies.
325
00:18:13,965 --> 00:18:16,896
He held responsibility for
all colonial dependencies
326
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,310
of the United Kingdom,
327
00:18:18,413 --> 00:18:20,448
including areas
of the middle east
328
00:18:20,551 --> 00:18:22,172
under British influence.
329
00:18:23,793 --> 00:18:24,793
In the wake of the war
330
00:18:24,862 --> 00:18:27,034
and the defeat of
the ottoman empire,
331
00:18:27,137 --> 00:18:28,793
national borders
across the region
332
00:18:28,896 --> 00:18:33,172
were being redrawn by
the British and the French.
333
00:18:33,275 --> 00:18:35,862
Winston Churchill, colonial
secretary by this stage,
334
00:18:35,965 --> 00:18:38,137
brings together
military officials,
335
00:18:38,241 --> 00:18:40,724
colonial officials,
interested parties,
336
00:18:40,827 --> 00:18:43,379
to literally sit down over
the course of the conference,
337
00:18:43,482 --> 00:18:44,931
to put all of their
ideas on paper
338
00:18:45,034 --> 00:18:47,034
and to come up with
the arrangements that will
339
00:18:47,137 --> 00:18:49,482
become the boundaries
that we recognise today.
340
00:18:51,344 --> 00:18:53,113
Narrator: Churchill's
knowledge of the history
341
00:18:53,137 --> 00:18:56,275
and cultures of the
area did not run deep,
342
00:18:56,379 --> 00:18:59,862
and this lack of a nuanced
understanding by Churchill,
343
00:18:59,965 --> 00:19:02,068
and his British
and French peers,
344
00:19:02,172 --> 00:19:04,551
had serious consequences
in the creation
345
00:19:04,655 --> 00:19:07,724
of nations' borders,
including Lebanon,
346
00:19:07,827 --> 00:19:10,344
Syria and Iraq.
347
00:19:10,448 --> 00:19:13,241
- Iraq is the most
artificial of all the states
348
00:19:13,344 --> 00:19:15,448
that are created,
because essentially,
349
00:19:15,551 --> 00:19:18,586
they are lumping together
three very distinct provinces
350
00:19:18,689 --> 00:19:20,931
of Baghdad, Basra and mosul,
351
00:19:21,034 --> 00:19:23,379
saying, "you are
now a single state."
352
00:19:23,482 --> 00:19:25,413
But the inhabitants
of those provinces
353
00:19:25,517 --> 00:19:28,241
don't necessarily see
or recognise themselves
354
00:19:28,344 --> 00:19:31,068
as being within a
single nation state.
355
00:19:31,172 --> 00:19:34,275
And many of the issues to
do with sectarian violence
356
00:19:34,379 --> 00:19:36,137
that are ongoing
in Iraq to this day
357
00:19:36,241 --> 00:19:38,241
stem out from this.
358
00:19:46,172 --> 00:19:48,931
Narrator: In 1922,
Churchill lost his seat
359
00:19:49,034 --> 00:19:51,896
at a general election,
despite the efforts
360
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:54,310
of Clementine who
had campaigned for him
361
00:19:54,413 --> 00:19:56,655
while he was ill
with appendicitis.
362
00:19:58,241 --> 00:20:02,310
At the age of 47, Churchill
was out of government.
363
00:20:04,379 --> 00:20:07,413
But by 1924, he had
re-joined the ranks
364
00:20:07,517 --> 00:20:10,517
of the conservatives,
a move that put him
365
00:20:10,620 --> 00:20:13,482
back in government,
and in a position
366
00:20:13,586 --> 00:20:15,275
of significant authority
367
00:20:15,379 --> 00:20:18,379
as chancellor of the exchequer -
368
00:20:18,482 --> 00:20:21,620
the position his
father had once held.
369
00:20:21,724 --> 00:20:23,931
Churchill's father had been
chancellor of the exchequer,
370
00:20:24,034 --> 00:20:27,724
and he'd made a great fuss
about the decimal points,
371
00:20:27,827 --> 00:20:30,379
which he called
"those damn dots".
372
00:20:30,482 --> 00:20:32,310
Churchill didn't have
much more of a clue
373
00:20:32,413 --> 00:20:34,620
about those damn
dots than his father had.
374
00:20:34,724 --> 00:20:38,034
He wasn't very
good at finance at all.
375
00:20:38,137 --> 00:20:40,034
Narrator: The return
to the gold standard
376
00:20:40,137 --> 00:20:43,379
was Churchill's defining
action in this role.
377
00:20:43,482 --> 00:20:45,827
The gold standard was
a system which linked
378
00:20:45,931 --> 00:20:49,724
the currency directly to
a fixed quantity of gold.
379
00:20:49,827 --> 00:20:52,689
The decision is
often criticised,
380
00:20:52,793 --> 00:20:55,793
some suggesting it a
Mark of incompetence,
381
00:20:55,896 --> 00:20:58,827
but Churchill was
not lax in his role.
382
00:20:58,931 --> 00:21:01,379
He did not make
the decision lightly,
383
00:21:01,482 --> 00:21:04,586
and had in fact resisted it.
384
00:21:04,689 --> 00:21:05,931
He even hosted a dinner party
385
00:21:06,034 --> 00:21:08,206
with key economic advisers,
386
00:21:08,310 --> 00:21:11,482
further interrogating the issue.
387
00:21:11,586 --> 00:21:15,000
- He took advice, in the
end he took the wrong advice,
388
00:21:15,103 --> 00:21:17,655
returning britain to
the gold standard,
389
00:21:17,758 --> 00:21:22,310
largely as an expression
of political virility.
390
00:21:22,413 --> 00:21:24,068
He wanted the
pound to be strong,
391
00:21:24,172 --> 00:21:27,448
but it was too strong, and
it undermined the economy,
392
00:21:27,551 --> 00:21:31,689
and it perhaps helped to make
the depression more severe,
393
00:21:31,793 --> 00:21:33,713
perhaps even to have
helped cause the depression.
394
00:21:39,655 --> 00:21:41,079
Narrator: The return
to the gold standard
395
00:21:41,103 --> 00:21:45,000
did strengthen the pound,
but this made UK exports
396
00:21:45,103 --> 00:21:49,000
uncompetitive, and caused
widespread unemployment.
