The movie The Darkest Hour has gravitas beyond words and in the current situation where principled knowledgeable experienced leadership is on back order, Winston Churchill stands out like a beacon for the ages. Director Joe Wright’s characterization of that dramatic period when the future of the United Kingdom and Jay H. Ell believes Western Civilization, hung by a thread illustrates how history sometimes is inextricably controlled by one man. The bulldog character of the wartime Prime Minister, masterfully reincarnated by Golden Globe winner Gary Oldham, depicts the human, emotional and political drama that lay behind his defiant declaration, against impossible odds, to “… go on to the end..whatever the cost may be,.. to fight them on on the landing grounds…. on the beaches…. in the streets…..in the fields..and in the hills - “We Shall Never Surrender”.
None of this came easily and was a culmination of Churchill’s long career in politics, journalism, the military, and as an author, all of which had begun before the turn of the twentieth century. It was touch and go whether Winston would triumph. Had he not done so the world as we know it today would have not have been.
WHAT MOTIVATED THE BRITISH WAR TIME PREMIER
There are two main interpretations of his behavior - on the one extreme he was discarded as a narcissistic, self serving, cynical opportunist and on the other an altruistic, noble, sincere public servant. Whatever side of the equation one veers to there is no doubt that Churchill was in the political doldrums as a result of his early “obsession” with Hitler and the rise of fascism which cause he took on with full force as early as the 1930’s.
The only matter all could agree on was his unparalleled command of the English language which was matched by his transcendent oratory skills. Notwithstanding all his political skills his experience and his understanding of Hitler’s psyche and where it would lead to, it would be his communication skills that would ultimately allow him to tip the balance of destiny. Behind his success was his belief, commitment, patriotism, empathy, love of democracy, country and its peoples. The reverse side of the coin was his abhorrence of totalitarianism and facism.
THE DECADE OF THE BATTLE BETWEEN APPEASEMENT AND CONFRONTATION WITH HITLER
In the decade prior to the crucial determination to defend the democratic value system rather than strike a deal with Hitler, whom he perceived as the devil incarnate, the beleaguered Churchill stuck to his guns. Running against the tide and seemingly, without insight, it appeared that he was ending what little was left of his distinguished political career by his preoccupation with the threat posed by the Fuhrer. To give this conduct some context he had been a towering figure in politics soon after the turn of the nineteenth century and was the Lord of Admiralty in 1911 and Chancellor of the Exchequer, (Secretary of Finance) in 1925. Now he was an eccentric nonentity not helping his cause one bit by obsessing on an apocalyptic future.
He warned that “Dictators ride to and fro on tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers were getting hungry”. Following Hitler’s annexation of Austria in 1938 a weary Winston rose to his feet in that historic House of Commons, that has its origins in the thirteenth century, to remind his colleagues that, “For five years I have talked to the House on these matters - not with very great success. I have watched this famous island descending, incontinently, fecklessly, the stairway which leads to a dark gulf…. Look back upon the last five years - since Germany began to rearm in earnest and openly seek revenge. Historians a thousand years hence ….will never understand how it was that a victorious nation… suffered themselves to be brought so low and to cast away all that they had gained by measureless sacrifice and absolute victory…”
In 1938 in a radio speech to Britain and the United States he argued, “The Stations of uncensored expression are closing down; the lights are going out; but there is still time for those to whom freedom and parliamentary government mean something, to consult together….” A message that fell on deaf ears in his own Parliament till mid 1940 when in view of his prophetic reading of the impending disaster he was called upon to lead Britain. In the United States it took much longer. It was the Pearl Harbor Attack in December 1941 and a Japanese and Germany declaration of war against the USA that finally allowed Franklin Roosevelt to join in what would result in a strugggle that would save Western civilization.
CHAMBERLAIN’S APPEASEMENT OF HITLER IN MUNICH SEPTEMBER 1938
Neville Chamberlain the British Prime Minister who firmly believed that he could do a deal with Herr Hitler met with the latter, Benito Mussolini and the French Premier Edouard Daladier in Munich, in September 1938. The British PM whose assessment was the diametric opposite of Churchill’s trusted Hitler as a “gentleman” whose word was his bond. He had met with the Fuhrer prior to the meeting. Chamberlain then persuaded the French leader to accept, what Hitler claimed as his “last territorial demand”, the Sudenteland of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain alighted from the plane following the sell out waving his accord shouting, “Look what I got from Hitler… Peace in our time”.
It didn’t take long for the German dictator to swallow all of Czechoslovakia. Then followed, in 1939, the rape of Poland and the subjugation of Norway and Denmark. Chamberlain was totally discredited. France, Belgium and Holland were also in the firing line as the blitzkrieg thundered across the European planes The most bitter pill for the proud Prime Minister was when war was declared on Britain. It was the end and his stunning miscalculation lead to his resignation.
