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right. As before, he sought solace in feat of the U-boats during May 1943. position in the British Parliament,
writing and painting. Churchill said that: "The Battle of which often gave him an opportuni-
the Atlantic was the only thing that ty to express his opinion on matters
During the early 1930s Churchill ever frightened me." that the Labour Government could
immediately grasped the full signifi- not. For instance, his "Iron Curtain"
cance of the rise of Hitler's Germa- Churchill and US President Franklin speech of 5 March 1946 in Fulton,
ny. While the Government dallied, D. Roosevelt met in Newfoundland Missouri, signalled the beginning of
Churchill continuously advocated on 14 August 1941 to sign the Atlan- the Cold War. He sounded an alarm
that the British armed forces should tic Charter, a pivotal policy state- to the world about Soviet actions in
keep pace with those of Germany. ment that defined the Allied goals Eastern Europe: "From Stettin in the
His warnings were ignored and des- for the post-war world. It should be Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an
pair overwhelmed him. He descri- noted that the United States was at Iron Curtain has descended across
bed Chamberlain's Munich Agree- this time not at war with either Ger- the Continent." Because the USSR
ment with Hitler as a "total and many, Italy or Japan. The Charter only respected military strength,
unmitigated defeat". was a prelude to the founding of the his response to the Cold War was
United Nations, the General Agree- to propose the establishment of the
Following the invasion of Poland, ment on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), North Atlantic Treaty Organization
on 3 September 1939 the United the independence of colonies, and (NATO) in 1949.
Kingdom and France declared war the world as we know it today.
on Germany. Churchill was imme- As a result of Churchill's zest for
diately appointed First Lord of the When the Americans became combat and his gift for oratory, the
Admiralty, the post he had held involved in the Second World War Conservative Party was voted back
in 1911. However, during the early in December 1941 Churchill obser- into office in 1951 and he became
months of the Second World War ved: "There was no more doubt
his energy failed to overcome the about the end". He established a Prime Minister again. The year 1953
inertia of the British Government. personal relationship with Pres- was marked by the Coronation of
On the contrary, when Germany ident Roosevelt and throughout the Queen Elizabeth II. He was showered
invaded the Low Countries on 10 war they communicated by trans- with honours, being awarded a
May 1940, events moved swiftly - atlantic cable and telephone. He knighthood and the Order of the
on that same day Prime Minister tried on several occasions to esta- Garter, which satisfied his love of
Chamberlain resigned and Chur- blish a similar relationship with the historic pageant. In this same year
chill became the leader of a coali- Russian leader Stalin, but declared: he was awarded the Nobel Prize for
tion government of national unity. "I received many rebuffs and only Literature "for his mastery of histo-
The early trials and tribulations of rarely a kind word". rical and biographical description as
his political career could be seen well as for brilliant oratory in defen-
as preparation for the exercise Despite the danger presented by ding exalted human values".
of supreme power in a moment the Second World War taking place
of extreme national crisis. On 13 across the globe by land, sea and He was now an old man and there
May 1940 Churchill addressed the air, Churchill was constantly on the were complaints of slackness in hol-
Parliament with the famous words: move: Washington, Moscow, Casa- ding the reins of government. He
"I have nothing to offer but blood, blanca, Tehran, Algiers, Ankara, suffered a stroke but made a remark-
toil, tears and sweat." Tripoli, Quebec, Cairo, Athens and able recovery. His eightieth birth-
Yalta. day was celebrated at an All-Party
The United Kingdom depended on Ceremony in November 1954 and he
vital supplies from abroad transpor- In July 1945, ten weeks after Victory finally laid down the heavy burden
ted in merchant ships across the At- in Europe, Churchill met with Sta- of ministerial responsibility in April
lantic Ocean. Germany's best hope lin and the new US President Harry 1955, but maintained his seat in Par-
of winning the war was to bring Truman in Potsdam, Germany. Both liament until 1964. In April 1963
the United Kingdom to its knees Truman and Churchill were sus- Churchill was made an honorary
through the sinking of these ships picious of Stalin's intentions. They citizen of the United States of Ame-
by U-boats. At its peak in 1941 and saw Soviet actions in Eastern Eur- rica by a special act of Congress. His
1942 so many ships were sunk in ope as incompatible with the Yalta death in January 1965 was followed
the "Battle of the Atlantic" that the agreements of the previous Februa- by a State Funeral at which almost
fate of the country and its ability to ry. However, during the conference the entire world paid tribute.
continue fighting the war hung in a General Election was held in the
the balance. Code breaking and the United Kingdom and Churchill He wrote his own epitaph with the
introduction of light aircraft car- found himself voted out of office. following entertaining phrase: "His-
riers, very long-range aircraft and tory will be kind to me for I intend
roving groups of anti-submarine From 1945 to 1951 Churchill was to write it." U
warships eventually led to the de- the leader of the Conservative op- John Fox

46 Culture