397
00:21:51,137 --> 00:21:53,379
The outcome was not
a good one for Churchill
398
00:21:53,482 --> 00:21:57,137
or the economy, but
the incident tells us
399
00:21:57,241 --> 00:22:00,965
something of the man who
would lead britain in war.
400
00:22:01,068 --> 00:22:03,206
Hosting dinner
late into the night
401
00:22:03,310 --> 00:22:05,758
foreshadowed the many
late-night discussions
402
00:22:05,862 --> 00:22:08,793
he would hold during
the second world war.
403
00:22:10,965 --> 00:22:13,586
It also suggested
he was willing to rely
404
00:22:13,689 --> 00:22:16,793
on expert advice, even
if he disagreed with it.
405
00:22:22,551 --> 00:22:25,241
Churchill's experience as
chancellor also offered him
406
00:22:25,344 --> 00:22:28,379
another chance
to hone his oratory.
407
00:22:28,482 --> 00:22:32,137
His budget speeches
were quite the spectacle.
408
00:22:32,241 --> 00:22:35,586
His speeches as chancellor,
his budget speeches,
409
00:22:35,689 --> 00:22:37,068
which went on and on and on,
410
00:22:37,172 --> 00:22:40,793
sustained by copious
draughts of whiskey,
411
00:22:40,896 --> 00:22:42,620
where the most
brilliant entertainments
412
00:22:42,724 --> 00:22:44,448
that you could possibly hear.
413
00:22:44,551 --> 00:22:46,103
I mean, they were
absolutely wonderful.
414
00:22:46,206 --> 00:22:49,241
Everybody loved him for
these really witty accounts
415
00:22:49,344 --> 00:22:51,448
of what he was going
to do to the economy,
416
00:22:51,551 --> 00:22:55,068
but in practice, he didn't
live up to the rhetoric.
417
00:23:06,586 --> 00:23:09,448
Narrator: In may
1929, Churchill's time
418
00:23:09,551 --> 00:23:12,413
as chancellor came to
an end with the victory
419
00:23:12,517 --> 00:23:15,103
of the labour party
under ramsay MacDonald.
420
00:23:17,310 --> 00:23:21,482
The 1930s are often called
Churchill's wilderness years.
421
00:23:21,586 --> 00:23:23,448
Although he
remained a sitting mp,
422
00:23:23,551 --> 00:23:26,068
he turned his
attention to writing
423
00:23:26,172 --> 00:23:28,206
and to furthering his
publication record.
424
00:23:29,586 --> 00:23:32,827
A number of issues dominated
his focus in this period,
425
00:23:32,931 --> 00:23:35,758
and one in particular
showed him to be
426
00:23:35,862 --> 00:23:37,758
out of step with
the modern world.
427
00:23:42,103 --> 00:23:45,103
His position on India,
and his stubborn resistance
428
00:23:45,206 --> 00:23:47,620
to the growing clamour
for independence,
429
00:23:47,724 --> 00:23:49,896
was an obsession that marked him
430
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,965
as a dated imperialist.
431
00:23:53,344 --> 00:23:57,068
- Things are going
from bad to worse.
432
00:23:57,172 --> 00:23:59,344
Great mismanagement and weakness
433
00:23:59,448 --> 00:24:04,551
are causing unrest
and disturbance
434
00:24:04,655 --> 00:24:09,724
to 300 million primitive people
435
00:24:09,827 --> 00:24:14,241
whose wellbeing is in our care.
436
00:24:15,655 --> 00:24:20,586
We require to have a
clear, practical policy,
437
00:24:20,689 --> 00:24:25,379
and to pursue it with
courage and with conviction.
438
00:24:28,620 --> 00:24:31,379
Narrator: Mahatma Gandhi
had become the influential leader
439
00:24:31,482 --> 00:24:34,724
of the independence
movement after 1918,
440
00:24:34,827 --> 00:24:38,344
promoting non-violent
non-cooperation.
441
00:24:40,206 --> 00:24:42,724
In britain, and in parliament,
442
00:24:42,827 --> 00:24:47,172
views on the independence
of India began to diverge.
443
00:24:47,275 --> 00:24:50,517
- So this argument starts
to come out between people
444
00:24:50,620 --> 00:24:53,206
like Churchill who
were really, if you like,
445
00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:55,448
the representatives
of deep imperialism -
446
00:24:55,551 --> 00:24:58,517
that India was there as a
British possession forever,
447
00:24:58,620 --> 00:25:01,551
and if the British
didn't rule over India,
448
00:25:01,655 --> 00:25:03,241
India would just fall apart.
449
00:25:03,344 --> 00:25:05,862
As he famously said,
"India is no more a nation
450
00:25:05,965 --> 00:25:07,448
"than the equator,"
451
00:25:07,551 --> 00:25:09,931
that it had no
meaning as a nation.
452
00:25:10,034 --> 00:25:13,068
So he completely
dismissed Indian nationalism.
453
00:25:13,172 --> 00:25:17,586
I feel that the Indian
danger will raise a crisis
454
00:25:17,689 --> 00:25:21,827
equal in importance
to the greatest events
455
00:25:21,931 --> 00:25:25,724
in the history of Great Britain.
456
00:25:25,827 --> 00:25:28,172
- So, on the one hand,
people like Churchill,
457
00:25:28,275 --> 00:25:30,655
on the other hand, some
of the more pragmatic
458
00:25:30,758 --> 00:25:32,172
liberal and labour politicians,
459
00:25:32,275 --> 00:25:34,586
who realised
that, at some point,
460
00:25:34,689 --> 00:25:37,620
you would have to
start to devolve power.
461
00:25:37,724 --> 00:25:41,551
- And finally I hope that
by our labours together,
462
00:25:41,655 --> 00:25:47,137
India will possess the only
thing which she now lacks -
463
00:25:47,241 --> 00:25:49,965
full responsibility for
her own government.
464
00:25:53,689 --> 00:25:56,000
Narrator: Churchill was
particularly dismissive
465
00:25:56,103 --> 00:25:57,724
of Gandhi.
466
00:25:59,448 --> 00:26:03,827
To Churchill, ghandi
was an enemy of empire.
467
00:26:05,793 --> 00:26:09,137
- The Tory party was
gradually moving towards
468
00:26:09,241 --> 00:26:12,793
a position of giving tranches
of independence to India,
469
00:26:12,896 --> 00:26:14,827
first of all provincial
independence,
470
00:26:14,931 --> 00:26:17,344
and perhaps eventually
becoming a free dominion
471
00:26:17,448 --> 00:26:20,103
to join Canada and Australia.
