Winston Churchill pursued two courses with relentless vigour. At home he vowed to defeat socialism which he described as a creed of failure. Abroad he vowed to defeat the Axis powers and the threat they posed to the British Empire. Churchill’s paradox is that these two objectives became progressively irreconcilable. By 1945 the threat posed by Hitler and the Axis had been removed but domestically the social consequences of the war had ushered in a Labour government with a landslide mandate for socialism. Moreover the Empire which Churchill had successfully defended from the Axis powers was to be decolonised within a generation. This talk assesses Churchill’s place in history within this paradox.
Martin Holmes is a leading Oxford university academic specialising in European and British history. He is the author of six books, the latest regarding the Treaty of Versailles to the Treaty of Maastricht.
This lecture will be available in person at Dagnall Street Baptist Church and also online via Zoom. Attendance is free to members; £5 for non-members. Please click on the button above right to register. You will then receive confirmation of your registration by email return. Registration closes at 3.30pm on Tuesday 6 May.
All those registered will be emailed the Zoom joining instructions by 4pm on the day of the lecture. If you have not received this by 5pm, please contact us using the email address below. NB. If you are registering two or more members to attend via Zoom, and want each of them to receive the link in their own email inbox, these details need to be entered at registration.
It is important to note that SAHAAS operates hybrid talks relying on two volunteers who work very hard behind-the-scenes on the technology to ensure we can offer this service to those unable to attend at the church. Occasionally despite our best efforts technology works against us. There may be a delay in acknowledging an issue but this is only because we are working out how to resolve it.
If you have any questions, please email Gill Girdziusz via lectures@stalbanshistory.org
Image above: The Roaring Lion 1941, Wikipedia - Winston Churchill
