The Black Lives Matter movement which quickly gained attention worldwide is an empowering message against racism and inequality within society and the justice system. The movement, in honour of George Floyd and countless others who have been killed by police officers due to an unnecessary excessive use of force towards ethnic minorities has sparked outrage. While the aim of these protests have been in pursuit of equality it has been deterred by comedy shows and statues.
On the 7th of June the Edward Colston statue was taken down by protesters in Bristol. Colston was a slave merchant who was responsible for 100,000 people being moved from West Africa to the Caribbean to work as slaves. West Africans had been branded on their chest with the name of the company Colston worked for, of those 100,000 people 20,000 died on route. Their bodies were thrown overboard into the sea. The Colston statue is without a doubt a disgrace and should have been brought down and placed into a museum long ago.
However, since the Colston statue was taken down protesters have now targeted a British national hero. Winston Churchill’s statue was vandalised by protesters with the words “was a racist” being spray painted below his name. Churchill was not a saint by any means, but he also wasn’t just an evil racist man.
On the 1st of September 1939 World War 2 broke out. For 5 years the allies fought against Nazi Germany. The largest and most deadly war in history (WW2) killed 70 to 85 million people. On the 10th of May 1940 - the same day Germany invaded Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland and France - Winston Churchill became prime minister following Neville Chamberlain’s resignation. When Chamberlain resigned only one MP from the Conservative Party stood up to inherit the war. That MP became Prime Minister and won us the war. During the time Churchill became PM Nazi Germany had advanced into France. Following an armistice in June 1940 which declared France’s surrender to Hitler the UK was the last western country standing.
Churchill had an impossible task ahead of him.
Soldiers win wars. Soldiers are the ones who kill and die for our country. They are heroes and patriots. But behind those soldiers, behind the tactics and strategies is the leader of the country. The man who makes the decisions. That man is Churchill.
Without him the war would have been lost.
No Churchill means no victory.
Nazi Germany would have won the war. A statue of Adolf Hitler would stand tall and mighty in London. Swastikas would be attached to each building. A genocide on ethnic minorities would commence and the persecution of Jews would continue. Democracy as we know it would cease to exist. A dictatorial authoritarian rule would ensue with a tyrannical leader at the helm. It would be 1984 but in real life. If Hitler won the war and successfully claimed Europe it is unlikely he would stop. The rise of a German Empire would sweep across lands, Asia would be next. Not even the Soviet Union would be able to stop the mobilisation of the German army. A new empire with a new leader in the 19th century, we would see it now.
The dystopia described is inevitable had Hitler won the war. Fortunately for us, we had Churchill.
Sir Winston Churchill as he is known won us the war through his ability to lead, to rise morale and to create alliances. All of which played a significant part.
During the war Churchill used words as weapons. Speeches delivered by Churchill during wartime inspired soldiers to keep fighting. The morale of the public was raised with an approval rating of 78% when Churchill visited a damaged Plymouth during the Blitz. Churchill’s speeches sparked a fire in darkness. He gave the people strength, morale and most importantly… he gave them hope. A belief of a brighter future for all.
Operation Barbarossa which started in June 1941 was a turning point in the war. Hitler’s invasion into eastern Russia caught Stalin by surprise. Churchill through strong negotiations brought the USSR onto the side of the allies giving Hitler a fight on two fronts. The attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu Hawaii by Japanese imperial fighters forced Theodore Roosevelt to join the war. With tensions rising and the war almost lost Churchill brought the United States onto the allies side in December 1941. Throughout the war from 1941 to 1945 Churchill went on 19 dangerous overseas visits to build alliances against the Nazis. By keeping key alliances afloat it allowed for the allies to plan and strategies larger more effective attacks. One of which was D-Day.
Opposed by many in his cabinet and military officials Churchill signed off on Operation Neptune. D-Day as it is more widely known was the largest most successful seaborne invasion in history. 156,000 soldiers stormed onto the beach of Normandy and the liberation of France started. On the 6th of June 1944 was the attack on Normandy; on the 25th of August 1944 France was free from Hitler’s grasp. A huge shift in the war which was undoubtedly the reason it was won. On the brink of defeat Churchill saved us from sinking.
For this reason Churchill was knighted and is known as a national hero in the hearts of British people. Many people in this country now would not be here without that man. I know I wouldn’t. A huge chunk of the population owe their existence to Sir Winston Churchill.
This is however one side of Churchill. He also has a dark past. One which is not taught.