THE SUCCESSION
The action that followed the repeated German betrayal of the Munich Accords is where The Darkest Day dialogue really picks up the story. Chamberlain is hounded out of the Commons by a furious opposition. The latter agree to form a government of national interest on condition that Chamberlain resigns. The outgoing Premier in a caucus meeting of the top brass of the Conservative Party, which was the way succession was effected in that era, offers the position to his right hand man Viscount Halifax. Halifax knowing full well that having supported Chamberlain in his appeasement efforts that he would be unable to have legitimacy with Churchill still around, refused. Obviously before the Viscount could become the leader Churchill would have to be be discredited. The reluctant conclusion of the conclave was that Chamberlain would relay to King George VI that Churchill was the choice.
Churchill as Premier stuck in the crawl of the establishment including the reigning monarch. He had denigrated and mocked his own Party’s efforts at appeasement and their failure to prepare for the war, a theme that he had eloquently hammered and hammered again and again. Also there was the ever present criticism that his judgement was impaired and his decision in World War one on the Dardanelles Campaign where 50,000 British and Commonwealth troops had died had haunted him throughout his life. Churchill had argued that his tactics were not to blame but the conventional wisdom backed up by a Commission of Enquiry was that the invasion had been poorly planned. Added to that was his previous party hops from Conservative to Liberal Party and now back with the Conservatives, which lack of loyalty was not in line with the true blood behavior expected by that establishment. Then to top it all was his eccentric behavior and his arrogance at the dunderheads who had been proved wrong.
So it was with grave reservations that His Majesty and the Conservative Party accepted Winston Churchill as the head of the British War Time Cabinet.
THE WAR CABINET
The newly elected PM quickly proceeded to elect a war cabinet which included both his nemeses Chamberlain and Halifax as well as members of the opposition Liberal and Labour parties. The military situation became bleaker as the Germans advanced and the mood in the underground quarters became darker and darker. Halifax became more and more strident in demanding a deal with Germany with the then neutral Italy acting as brokers. Churchill procrastinated on making a decision first ordering a nearby troop formation to decoy the German forces so that he could bring back the three hundred thousand stranded British troops from the beaches on Dunkirk - a feat believed to be impossible anyway as the Brits just lacked the transport wherewithal to deliver. He went onto the hotline to Roosevelt who told him his hands were tied so he could not help with ships or planes - even those the British had paid for.
It was time for a Hail Mary and Churchill instructed the Admiralty to seek help from civilian craft to assist in the retreat. During this period the new Premier was less than honest with the citizenry about the deteriorating political situation. The pressure reached a boiling point as Halifax, who had been negotiating with the Italian ambassador, went for the jugular demanding a decision on the Italian option. A Churchill filled with self doubt had to think out of the box. To do so he shrewdly resorted to canvas with those that had forced Chamberlain out in the first place and had made him the leader. On the face of it, even though the circumstances had worsened, the fact that Halifax was continuing championing the very policies that the Parliament had rejected and had lead to his mentor’s ouster, would be bizarre to any outsider. However, in the bunker like atmosphere of the underground war rooms the world views were drowned out.
CHURCHILL RECEIVES BACKING FROM PARLIAMENT, THE KING AND COUNTRY
Buoyed up by the unexpected backing by King George, who had come to agree with Churchill’s assumption that dealing with the sociopathic fascist Hitler was signing one’s own death warrant and that one may as well take one’s chances, slim as they may be, thereby maintaining hope, honor and dignity. So the Premier rallied his “outer” Cabinet and any other parliamentarians interested to explain to them that he was going to continue the fight. The country was behind this policy, (rather ingeniously but not historically accurately depicted in the movie), and he would present this to the whole House of Commons.
In one of the greatest orations in history the Premier offered the country, “blood, toil, tears and sweat” while not holding back on the devastating European set backs and a possible Nazi invasion. He however was optimistic as he rallied the nation:
“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected and if the best arrangements are made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government - every one of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil….”
He would end as this piece began “We shall never surrender”.
THE DARKEST HOUR - THE CINEMATIC NARRATIVE
The movie depicts this seminal juncture in twentieth century history in a climatic and suspenseful manner. Cinematically it is played out like a Shakespearian drama with all the dramatis personae exhibiting their dysfunctions and ambitions. It is a must see. If there is one criticism it is that Churchill’s eccentricities were overdone. Nearly every scene sees him running through one or other dysfunctional behavior. Historians and biographers have recorded his personality in detail but Jay H. Ell was under the impression that his idiosyncrasies punctuated his day to day life rather than dominated it.
WHAT MATTERS AT THE END OF THE DAY
So words matter, leadership matters crucially, but most of all integrity, honesty, the pursuit of justice and the resistance to evil matters most.
No comments:
Post a Comment