472
00:26:20,206 --> 00:26:22,310
Churchill hated this, it
was anathema to him.
473
00:26:25,724 --> 00:26:28,862
- So a lot of effort
that Churchill spent
474
00:26:28,965 --> 00:26:34,344
in politics up until 1935,
was in trying to defeat
475
00:26:34,448 --> 00:26:37,896
the British government's
government of India bill,
476
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,793
which was to extend a measure
of self-government to India.
477
00:26:42,827 --> 00:26:44,206
And there was,
it's got to be said,
478
00:26:44,310 --> 00:26:48,275
an element of racism in
his attitude towards India.
479
00:26:48,379 --> 00:26:51,724
He talked about Gandhi
as a "half-naked fakir",
480
00:26:51,827 --> 00:26:53,517
and used really
rather horrible terms
481
00:26:53,620 --> 00:26:55,724
towards the Indians,
482
00:26:55,827 --> 00:26:57,724
called them a "foul
race" and so on.
483
00:26:57,827 --> 00:27:02,068
He was wholly on the wrong
side of the flow of history.
484
00:27:07,655 --> 00:27:10,517
Narrator: At the same
time, he was also delivering
485
00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:13,655
perceptive warnings
about the rise of the far-right
486
00:27:13,758 --> 00:27:15,862
in Germany.
487
00:27:17,137 --> 00:27:18,896
- We don't know the exact point
488
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,034
at which he first
heard the name 'Hitler',
489
00:27:22,137 --> 00:27:27,034
but we can say that prior
to Hitler seizing power,
490
00:27:27,137 --> 00:27:29,137
he was certainly
aware of Hitler,
491
00:27:29,241 --> 00:27:32,517
and was reading news
reports coming out of Germany,
492
00:27:32,620 --> 00:27:35,931
and was concerned
about the threat
493
00:27:36,034 --> 00:27:37,793
that he potentially posed,
494
00:27:37,896 --> 00:27:41,137
and was concerned
about Hitler's antisemitism.
495
00:27:41,241 --> 00:27:43,689
Narrator: Churchill
watched as Hitler,
496
00:27:43,793 --> 00:27:45,320
who had found his
voice on the battlefields
497
00:27:45,344 --> 00:27:47,172
of the western front,
498
00:27:47,275 --> 00:27:50,172
began using it in
the political sphere.
499
00:27:57,413 --> 00:28:01,000
- So at the same time
that he was starting to warn
500
00:28:01,103 --> 00:28:04,172
about the dangers of Germany,
501
00:28:04,275 --> 00:28:06,172
and to advocate
British rearmament,
502
00:28:06,275 --> 00:28:08,448
he was also engaged
in this parallel,
503
00:28:08,551 --> 00:28:10,586
and ultimately
unsuccessful effort,
504
00:28:10,689 --> 00:28:13,965
to defeat reform in India.
505
00:28:14,068 --> 00:28:17,379
And so the way Churchill
later told the story
506
00:28:17,482 --> 00:28:21,448
in his memoirs was to very
much emphasise his efforts
507
00:28:21,551 --> 00:28:24,517
to combat the Nazis,
and to downplay his efforts
508
00:28:24,620 --> 00:28:26,379
with respect to India.
509
00:28:29,379 --> 00:28:30,965
Narrator: Hitler's rise to power
510
00:28:31,068 --> 00:28:33,655
began in a shattered
post-war Bavaria.
511
00:28:35,206 --> 00:28:38,413
He joined the German
workers party in 1919.
512
00:28:39,482 --> 00:28:41,965
In 1920, the party
changed its name
513
00:28:42,068 --> 00:28:45,517
to the nationalist socialist
German workers party,
514
00:28:45,620 --> 00:28:49,724
better known to
history as the Nazis.
515
00:28:49,827 --> 00:28:52,896
By 1921, he was its leader.
516
00:28:54,482 --> 00:28:58,620
In 1929, the depression
caused economic instability,
517
00:28:58,724 --> 00:29:02,068
and Hitler used it to
strengthen the Nazi party.
518
00:29:07,034 --> 00:29:11,758
In 1932, Hitler won
36% of the votes
519
00:29:11,862 --> 00:29:14,896
in the presidential
election against hindenburg,
520
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,793
and he used this strong
position to his advantage.
521
00:29:19,896 --> 00:29:24,448
In the negotiations that
followed, he held firm.
522
00:29:24,551 --> 00:29:26,965
He would take the role
of chancellor of Germany
523
00:29:27,068 --> 00:29:29,896
and nothing less.
524
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,960
- Hitler absolutely had
an all-or-nothing approach
525
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,551
to gaining power.
526
00:29:33,655 --> 00:29:36,275
One of the real skills
that Hitler had in politics
527
00:29:36,379 --> 00:29:38,068
was a brilliant sense of timing.
528
00:29:38,172 --> 00:29:41,310
He had the nerves to
wait, not jump too soon
529
00:29:41,413 --> 00:29:43,965
at an opportunity in which
he might be closed out
530
00:29:44,068 --> 00:29:46,413
of power and not be able
to do what he wanted to do.
531
00:29:46,517 --> 00:29:48,793
And so he was willing to
wait until that was in fact
532
00:29:48,896 --> 00:29:51,758
handed to him, in
late January, 1933.
533
00:29:59,724 --> 00:30:01,034
Narrator: President hindenburg
534
00:30:01,137 --> 00:30:03,862
had made a fatal mistake
in thinking he could control
535
00:30:03,965 --> 00:30:06,310
Hitler in some
kind of partnership.
536
00:30:08,724 --> 00:30:10,827
But Hitler's ambition
to become dictator
537
00:30:10,931 --> 00:30:12,724
burned as fiercely as the fire
538
00:30:12,827 --> 00:30:14,517
that engulfed the reichstag
539
00:30:14,620 --> 00:30:17,344
a month after he accepted
the chancellorship.
540
00:30:19,896 --> 00:30:23,448
He quickly executed a
plan to gain full control.
541
00:30:24,586 --> 00:30:27,689
In march 1933, the
enabling act passed,
542
00:30:27,793 --> 00:30:30,758
which gave Hitler
dictatorial powers.