In his early years Churchill was a white supremacist, a racist who hated Indians. Held accountable for the Bengal Famine in 1943 which killed around 3 million Indians the result of the famine was from a severe collapse in foreign policy. Storms and droughts had earlier hit India affecting the eastern regions were Bengal is located. A shortage of food meant a famine was likely. During the time of the famine food was being sent over to soldiers in the Balkans meaning that there was nothing left to send to Bengal. There are claims that Australian wheat ships were trying to dock at Calcutta however they were stopped and turned away by order from Winston Churchill (these accusations have not been fully confirmed or denied). What we do know for certain is that later on Winston Churchill seeked help from foreign leaders.
A direct message to Lord Wavell (Churchill’s new Viceroy of India) from Churchill said:
“Every effort must be made even by the diversion of shipping urgently needed for war purposed to deal with local shortages in India.”
There are also copies of letters to the Prime Minister of Canada, Australia and the president of America Franklin D Roosevelt repeatedly over the next two years beseeching those leaders to help deliver food to Bengal.
A letter to Roosevelt stated:
“I am seriously concerned about the food situation in India last year we had a grievous famine in Bengali which at least 700,000 people died. This year is a good crop of rice but we’re faced with an acute shortage of wheat aggravated by unprecedented storms.”
Winston Churchill did ask for foreign help especially from the United States. Regardless of that factor it is evident that due to a huge failure in policy the famine in Bengal was allowed to start. It is evident that Churchill is 100% partially at fault for the famine but it is unclear whether he is entirely to blame.
On the topic of Bengal and India Churchill had referred to Indians in a racist manor. He said Indians were “beastly people with a beastly religion.” In the Boer war Churchill supported the use of concentration camps claiming they produced minimal suffering. Around 30,000 died in concentration camps. Churchill was also in favour of eugenics and believed those who were unfavourable should be sterilised. An older saying of manifest destiny was also in the mind of Churchill as he supported the idea of taking over land and replacing people like the Red Indians with white people.
Winston Churchill in his early years was a white supremacist and a racist. Everyone in today’s society would condemn his actions for his discriminatory beliefs.
However, for the people in favour of taking down his statue, they are being blinded to what Churchill did in his later years of his life. They are focusing solely on the negative side of Churchill without also acknowledging what he did for this country and for Europe.
We can do the same for Nelson Mandela and Gandhi along with many other key figures in history.
Mahatma Gandhi, India’s national hero. A man who gained independence for his country from the British Empire through constant peaceful protests can also be seen unfavourably. Gandhi was married to a 14 year old. His wife (Kasturba) was soon pregnant. In modern society this is disgusting and is blatant paedophilia. A crime which can have you behind bars. Gandhi also worked as a lawyer in South Africa, in his 21 years of being in the country he was a known racist referring to black South Africans as “savages,” “uncivilised,” and “dirty.” Looking at the early life of Gandhi he is a paedophile who had an entire life of sexual activates with underage girls as well as a racist. Looking at Gandhi’s later life he is a hero who saved India from British rule and also inspired Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.
Nelson Mandela, in 1993 Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994 he became South Africa’s first black president. Mandela fought against apartheid and successfully oversaw the removal of racial segregation in South Africa. A national hero is his country and a worldwide civil rights activist Mandela earned his honour. But once again, in Mandela’s early life he is violent and even named a terrorist. Mandela was found guilty and imprisoned for manufacturing explosives in an attempt to overthrow the government. 48,000 land mines, hand grenades and other explosives were produced for guerrilla warfare. Nelson Mandela said himself he was ashamed of his previous actions. He said himself “I am not a saint.” Mandela’s early life paints him to be a terrorist ready to start a potential civil war, his later life he is a worldwide civil rights activist who stopped decades of racial segregation.
A picture is said to be a 1000 words. When you look at half a picture you cannot see the full story. You are blinded to it.
Looking at the early life of Churchill without looking at his later life is the same. You are seeing only one side, just one half of the story. That one half can portray Churchill as a white supremacist and a racist, the other a national hero.
Look at the whole picture before judging a man, look at the pinnacles of his achievements and what it did for the future and look at his greatest failures. Then judge a man.
The present wouldn’t be the same as it is now without Churchill. Statues are created to honour the memory and legacy of someone. While Colston was a slave merchant and nothing more Churchill was a racist and a hero. Colston should to be in a museum. Not Churchill.
Churchill is a national hero.
Churchill did lack morality.
Churchill is a saviour and a racist.
Churchill was not Edward Colston.
Churchill has a statue - and it should stay there.
Written by Rahul Patel
Instagram @rahulpatel7832
Twitter @Rahul_Patel04
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