3057 Winston Churchill

In his 2022 book, No Peace With Hitler, Alan Saltman examined the circumstances surrounding Winston Churchill’s 1940 appointment as prime minister of Great Britain and the factors that led to his early decision to fight against Germany, rather than enter into peace negotiations. On May 10, 1940, the day King George VI asked Churchill to form a new government, Germany simultaneously invaded Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and France. The new prime minister’s war cabinet, fearful of the impact of war, wanted to negotiate with Adolph Hitler, but Churchill opted to fight.

In this course, Saltman will discuss why Churchill made his fateful choice and consider how World War II and the Holocaust could have been avoided.  He'll also discuss the curious way that Churchill finally became Prime Minister in May 1940  and how and why ousted Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain came to provide critical support to Churchill's position not to negotiate with Germany. Finally, he'll examine how, given assertions of racism, we should view Churchill in the 21st century.

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