543
00:30:32,896 --> 00:30:34,965
The German parliament
had underestimated
544
00:30:35,068 --> 00:30:37,758
the rising dictator,
545
00:30:37,862 --> 00:30:39,758
and they were not
alone in doing so.
546
00:30:41,275 --> 00:30:43,241
- Chamberlain and
other western politicians
547
00:30:43,344 --> 00:30:45,724
made very much the
same kind of miscalculation.
548
00:30:45,827 --> 00:30:47,044
They looked at him,
they thought, you know,
549
00:30:47,068 --> 00:30:48,689
"what is this man?
550
00:30:48,793 --> 00:30:50,517
"Can we really
take him seriously?
551
00:30:50,620 --> 00:30:52,344
"Could he possibly be a threat,
552
00:30:52,448 --> 00:30:54,275
"or is this somebody, perhaps,
553
00:30:54,379 --> 00:30:55,979
"that we can manipulate,
we can bring him
554
00:30:56,034 --> 00:30:57,068
"to the conference table,
555
00:30:57,172 --> 00:30:58,182
"we can discuss
things with him?"
556
00:30:58,206 --> 00:30:59,862
And so on and so on.
557
00:30:59,965 --> 00:31:01,689
But he was a phenomenon, Hitler,
558
00:31:01,793 --> 00:31:04,793
nobody quite like
him in the 1930s.
559
00:31:04,896 --> 00:31:08,137
[Speaking German]
560
00:31:15,137 --> 00:31:17,896
Narrator: In 1930,
Churchill wrote an essay
561
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,793
on Hitler, revealing
conflicting thoughts.
562
00:31:20,896 --> 00:31:23,137
He admired his love for country
563
00:31:23,241 --> 00:31:25,310
and what he called
Hitler's "vital force"
564
00:31:25,413 --> 00:31:27,137
in achieving his goals.
565
00:31:28,517 --> 00:31:30,517
He also understood the
frustration Germans felt
566
00:31:30,620 --> 00:31:32,137
at the punitive reparations
567
00:31:32,241 --> 00:31:34,448
imposed by the
treaty of versailles.
568
00:31:37,724 --> 00:31:42,206
Even so, he recognised
the darkness of the man.
569
00:31:42,310 --> 00:31:46,482
- Churchill was extremely
perceptive about Hitler.
570
00:31:46,586 --> 00:31:49,000
Some people have said
that he recognised the devil
571
00:31:49,103 --> 00:31:52,310
in Hitler because he had
a bit of devil in himself.
572
00:31:52,413 --> 00:31:55,896
But very, very early on,
he talked about the menace
573
00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,724
that Hitler represented.
574
00:31:58,827 --> 00:32:01,551
The militarism,
the belligerence,
575
00:32:01,655 --> 00:32:04,034
the hostility to the Jews,
576
00:32:04,137 --> 00:32:07,241
the crushing of any
Democratic elements
577
00:32:07,344 --> 00:32:10,689
in Germany, and worst
of all, as far as Churchill
578
00:32:10,793 --> 00:32:14,517
was concerned,
the threat of a revival
579
00:32:14,620 --> 00:32:16,793
of the first world war.
580
00:32:23,965 --> 00:32:25,965
Narrator: While Churchill's
warnings on appeasement
581
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,034
went unheeded for
some time in parliament,
582
00:32:28,137 --> 00:32:31,137
they did not go
unnoticed in Germany.
583
00:32:32,827 --> 00:32:36,931
- Churchill wrote an article,
which was published in 1935,
584
00:32:37,034 --> 00:32:39,655
in a British magazine
called 'the strand magazine',
585
00:32:39,758 --> 00:32:43,034
called 'the truth about Hitler.'
586
00:32:43,137 --> 00:32:46,724
it was a somewhat
ambiguous article in some ways,
587
00:32:46,827 --> 00:32:49,068
but towards the
end of the article,
588
00:32:49,172 --> 00:32:52,482
he strongly denounced
the night of the long knives,
589
00:32:52,586 --> 00:32:57,896
and Hitler's murder of his
former collaborators in 1934,
590
00:32:58,000 --> 00:32:59,458
in, you know, some
really quite strong
591
00:32:59,482 --> 00:33:00,931
and violent language.
592
00:33:01,034 --> 00:33:02,862
And the Germans
immediately reacted
593
00:33:02,965 --> 00:33:05,068
by banning this article.
594
00:33:07,448 --> 00:33:09,586
Narrator: Churchill's
fears about Hitler
595
00:33:09,689 --> 00:33:11,137
were well-founded.
596
00:33:11,241 --> 00:33:15,241
The darkness he
feared did indeed rise.
597
00:33:22,344 --> 00:33:26,034
- By the late 1930s,
Churchill's prophecies
598
00:33:26,137 --> 00:33:29,000
were being seen to be realised,
599
00:33:29,103 --> 00:33:31,448
because in 1936,
we got Hitler marching
600
00:33:31,551 --> 00:33:34,551
into the rhineland, tearing
up the treaty of locarno,
601
00:33:34,655 --> 00:33:37,172
the anschluss with Austria,
602
00:33:37,275 --> 00:33:39,448
and then eventually
the gobbling up
603
00:33:39,551 --> 00:33:42,413
of czechoslovakia in two slices.
604
00:33:42,517 --> 00:33:44,551
So, Churchill was often wrong.
605
00:33:44,655 --> 00:33:47,931
One might almost say that
he was almost invariably wrong,
606
00:33:48,034 --> 00:33:50,655
but he was right
when it mattered,
607
00:33:50,758 --> 00:33:52,413
and that was the
crucial thing about it.
608
00:33:58,344 --> 00:34:00,275
Narrator: As
Hitler's powers grew,
609
00:34:00,379 --> 00:34:02,137
domestic issues in britain
610
00:34:02,241 --> 00:34:04,275
also called
Churchill's attention.
611
00:34:05,448 --> 00:34:07,172
One such issue
was the abdication
612
00:34:07,275 --> 00:34:10,724
of king Edward viii in 1936.
613
00:34:12,620 --> 00:34:16,310
It was an affair that
scandalised the empire.
614
00:34:16,413 --> 00:34:18,655
The king had fallen
for a married woman,
615
00:34:18,758 --> 00:34:22,172
Wallis Simpson, and
he would willingly give up
616
00:34:22,275 --> 00:34:24,344
his role and duty as sovereign
617
00:34:24,448 --> 00:34:26,517
for a life with his great love.
618
00:34:29,137 --> 00:34:31,103
Churchill had known
Edward since before
619
00:34:31,206 --> 00:34:32,827
the first world war,
620
00:34:32,931 --> 00:34:35,793
and Edward had
often sought his advice.
621
00:34:35,896 --> 00:34:38,068
Churchill sympathised
with the king,
622
00:34:38,172 --> 00:34:41,758
but he did not
support the abdication.
623
00:34:41,862 --> 00:34:44,068
Churchill, as one of the
leaders of the opposition,
624
00:34:44,172 --> 00:34:46,448
pushed the government
for more time
625
00:34:46,551 --> 00:34:48,620
so Edward could
reconsider his decision.
626
00:34:50,137 --> 00:34:53,689
But Edward's mind was made
up, and in December 1936,
627
00:34:53,793 --> 00:34:55,931
he made history.
628
00:34:56,034 --> 00:34:58,379
- By an instrument
of abdication,
629
00:34:58,482 --> 00:35:02,689
dated the tenth day
of December instant,
630
00:35:02,793 --> 00:35:06,758
his former majesty
king Edward viii,
631
00:35:06,862 --> 00:35:11,379
did declare his
irrevocable determination
632
00:35:11,482 --> 00:35:15,896
to renounce the
throne for himself
633
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,689
and his descendants.
634
00:35:18,379 --> 00:35:20,517
God save the king.
635
00:35:21,827 --> 00:35:23,667
Narrator: In a speech
following the abdication,
636
00:35:23,724 --> 00:35:26,344
Churchill warned of
potential external threats
637
00:35:26,448 --> 00:35:27,896
to empire.
638
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:31,448
"Danger gathers upon
our path," he cautioned,
639
00:35:31,551 --> 00:35:34,620
urging all to support
the king's successor
640
00:35:34,724 --> 00:35:37,310
and ensure a
strong, united empire.
641
00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:41,172
But britain, and in particular
642
00:35:41,275 --> 00:35:44,413
its members of parliament,
were not united in the plan
643
00:35:44,517 --> 00:35:46,620
against German aggression.
644
00:35:46,724 --> 00:35:51,758
- I'm going to meet
the German chancellor
645
00:35:51,862 --> 00:35:56,068
because the
situation seems to me
646
00:35:56,172 --> 00:35:58,896
to be one in which discussions
647
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:03,172
between him and me may
have useful consequences.
648
00:36:05,172 --> 00:36:08,517
Narrator: In 1938,
the Munich Agreement
649
00:36:08,620 --> 00:36:10,655
made clear the rifts in opinion
650
00:36:10,758 --> 00:36:12,206
on German appeasement.
651
00:36:13,655 --> 00:36:14,976
- Look at this shot
in which you see
652
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,344
the statesmen all
together - Mussolini, Hitler,
653
00:36:17,448 --> 00:36:19,344
daladier, and the
camera pans over
654
00:36:19,448 --> 00:36:20,827
to mr Chamberlain on the right.
655
00:36:20,931 --> 00:36:22,344
It is two o'clock
in the morning,
656
00:36:22,448 --> 00:36:23,655
an agreement has been reached.
657
00:36:24,655 --> 00:36:26,172
Narrator: In the
Munich Agreement,
658
00:36:26,275 --> 00:36:29,206
Germany, Italy,
France and britain
659
00:36:29,310 --> 00:36:32,689
agreed to the German
annexation of the sudetenland
660
00:36:32,793 --> 00:36:34,862
in western czechoslovakia.
661
00:36:36,448 --> 00:36:38,586
- There was, of course,
significant opposition
662
00:36:38,689 --> 00:36:40,413
and anger about the
Munich Agreement
663
00:36:40,517 --> 00:36:43,379
within some elements
of the conservative party
664
00:36:43,482 --> 00:36:44,896
amongst the anti-appeasers -
665
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,034
Churchill and his circle,
Eden and his circle.
666
00:36:49,137 --> 00:36:51,413
- Churchill certainly regarded
the Munich Agreement
667
00:36:51,517 --> 00:36:53,344
as a sell-out of czechoslovakia
668
00:36:53,448 --> 00:36:55,172
by britain and France.
669
00:36:55,275 --> 00:36:58,103
In parliament, he even
went so far as to say
670
00:36:58,206 --> 00:37:00,448
that czechoslovakia could
have done better negotiating
671
00:37:00,551 --> 00:37:02,827
by itself rather
than involving britain
672
00:37:02,931 --> 00:37:05,896
and France in the negotiations.
673
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,413
He believed that only
the threat of a declaration
674
00:37:08,517 --> 00:37:11,034
of war would have
prevented the dismemberment
675
00:37:11,137 --> 00:37:12,896
of czechoslovakia.
676
00:37:14,344 --> 00:37:16,413
Narrator: Churchill's
opposition to the agreement
677
00:37:16,517 --> 00:37:19,655
was not to suggest he
was actively seeking war,
678
00:37:19,758 --> 00:37:23,000
but rather seeking
to stop Hitler.
679
00:37:25,413 --> 00:37:27,551
- No-one was saying
that they wanted war.
680
00:37:27,655 --> 00:37:29,689
Churchill wasn't saying
what he wanted was war.
681
00:37:29,793 --> 00:37:31,586
There were just
different roads to peace
682
00:37:31,689 --> 00:37:33,517
that they were proposing.
683
00:37:33,620 --> 00:37:35,413
But what they were
really saying was,
684
00:37:35,517 --> 00:37:37,620
"we need to fight
this war at some point,
685
00:37:37,724 --> 00:37:40,551
"we can't keep on
giving in to Hitler."
686
00:37:40,655 --> 00:37:42,482
Narrator: For
many, the sacrifice
687
00:37:42,586 --> 00:37:46,896
of the sudetenland was a
step too far in appeasement.
688
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,241
- Even though we should
give due regard to the fact
689
00:37:49,344 --> 00:37:51,620
that Chamberlain and
appeasement was popular
690
00:37:51,724 --> 00:37:55,310
around the world, there
was a real sense of shame
691
00:37:55,413 --> 00:37:58,241
and embarrassment at
what britain had done,
692
00:37:58,344 --> 00:38:01,724
at how it had abandoned
a worthy ally in the Czechs,
693
00:38:01,827 --> 00:38:04,275
and what was going
on behind the scenes.
694
00:38:18,689 --> 00:38:20,689
Narrator: During
the inter-war period,
695
00:38:20,793 --> 00:38:23,689
Churchill also warned of
the threat of bolshevism,
696
00:38:23,793 --> 00:38:27,448
and the influence of
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
697
00:38:30,655 --> 00:38:32,379
The Soviet union had
formed in the wake
698
00:38:32,482 --> 00:38:35,034
of the 1917 Russian revolution.
699
00:38:36,448 --> 00:38:40,413
Stalin emerged as the
undisputed leader in 1929.
700
00:38:42,034 --> 00:38:44,034
He had his former
rival for the leadership,
701
00:38:44,137 --> 00:38:48,793
Leon trotsky, expelled from
the Soviet union in 1929,
702
00:38:48,896 --> 00:38:52,137
and in 1940, assassinated.
703
00:38:54,517 --> 00:38:57,275
- After the first world war,
Churchill was obsessed
704
00:38:57,379 --> 00:39:00,862
by what had happened
in Russia in 1917,
705
00:39:00,965 --> 00:39:02,586
the Russian revolution.
706
00:39:02,689 --> 00:39:07,103
He saw the bolsheviks
as a danger similar
707
00:39:07,206 --> 00:39:11,206
to that of the jacobins
in the 18th century -
708
00:39:11,310 --> 00:39:14,206
as revolutionaries who
were going to overthrow
709
00:39:14,310 --> 00:39:18,448
not just the Russian
order, but the world order.
710
00:39:18,551 --> 00:39:22,965
They posed a threat to
humanity, to civilisation.
711
00:39:28,068 --> 00:39:29,482
Narrator: Churchill's concerns
712
00:39:29,586 --> 00:39:32,344
about the threat of communism
were deeply ingrained.
713
00:39:32,448 --> 00:39:35,724
His suspicions, and
mistrust of Stalin,
714
00:39:35,827 --> 00:39:38,241
would endure throughout
the second world war.
715
00:39:41,034 --> 00:39:43,724
But he was also a pragmatist.
716
00:39:43,827 --> 00:39:46,103
As the threat of Germany grew,
717
00:39:46,206 --> 00:39:48,793
Churchill recognised
the Soviet union
718
00:39:48,896 --> 00:39:51,448
might serve as a useful ally.
719
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:54,827
- During the
1930s, he's actually
720
00:39:54,931 --> 00:39:58,448
potentially willing to
work with the Soviet union.
721
00:39:59,655 --> 00:40:02,000
You can see that
he now saw the Nazis
722
00:40:02,103 --> 00:40:04,241
as a greater threat
than the bolsheviks,
723
00:40:04,344 --> 00:40:06,482
and was prepared,
potentially at least,
724
00:40:06,586 --> 00:40:08,000
to work with the lesser evil.
725
00:40:14,344 --> 00:40:15,931
Narrator: The inter-war period
726
00:40:16,034 --> 00:40:17,758
was a time of emerging leaders
727
00:40:17,862 --> 00:40:20,275
jockeying for
power and position.
728
00:40:21,034 --> 00:40:22,689
Germany had Hitler.
729
00:40:24,034 --> 00:40:26,034
The Soviet union, Stalin.
730
00:40:27,517 --> 00:40:29,413
And Italy had Mussolini.
731
00:40:29,517 --> 00:40:33,379
[Speaking Italian]
732
00:40:33,482 --> 00:40:35,896
- Churchill's initial
response to Mussolini
733
00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,344
when he heard about him
was, "what a swine Mussolini is,"
734
00:40:38,448 --> 00:40:40,551
but Clementine, his wife,
went out and met Mussolini,
735
00:40:40,655 --> 00:40:42,241
and was very
intoxicated with him -
736
00:40:42,344 --> 00:40:44,896
he was a mesmeric
character, Mussolini.
737
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,448
And Churchill, too,
became rather addicted
738
00:40:48,551 --> 00:40:51,586
to Mussolini when he met him
and he felt that he was going
739
00:40:51,689 --> 00:40:53,448
to save Italy,
740
00:40:53,551 --> 00:40:55,931
particularly save Italy
from the communists.
741
00:40:56,034 --> 00:40:59,034
[Speaking Italian]
742
00:41:01,517 --> 00:41:04,172
His disillusionment
came in 1935,
743
00:41:04,275 --> 00:41:07,379
with Mussolini's
invasion of Ethiopia.
744
00:41:07,482 --> 00:41:10,862
After that, his opinion
of him continued to slide
745
00:41:10,965 --> 00:41:14,206
until eventually
Mussolini joined the axis,
746
00:41:14,310 --> 00:41:17,758
and in due course,
joined Hitler in the war.
747
00:41:25,551 --> 00:41:27,965
Narrator: Not all the
leaders on the world stage
748
00:41:28,068 --> 00:41:30,310
in the inter-war years
were a potential threat
749
00:41:30,413 --> 00:41:32,413
to britain.
750
00:41:32,517 --> 00:41:34,724
Churchill was also forging
751
00:41:34,827 --> 00:41:36,187
an important
political relationship
752
00:41:36,275 --> 00:41:39,241
with a powerful ally
in Franklin Roosevelt,
753
00:41:39,344 --> 00:41:41,000
and the United States.
754
00:41:42,517 --> 00:41:44,793
- Winston Churchill
and Franklin Roosevelt
755
00:41:44,896 --> 00:41:46,665
is one of the great stories
of the second world war.
756
00:41:46,689 --> 00:41:48,289
Of course, it was
Roosevelt who initiated
757
00:41:48,379 --> 00:41:50,862
that relationship.
He wrote to Churchill
758
00:41:50,965 --> 00:41:53,413
in September of 1939,
when Churchill was still
759
00:41:53,517 --> 00:41:55,655
first lord of the
admiralty, and of course,
760
00:41:55,758 --> 00:41:57,758
Roosevelt was a
great naval enthusiast
761
00:41:57,862 --> 00:42:01,068
and was excited by the
fact that this strong character
762
00:42:01,172 --> 00:42:03,172
was now in charge
of the royal Navy.
763
00:42:03,275 --> 00:42:05,551
And this started this
remarkable correspondence
764
00:42:05,655 --> 00:42:07,379
and relationship
between the two of them
765
00:42:07,482 --> 00:42:10,310
that would last throughout
the second world war.
766
00:42:11,896 --> 00:42:14,241
Narrator: Churchill admired
much about Roosevelt.
767
00:42:14,344 --> 00:42:18,689
His sense of social justice,
and he thought him a man
768
00:42:18,793 --> 00:42:22,068
of composure who was
equally capable of action,
769
00:42:22,172 --> 00:42:24,758
"a statesman of world renown."
770
00:42:26,448 --> 00:42:28,965
But he also viewed some
of Roosevelt's social reforms
771
00:42:29,068 --> 00:42:30,689
with suspicion.
772
00:42:32,172 --> 00:42:34,655
Though they would share
a common goal and enemy,
773
00:42:34,758 --> 00:42:37,413
they had deeply
contrasting world views.
774
00:42:37,517 --> 00:42:39,137
- It's a fascinating story,
775
00:42:39,241 --> 00:42:41,517
I mean, they really enjoyed
each other's company,
776
00:42:41,620 --> 00:42:44,172
but they came from
two different universes.
777
00:42:44,275 --> 00:42:46,137
Churchill was kind
of a victorian figure
778
00:42:46,241 --> 00:42:47,976
who was a great believer
in the British empire.
779
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,586
Roosevelt frankly
detested colonialism
780
00:42:50,689 --> 00:42:53,275
and found that aspect
of Churchill's worldview
781
00:42:53,379 --> 00:42:55,000
really reprehensible.
782
00:42:57,482 --> 00:42:58,931
Narrator: In the years to come,
783
00:42:59,034 --> 00:43:01,275
Churchill would work closely
with Roosevelt and Stalin
784
00:43:01,379 --> 00:43:04,586
in the fight against the axis.
785
00:43:04,689 --> 00:43:07,000
And in that partnership,
he would be forced
786
00:43:07,103 --> 00:43:08,586
to confront a shifting reality,
787
00:43:08,689 --> 00:43:10,655
where the views
of the prime minister
788
00:43:10,758 --> 00:43:13,793
of the British empire
were becoming less central
789
00:43:13,896 --> 00:43:17,275
to the changing power
dynamics of the new world.
790
00:43:24,275 --> 00:43:27,310
In September 1939,
the second world war
791
00:43:27,413 --> 00:43:29,724
broke out in Europe.
792
00:43:29,827 --> 00:43:32,724
Germany had invaded
Poland, and two days later,
793
00:43:32,827 --> 00:43:36,068
France and britain
declared war on Germany.
794
00:43:36,172 --> 00:43:38,275
- The fateful hour
of 11:00 has struck,
795
00:43:38,379 --> 00:43:40,310
and britain's final
warning to Hitler
796
00:43:40,413 --> 00:43:42,275
having been
ignored, a state of war
797
00:43:42,379 --> 00:43:45,310
once more exists between
Great Britain and Germany.
798
00:43:45,413 --> 00:43:47,896
Narrator: This marked
the start of the 'phoney war',
799
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,172
a period of almost eight months
800
00:43:50,275 --> 00:43:54,827
where the only action seen
by British forces was at sea.
801
00:43:54,931 --> 00:43:56,862
Prime minister
Neville Chamberlain
802
00:43:56,965 --> 00:44:00,137
appointed Churchill
first lord of the admiralty.
803
00:44:00,241 --> 00:44:02,482
The same position
he had occupied
804
00:44:02,586 --> 00:44:04,206
in the first world war.
805
00:44:05,482 --> 00:44:07,344
- Churchill took a very
aggressive approach
806
00:44:07,448 --> 00:44:10,137
as the first lord
of the admiralty.
807
00:44:10,241 --> 00:44:12,689
He was the only
hawk, if you'd like,
808
00:44:12,793 --> 00:44:15,517
in the Chamberlain
ministry, which was made up
809
00:44:15,620 --> 00:44:19,620
of all the ministers that
were there during Munich.
810
00:44:19,724 --> 00:44:22,862
Churchill immediately
instigated a programme
811
00:44:22,965 --> 00:44:24,793
to increase the size
of the British army.
812
00:44:25,965 --> 00:44:28,172
- Anyone can see
that public opinion
813
00:44:28,275 --> 00:44:32,206
is growing in favour of
compulsory national service
814
00:44:32,310 --> 00:44:34,068
in all its forms,
815
00:44:34,172 --> 00:44:37,068
and especially in
the highest form.
816
00:44:37,172 --> 00:44:39,551
- He wanted to
modernise the royal Navy.
817
00:44:39,655 --> 00:44:41,689
And he was very
much about action.
818
00:44:41,793 --> 00:44:44,310
You know, immediate action.
819
00:44:44,413 --> 00:44:46,137
Narrator: This action
ultimately translated
820
00:44:46,241 --> 00:44:48,482
to a military strategy,
which instead
821
00:44:48,586 --> 00:44:50,413
of attacking Germany head on,
822
00:44:50,517 --> 00:44:52,275
favoured a peripheral approach.
823
00:44:53,034 --> 00:44:55,241
In early 1940,
824
00:44:55,344 --> 00:44:58,413
Churchill's focus had
shifted to scandinavia.
825
00:44:58,517 --> 00:45:01,103
Hitler was shipping
high grade iron ore
826
00:45:01,206 --> 00:45:04,000
from Sweden to
Germany via Norway.
827
00:45:04,103 --> 00:45:07,310
Churchill wanted to stop him.
828
00:45:07,413 --> 00:45:10,172
- He was very anxious
to interrupt the supply
829
00:45:10,275 --> 00:45:12,793
of iron ore from Norway,
830
00:45:12,896 --> 00:45:15,275
which had been a
tactic used by the British
831
00:45:15,379 --> 00:45:16,862
in the first world war.
832
00:45:16,965 --> 00:45:18,655
So he was very aggressive.
833
00:45:20,103 --> 00:45:23,241
Narrator: The royal Navy,
under Churchill's direction,
834
00:45:23,344 --> 00:45:25,379
mined the approaches to Norway,
835
00:45:25,482 --> 00:45:28,206
and planned a
British landing force.
836
00:45:28,310 --> 00:45:31,931
- That aggression ultimately led
837
00:45:32,034 --> 00:45:34,379
to the German
invasion of Norway.
838
00:45:34,482 --> 00:45:37,965
Germany had never
planned to invade Norway.
839
00:45:38,068 --> 00:45:39,548
But when Churchill
ordered the release
840
00:45:39,620 --> 00:45:43,413
of the British prisoners
from the altmark,
841
00:45:43,517 --> 00:45:46,827
Hitler became convinced,
somewhat hypocritically,
842
00:45:46,931 --> 00:45:50,172
that britain would do
whatever it liked in Norway.
843
00:45:50,275 --> 00:45:52,379
And therefore,
Norway was a liability.
844
00:45:55,068 --> 00:45:56,689
Narrator: In April 1940,
845
00:45:56,793 --> 00:45:59,172
Germany invaded
Denmark and Norway.
846
00:46:03,137 --> 00:46:05,068
British troops landed in Norway,
847
00:46:05,172 --> 00:46:07,965
but were quickly
forced to retreat.
848
00:46:10,310 --> 00:46:12,931
The campaign was
considered a grave failure.
849
00:46:18,551 --> 00:46:21,448
On 7 may 1940,
in a lengthy debate,
850
00:46:21,551 --> 00:46:24,000
the house of commons
discussed the matter.
851
00:46:25,793 --> 00:46:28,068
Prime minister Chamberlain
dismissed suggestions
852
00:46:28,172 --> 00:46:29,965
of parallels with the
gallipoli campaign
853
00:46:30,068 --> 00:46:33,241
in the first world war.
854
00:46:33,344 --> 00:46:36,241
Churchill was a key player
in the Norway debacle,
855
00:46:36,344 --> 00:46:39,034
and claimed
complete responsibility,
856
00:46:39,137 --> 00:46:42,103
but the blows of many
in the house of commons
857
00:46:42,206 --> 00:46:44,724
were aimed at prime
minister Chamberlain.
858
00:46:47,379 --> 00:46:50,068
The opposition argued
that the failure in Norway
859
00:46:50,172 --> 00:46:53,551
was representative of
other broader failures.
860
00:46:54,862 --> 00:46:57,517
Former conservative
cabinet minister, Leo amery,
861
00:46:57,620 --> 00:46:59,689
concluded his
speech by demanding
862
00:46:59,793 --> 00:47:02,551
Chamberlain's resignation.
863
00:47:02,655 --> 00:47:04,931
"In the name of god, go."
864
00:47:06,655 --> 00:47:08,965
It was clear his support
as leader within government
865
00:47:09,068 --> 00:47:10,862
was floundering.
866
00:47:10,965 --> 00:47:13,103
Destiny was on
Churchill's doorstep,
867
00:47:13,206 --> 00:47:16,000
but it was not yet certain.
868
00:47:22,551 --> 00:47:25,275
- There was no inbuilt
inevitability about Churchill
869
00:47:25,379 --> 00:47:27,586
replacing Chamberlain in 1940.
870
00:47:27,689 --> 00:47:31,517
In fact, most people assumed
that Chamberlain's successor,
871
00:47:31,620 --> 00:47:33,517
from the anti-appeasement
point of view,
872
00:47:33,620 --> 00:47:36,586
would be either Anthony
Eden, or lord halifax,
873
00:47:36,689 --> 00:47:38,655
who was Chamberlain's
foreign secretary.
874
00:47:39,931 --> 00:47:42,034
Narrator: With Anthony
Eden out of the picture
875
00:47:42,137 --> 00:47:44,275
due to his resignation
from government,
876
00:47:44,379 --> 00:47:48,000
the choice for a successor
came down to two men.
877
00:47:49,310 --> 00:47:53,827
Churchill, or lord
halifax, and ultimately,
878
00:47:53,931 --> 00:47:56,448
halifax took himself
out of contention.
879
00:47:57,379 --> 00:47:59,413
On 10 may 1940,
880
00:47:59,517 --> 00:48:02,000
Chamberlain resigned
as prime minister.
881
00:48:04,103 --> 00:48:06,241
At the age of 65,
882
00:48:06,344 --> 00:48:09,758
Churchill had finally
met his destiny.
883
00:48:10,689 --> 00:48:14,000
He would lead his nation in war.
884
00:48:14,103 --> 00:48:17,413
The result was not one the
public might have expected.
885
00:48:17,517 --> 00:48:20,034
- Churchill was not in the
picture for most people.
886
00:48:20,137 --> 00:48:22,620
Mass-observation
and the gallop polls,
887
00:48:22,724 --> 00:48:24,068
they both asked
these questions -
888
00:48:24,172 --> 00:48:26,758
who most people thought
would replace Chamberlain
889
00:48:26,862 --> 00:48:28,320
if, for any reason,
he didn't carry on
890
00:48:28,344 --> 00:48:29,724
as war leader.
891
00:48:29,827 --> 00:48:32,310
And the consensus was
never that it would be Churchill.
892
00:48:32,413 --> 00:48:34,379
In fact, it was either
halifax or Eden
893
00:48:34,482 --> 00:48:37,275
who always won those polls.
894
00:48:37,379 --> 00:48:39,493
Narrator: Churchill may not
have been the prime minister
895
00:48:39,517 --> 00:48:41,758
the polls predicted,
but in that moment,
896
00:48:41,862 --> 00:48:45,034
he was the man
that britain needed.
897
00:48:45,137 --> 00:48:46,896
The nation needed a leader.
898
00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:49,551
Someone who had a
plan, who had the vision.
899
00:48:49,655 --> 00:48:53,000
And could convince
people that he was sincere
900
00:48:53,103 --> 00:48:55,068
when he said that
britain could win.
901
00:48:58,000 --> 00:48:59,689
Narrator: Soon he would confront
902
00:48:59,793 --> 00:49:01,655
ever worsening crises -
903
00:49:01,758 --> 00:49:03,896
the evacuation of dunkirk,
904
00:49:04,000 --> 00:49:08,620
the fall of France,
and the battle of britain.
905
00:49:08,724 --> 00:49:10,827
And at his nation's
darkest hour,
906
00:49:10,931 --> 00:49:13,862
Churchill turned
toward the United States
907
00:49:13,965 --> 00:49:17,172
in the hope of a powerful
ally joining the fray.
908
00:49:18,758 --> 00:49:21,965
In 1940, his hour had arrived,
909
00:49:22,068 --> 00:49:25,068
and Churchill was
ready and willing
910
00:49:25,172 --> 00:49:27,586
when the bells tolled.
911
00:49:30,965 --> 00:49:34,000
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